A novel synthetic approach to 11-substituted dibenzo[b,f][1,4]oxazepinesAbstract: A novel protocol for the synthesis of 11-substituted dibenzo [b,f] [1,4]oxazepines is reported. Seven compounds were designed as analogs of the antipsychotic drug loxapine and antidepressant amoxapine. The key transformations include generation of a carbamate intermediate using phenyl chloroformate which avoids the use of harmful phosgene, a microwave-induced transformation of the carbamate intermediate into various urea derivatives, and a subsequent phosphorous oxychlorideinduced cyclocondensation. The simple reactions and wide substrate scope enhance the practical application of this methodology. Dibenzo[b,f][1,4]oxazepine derivatives possess diverse pharmacological activity [1-6]. Loxapine 1 and amoxapine 2 (Figure 1) are agents used for their antipsychotic and antidepressant action, respectively [7]. Both 1 and 2 bear the 11-substituted dibenzo[b,f][1,4]oxazepine scaffold.We report a new method for synthesis of seven fused 11-substituted dibenzo[b,f][1,4]oxazepines, namely compounds 19-25 (Scheme 1). The compounds were designed as analogs of 1 and 2.2-(4-Chlorophenoxy)aniline (3) was synthesized according to a reported method [8]. Previously reported synthetic approaches [9, 10] to 11-substituted dibenzo[b,f] [1,4]oxazepines using 3 involve treating 3 with toxic phosgene or triphosgene to afford intermediate 1-(phenoxy)-2-isocyanatobenzene. We decided to avoid the use of phosgene or triphosgene by treating 3 with phenyl chloroformate under mild conditions, which afforded carbamate 4 in 98% yield. Compound 4 was heated with amines 5-11 in a microwave reactor to yield the respective urea derivatives 12-18. The yields of these transformations ranged from 79% to 96%. A phosphorous oxychlorideinduced cyclocondensation of 12-18 furnished the target dibenzo[b,f][1,4]oxazepines 19-25, respectively, in yields ranging from 4% to 38%.In conclusion, we have developed a novel methodology for synthesis of 11-substituted dibenzo[b,f][1,4]oxazepines. The simplicity of the experiments, wide substrate scope, and avoidance of toxic phosgene, makes this methodology a useful addition in the collection of 11-substituted dibenzo[b,f][1,4]oxazepine syntheses.
Experimental
Phenyl [2-(4-chlorophenoxy)phenyl]carbamate (4) A solutionof 2-(4-chlorophenoxy)aniline (2.00 g, 9.10 mmol) and pyridine (0.83 mL, 10.0 mmol) in ethyl acetate (17.0 mL) at 0°C was treated dropwise with phenyl chloroformate (1.22 mL, 10.0 mmol).The resultant mixture was stirred for 3 h at room temperature. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure, and the residue was purified by silica gel flash chromatography eluting with 2% to 5% ethyl acetate-hexanes to afford phenyl [2-(4-chlorophenoxy)phenyl]carbamate 4 (3.02 g, 98%): 1 H NMR (600 MHz, CDCl 3 ) δ 8.26 (1H, bs), 7.56 (1H, bs), 7.41 (2H, t, J = 7.8 Hz), 7.35 (2H, d, J = 9.0 Hz), 7.31-7.30 (1H, m), 7.26 (1H, t, J = 7.2 Hz), 7.21 (2H, d, J = 7.8 Hz), 7.17 (1H, t, J = 7.8 Hz), 7.04 (1H, t, J = 7.2 Hz), 7.01 (2H, d, J = 8.4 Hz), 6...