, 1392 (1984). 3,4-Dihydroisoquinolines react with anions derived from phthalides and 3-methylphthalides in tetrahydrofuran yielding 13-hydroxy-8-oxotetrahydroprotoberberines and 13-hydroxy-l3-methyl-8-oxotetrahydroprotoberberines, respectively. Only one of two possible diastereomers is formed. The lactams may be reduced to the corresponding protoberberines with lithium aluminium hydride. The reaction of the acyclic imine, 3,4-dimethoxybenzylidenemethylamine, with anions derived from phthalide, 3-phenylphthalide, and 5.6-dimethoxyphthalide, has been investigated. In all cases separable mixtures of diastereomeric substituted 3,4-dihydro-l(2H)-isoquinolones were formed. RICHARD 1392 (1984). Les dihydro-3,4 isoquinolCines, dans le titrahydrofuranne, rCagissent avec les anions provenant des phthalides et des mCthyl-3 phthalides pour conduire respectivement aux hydroxy-13 0x0-8 tCtrahydroprotoberbCrines et aux hydroxy-1 3 methyl-13 0x0-8 tCtrahydroprotoberbCrines. I1 ne se forme qu'un seul des deux diastCrCoisomkres. On peut rCduire les lactames en protoberbkrines correspondantes en faisant appel ii I'hydrure double de lithium et d'aluminium. On a CtudiC la rCaction de I'imine acyclique, dimCthoxy-3,4 benzylidknemCthylamine, avec les anions provenant du phthalide, du phknyl-3 phthalide et du dimCthoxy-5,6 phthalide. Dans tous les cas, il se forme des mClanges, que I'on peut sCparer, des diastCrCoisom2res des dihydro-3,4 (2H)-isoquinolones-I substituCes.[Traduit par le journal]
IThe reaction of imines with phthalide anions derived from phthalides and lithium diisopropylamide (LDA) was reported in a preliminary communication in 1980 by Dodsworth et al.(1). A more complete account of their work leading to the formation of various diarylisoquinolones has recently appeared (2). In the interim we reported our initial studies on the reaction of phthalide anions with 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines, a reaction that leads in one step to the protoberberine ring system (3). Here we give a full account of our initial work, and its extension to the synthesis of 13-methylprotoberberines. We also report the preparation of several 2-methyl-3-phenyl-4-hydroxy-3,4-dihydro-1 (2H)-isoquinolones and a pair of 2-methyl-3,4-diphenyl-4-hydroxy-3,4-dihydro-1 (2H)-isoquinolones. Dodsworth et al. (2) showed that the anions of phthalide ( l a ) and 5,6-dimethoxyphthalide (lb) react with a variety of diary1 imines 2 to form 3,4-dihydro-l(2H)-isoquinolones substituted at C-2 and C-3 by the aryl groups present in imine 2 and at C-4 by an OH group. (The generation of two new chiral centres leads to the formation of racemic diastereomers as shown in Scheme 1 .) This reaction very likely proceeds by initial attack of phthalide anion at the carbon atom of the carbon-nitrogen double bond with transfer of charge to nitrogen. The negatively charged nitrogen then attacks the phthalide carbonyl carbon to form a tetrahedral intermediate which opens to form the isoquinolone. Dodsworth et al. found that the formation of the cis isomer 3 was favored over the tran...