A series of substituted hexahydropyrido[2,1-c][l,4]oxazin-3(4H)-ones has been synthesised, and the configurations of these bicyclic lactones assigned utilising chemical and spectral data. All the compounds adopt frans-fused conformations and the conformation of the lactone ring is discussed with reference to the magnitude of the geminal coupling constant of the N-CH,-C(0)-0 protons, and the vicinal couplings between the angular proton and the methylene protons adjacent to the ring oxygen atom. The lactone ring conformation is shown to differ slightly from the half chair conformation described for some monocyclic 6-lactones. The synthesis and NMR spectra of some related compounds possessing the bridgehead N-CH,-C(0)-0 system are discussed and these compounds arc also shown to adopt a trans-fused ring conformation.A VALENCE-BOND approach to the calculation of adjacent n-electron effects on the geminal coupling constant (J,,,)? between methylene group protons has produced2 a relationship dependent upon the dihedral angle (#) between the z-bond and the C-H bond. This J -C $ relationship has been tested3 for a variety of cyclic compounds possessing a CH, adjacent to a keto-group or C=C and the results are generally in accord with the prediction^.^ to Most published applications of the Barfield-Grant J -# relationship to conformational analysis refer to cyclic and very little work has been described dealing with systems possessing a modified carbonyl group (e.g. COOR, CONH,). Accordingly, some substituted hexahydropyrido-[2,1-~][1,4]oxazin-3(4H)-ones (1) and related systems were chosen for study in order to provide data on the magnitude of Jgem for methylene grosp protons adjacent to lactone carbonyl.
RESULTS A N D DISCUSSION
Methyl substituted hexahydropyrido[2,1-c] [1,4]oxazin-3(4H)-onesThe presence of the conformationally mobile nitrogen atom in hexahydropyrido-[2,1-c] [ 1,4]oxazin-3(4H)-one (1) permits its existence as an equilibrium mixture of trans-fused and cis-fused ring conformations. In addition, various conformations of the perhydrooxazinone ring in these structures are possible (seen in a Dreiding model by movement of H4ax' and Hleq' towards or away from each other). NMR studies on some 6-methyItetrahydr0-1,4-oxazin-2-ones,~ some substituted valerolactones8 and some steroidal lactoness are consistent with a half chair conformation for the lactone ring, with the planar C-C(0)-0-C grouping demonstrated in jacobine bromodilactone and themonoterpenoid iridomyrmecin by crystal structureanalysis.loS1l * For Part XIX, see Ref. 1. t S, , , is assumed to be negative throughout this paper.
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