Brønsted Acid-Catalyzed [3 + 2] Cycloaddition of Indoles with Azabicyclobutanes: Access to Indole-Fused
Debasis Aich1, Arpan Naskar1, Subrata Hazra1
1Department of Chemistry, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, West Bengal721302, India.
Abstract:
1-Azabicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes are valuable nitrogen-rich scaffolds with growing importance in medicinal chemistry. We report a Brønsted acid-catalyzed formal cycloaddition of N-substituted indoles with azabicyclobutane (ABB) ketones, providing a mild, transition-metal-free, and highly stereoselective route to aza-bicyclohexanes. Using pTSA·H2O in HFIP, the reaction proceeds at room temperature in up to 93% yield and 99:1 d.r. Mechanistic studies suggest cooperative activation by pTSA and HFIP via hydrogen-bond-assisted proton transfer. The synthesized scaffolds also exhibited promising antimicrobial activity.
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