R e a r r a n g e m e n t o f N -P r o t e c t e d 2 , 3 -D i h y d r o -3 -h y d r o x y -1 H -b e n z i s o i n d o l -1 -o n e sAbstract: A BF 3 -mediated release of the hydroxy and the nitrogenprotecting group of N-(cumyl or 1,1-diphenylethyl)-2,3-dihydro-3-hydroxy-1H-benzisoindol-1-ones is accompanied by recombination of the nitrogen-protecting unit to the 3-position of the ring system. The addition of sulfur or carbon nucleophiles affords products of preferential capture of the rearrangement intermediate offering a convenient and rapid synthetic route to N-unprotected 2,3-dihydro-3-substituted-1H-benzisoindol-1-ones.The naphthyl amide organic fragment is prevalent in a number of bioactive compounds 1-6 including those targeting the NK1 receptor, 1 the inhibition of aldosterone synthase, 3 the leukocyte proteases cathepsin G 4 and chymase, 5 and a malarial receptor. 2 Aromatic amides including some naphthyl amides are also central to the inhibition of a group of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase enzymes (PARPs) 7-9 that bind NAD + and have been implicated in the cellular response to DNA injury. 10 The catalytic domain of the PARP enzymes has been shown to be structurally similar to that of bacterial ribosyltransferases, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa exotoxin A, which we are currently studying. PARP inhibitors often contain aromatic amide or lactam functionalities and operate by preferentially binding to the nicotinamide portion of the binding pocket normally occupied by NAD + . 9,11,12 As such, we have targeted novel amides and imides possessing the naphthalene 11 backbone as part of a study to find inhibitors of exotoxin A.Specifically, we have been probing the functionalization of the 2-position of N-protected 1-naphthamides. We applied the Dai protocol for the ortho-metalation of N,Ndisubstituted amides (3.2 equiv s-BuLi, THF, -78°C, 3 h) 13 to monosubstituted amides 1 (a: R = 1,1-diphenylethyl, b: R = cumyl) as a means to introduce additional functionality. Consistent with the literature, 14 the metalation proceeds at the 2-position rather than the 8-position giving dianions 2. Quenching with DMF affords two naphthalimidines (2,3-dihydro-3-hydroxy-1H-benz[e]isoindol-1-ones, 3), which differ only by their protection on the nitrogen (Scheme 1). At this point, nitrogen deprotection was attempted with BF 3 ·OEt 2 15 and a surprising yet parallel manifold of products was obtained for both compounds 3a and 3b. Scheme 2 and the first two entries of Table 1 indicate the assigned structures of the unexpected products. In each product, the nitrogen-protecting group is apparently lost and its carbon skeleton is reattached at the adjacent carbon atom. 16
Scheme 1Three more substrates were prepared in order to establish the generality of the rearrangement. Application of the Dai metalation conditions to the appropriate N-1,1-diphenylethyl and N-cumyl amides gave phthalimidines (2,3-dihydro-3-hydroxy-1H-isoindol-1-ones) 4a (79%) and 4b 15 (67%), respectively, and 3-hydroxy-2,3-dihydro-1H-benz[f]isoindol-1-one (5b, 50%, T...