The Bruylants and related reactions

This review focuses on the Bruylants reaction, namely the substitution with Grignard reagents of the cyano group in  -aminonitriles. This reaction goes through an iminium ion intermediate and proceeds with excellent stereoselectivities. The extension to organozinc reagents has been successfully applied. Triazoles such as benzotriazole and especially 1,2,3-triazole appear as relevant substitutes for the cyano leaving group. An alternative pathway for substitution of the cyano group involves an  -alkylation-decyanation sequence. Selected applications in organic synthesis are proposed.


Introduction
The bifunctional -aminonitriles display a rich reactivity and appear as important intermediates in organic synthesis. 13][4][5][6][7] One aspect of their reactivity involves the electrophilic cyano group which is able to react with nucleophiles such as organometallics or hydride donors.On the other hand, they also display nucleophilic properties with the amine function.-Aminonitriles bearing an -hydrogen atom can be deprotonated with strong bases and then attack electrophiles in addition or substitution reactions. 8-Aminonitriles are precursors of iminium ions that react with various nucleophiles.Attack by the hydride ion provides an access to the reductive decyanation product. 9,10The iminium intermediates can also react with organometallic reagents.In particular, the reaction with Grignard reagents, discovered by Bruylants in the 1920s, appears widely used in organic synthesis to afford tertiary amine moieties (Scheme 1). 11,12heme 1. Bruylants reaction.This review presents the Bruylants reaction which is already an old transformation -however, over the years improvements as well as new variants have emerged.In the first part, chemoselectivity along with mechanistic considerations are examined.The extension to other leaving groups and organometallic reagents is discussed.Furthermore, synthetic applications aiming to show the usefulness of the Bruylants reaction are proposed.

Reactivity of Grignard Reagents towards -Aminonitriles and Chemoselectivity
The Bruylants reaction was first described on N,N-disubstituted -aminonitriles. 11,12Beside the substitution, the reactions of piperidinonitriles with isomers of butylmagnesium chloride afforded other products. 13The main competing reaction is the normal addition to the cyano group to form an imine and ultimately a carbonyl group.4][15][16][17][18] An example is provided in Scheme 2 on piperidine and pyrrolidine derivatives 1a-b. 19The reaction leads to ketones 2a-b with small amounts of dimers 4a-b formed from deprotonation by the Grignard reagent followed by condensation on the cyano group. 13,14,1822,25,26 Scheme 2. Reactivity of -aminonitriles unsubstituted at the -carbon.

Mechanism Considerations and Iminium Ion Promoters
As shown in Scheme 1, the accepted mechanism proceeds by the loss of the cyanide ion followed by addition of the nucleophile on the resulting iminium ion.Starting from the reaction of a Grignard reagent with a combined aminonitrile-oxazolidine system, Aitken et al. consider the possible participation of another mechanism.This pathway, plausible according to orbital interactions, 19 implies the formation of a N-Mg complex followed by an intramolecular substitution followed thus with inversion of configuration at the reactive center (Scheme 4). 33cheme 4. Intramolecular substitution mechanism.
In this context, they examined the reaction of the chiral -aminonitrile 7.An iminium ion intermediate should lead to a racemic mixture while an inversion of configuration is expected with the path described in Scheme 4. Results obtained with 7 are shown in Table 1.The reaction proceeds with excellent yields with two equivalents of Grignard reagent but unreacted starting material was found with one equivalent.Interestingly, unreacted 7 was racemized while a racemic form of products was formed in agreement with the iminium ion intermediate formation.With one equivalent of MeMgBr, the reaction appears very slow past 50% conversion and even after 43 h, the reaction was not complete (8/7 = 77/23).When MeMgBr was replaced by MgBr 2 •OEt 2 , the reaction naturally did not take place but the starting aminonitrile was extensively racemized. 33Similar results are obtained when the phenyl group in 7 was replaced with a benzyl group.The authors then proposed a more detailed mechanism described in Scheme 5.One equivalent of the Grignard reagent helps to generate the iminium ion (step a) while the second equivalent adds to the iminium ion (b).The partial racemization of the unreacted -aminonitrile suggests that step (a) is equilibrated (c).MgX 2 present in the medium as by-product or from the Schlenk equilibrium (e) could play a role in a concomitant cyanide elimination-readdition (d), while (R 3 ) 2 Mg might act as nucleophile in step (b).Although the use of 1.1 equivalents was reported, usually at least two equivalents of Grignard reagent are used in the Bruylants reaction. 34However, decyanating reagents are helpful to promote the loss of the cyanide ion and produce the iminium intermediate prior to the addition of the nucleophile.Silver salts, typically AgBF 4 29 and AgOTf have been used successfully. 35This effect was quantified by Agami and co-workers during the preparation of allylic amines. 30In this work, the -aminonitriles were treated with AgBF 4 in THF for 10 minutes at room temperature prior to the addition of the vinylic Grignard reagent at low temperature.
Selected results obtained with vinylmagnesium bromides are reported in Scheme 6. Curiously, with acetylenic Grignard reagents, the addition of AgBF

Enantioselective synthesis of clavepictine analogues
Agami and co-workers prepared a series of clavepictine analogues and tested their cytotoxic activity.For this work end, they synthetized -aminonitrile 12 which was reacted with various Grignard reagents (Scheme 7). 37

AUTHOR(S)
Substitution products 13 are obtained with good yields and high stereocontrol.The stereoselectivity can be explained by an axial attack on the iminium ion conformer 14 in a chair-like transition state.[41][42][43] Scheme 7. Synthesis of precursors of clavepictine analogues.When R = vinyl, 12 was first treated with 1.5 equiv of AgBF 4 at room temperature for 10 minutes, then vinylmagnesium bromide in THF was added at -78 °C.TBDPS = tert-butyldiphenylsilyl.

Dual reactivity of -aminonitriles: Bruylants versus alkylation-decyanation reactions
Two pathways for the substitution of the cyano group are possible (Scheme 8). 24The Bruylants reaction (path a) or deprotonation, alkylation and reductive decyanation by hydride donors (path b). 44,45Both sequences go through an iminium ion.When a facial discrimination of this intermediate is possible, the configuration of the new chiral center can be induced and a diastereoselectivity is obtained.This dual reactivity was used during the preparation of (+)-and (−)-coniine 29 or indolizidine alkaloids. 40,42,43Alternatively, the decyanation step can take place by using dissolving metal conditions. 46heme 8. Substitution pathways for -aminonitriles.
Hyacinthacines belong to the class of pyrrolizidine alkaloids, [47][48][49] and some representatives have been prepared using a Bruylants reaction. 35,50,51Delair and co-workers obtained the two epimers hyacinthacines A 6 and A 7 . 52In their strategy, they envisioned that a bulk protecting group of the cis-hydroxyl groups could play an important role in the steric differentiation of the two reagent faces and introduced a benzylidene diol protection.For the preparation of hyacinthacine A 6 , -deprotonation of protected diol 15 followed by alkylation afforded the methylated aminonitrile 16.Reductive decyanation using LiEt 3 BH (Super-Hydride®) gave the desired isomer 17 precursor of hyacinthacine A 6 (Scheme 9).Scheme 9. Synthesis of hyacinthacine A 6 .
The authors then projected to obtain the hyacinthacine A 7 , the C-5 epimer, by using a Bruylants reaction.Unfortunately, when the Bruylants reaction with MeMgBr was performed on -aminonitrile 15, the preferred attack on the less hindered exo face occurred only with a poor stereoselectivity (17, dr ≤ 3:2).Further investigations led the authors to reduce steric hindrance at the C-3 position and to use a bulkier Grignard reagent.They chose the dimethylphenylsilylmethyl group as a methyl equivalent and introduced a benzyloxymethyl group at C-3 (18).The Bruylants reaction starting from PhMe 2 SiCH 2 MgBr and 18 afforded 19, precursor of hyacinthacine A 7 , with high diastereoselectivity (Scheme 10).Scheme 10.Synthesis of hyacinthacine A 7 .Bn = benzyl.

Strecker-Bruylants sequence. Intramolecular Bruylants reactions
In 1850, Strecker described a synthesis of -aminonitriles starting from acetaldehyde, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide.][58][59][60][61][62][63][64] Thoma and co-workers discovered NIBR-1282, an orally bioavailable CCR5-antagonist active in vivo. 65 Intramolecular Strecker and Bruylants reactions also have been applied. 66,67The last two steps of the synthesis of cis-erythrinane, both intramolecular, are depicted in Scheme 12. 68 The intermediate 23, containing both secondary amine and a protected carbonyl group is first hydrolyzed and treated with KCN to give 24.Curiously, generating the organomagnesium from 24 with Mg lead to a complex reaction mixture.Thus, the Grignard reagent was cleanly prepared by a halogen-magnesium exchange reaction using ipropylmagnesium chloride at -50 °C while the Bruylants reaction required an elevation of temperature.The authors used a similar strategy for the synthesis of 1-benzyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinolines. 66Scheme 12. Intramolecular Bruylants reaction.

Reactions of -Aminonitriles with other Organometallic Reagents
Starting from N,N-disubstituted -aminonitriles, the more reactive organolithium reagents show a marked tendency towards nucleophilic addition 14,22,25,31,64,67,69,70 even if the substitution has been observed with poor yields. 71However, N-monosubstituted substrates reveal a preference for the substitution pathway, via the formation of a Schiff base. 25,32Kudzma and co-workers have prepared 4-heteroaryl-4-anilinopiperidines by a modified Bruylants reaction (Scheme 13). 72The starting nitriles 25 (1 equiv) were added to a lithiated thiazole derivative (2 equiv).Elimination of hydrogen cyanide leads to the Schiff base 26 which is attacked by the second equivalent of the lithiated heterocycle to give the final product in high yields (27a-c).The reaction also was successful from 2-lithio-5-methylfuran (27d) and 2-lithiopyridine (27e) but a modest yield was obtained with 2-lithiothiophene (27f).Scheme 13.Synthesis of 4-heteroaryl-4-anilinopiperidines from lithiated heterocycles.Yields refer successively to R = H and R = F except in the case of 27d and 27f.
4][75] Bernardi et al. performed the Bruylants reaction under Barbier and Reformatsky conditions and thus generated the organometallic species in situ. 76In this work, -aminonitriles were prepared by the Suginome's procedure, from aldehydes and bis(dialkylamino)cyanoboranes. 77In the standard procedure, allyl bromide or ethyl bromoacetate, zinc and acetic acid were successively added to a solution of -aminonitriles in THF.Addition of the acetic acid was determinant and could be related to the activation of the metal surface or the generation of the iminium ion.Examples are given in Scheme 14. Homoallylamines 28 or -aminoesters 29 are formed, generally in good yields, respectively from the Barbier and Reformatsky conditions.While steric hindrance does not seem to affect the Reformatsky reaction, this is not the case under Barbier conditions.When reactions are sluggish at room temperature, heating to reflux after addition of acetic acid appears beneficial (28d-e) (Scheme 14).Scheme 14. Reaction of organozincs under Barbier and Reformatsky conditions.Cy = cyclohexyl.
Poor nucleophiles such as alkyl and aryl zinc reagents have been used successfully. 78Martin and coworkers prepared libraries of 1,2,3-triazole-fused 1,4-benzodiazepines, privileged substructures for drug discovery.They exploited the -aminonitrile functionality to introduce diversification in their structures. 79,80esides the Reformatsky reaction, they also used methyl and phenylzinc bromides.The authors first observed the -deprotonation to the cyano group when they treated -aminonitrile 30f (R 1 = 4-OMeC 6 H 4 ) with phenylmagnesium bromide.After quenching the reaction mixture with acetic acid-d 4 , they obtained 31f in 56% yield accompanied with starting material 30f recovery containing more than 95% deuterium incorporation.To avoid the competitive deprotonation and to increase yields, weakly basic organozincs were first generated in situ by transmetallation with ZnCl 2 of the Grignard reagents, the -aminonitriles 30 then were added (Scheme 15).Scheme 15.Reaction of organozincs generated through transmetallation.

Alternatives to -Aminonitriles
When the cyanide source is replaced by a heterocyclic nucleophile, a safer route is available and side reactions due to the nucleophilic attack on the nitrile are avoided.In the course of studies on benzotriazoles mediated aminoalkylations, 81 Katritzky and co-workers proposed the preparation of new benzotriazolyl adducts by mixing cyclic ketones with benzotriazole and primary or secondary amines. 82Scheme 16 shows this sequence starting from cyclohexanone and morpholine.The adduct 32 reacts with Grignard reagents to yield the substitution products 34 or 35.Good yields are usually obtained but replacing benzotriazole with pyrazole afforded slightly lower yields.Reactions of vinyl and alkynyl Grignard reagents with 1-(aminoalkyl)benzotriazoles also produced the desired amines. 83heme 16. Preparation of tertiary amines from benzotriazole or pyrazole adducts and Grignard reagents.Yields in brackets refer to yields from 33.
This methodology was extended to the less reactive hindered ketones.Adducts 36 were first prepared from the reaction between the enamines corresponding to ketones and benzotriazole (BtH). 84In situ treatment with various nucleophiles affords products usually in fair to good yields (Scheme 17). 85The reaction with Grignard reagents affords tertiary alkyl amines (37a-d), treatment with lithium phenylacetylide yields propargylamines (38a-d) while lithiated heterocycles give -heteroarylamines (39a-d).
Scheme 17. Preparation of tertiary amines from benzotriazole adducts and Grignard or organolithium reagents.
Later this group reinvestigated the synthesis of NIBR-1282 outlines in Scheme 11.They developed each step of this route into a scalable process with the aim to work on a kilogram scale. 89In particular, they used 1,2,3-triazole instead of the cyanide source, the Strecker and Bruylants reactions were replaced by the variant, in one step, described in Scheme 19.The yield increases from 65% (2 steps, Scheme 11) to 73%.Interestingly, the authors analyzed the reaction mixture for various heterocycle analogues before the reaction with the Grignard reagent.The less basic 1,2,3-triazole minimized the enamine formation (1%, relative yield) compared to 1,2,4-triazole (9%) or pyrazole (26%).

Conclusions
Since its discovery, almost one hundred years ago, the Bruylants reaction has been widely used in organic synthesis and usually proceeds with good yields and high levels of stereoselectivity.Various Grignard reagents are applicable and the reaction has been extended to organozinc as nucleophiles.Nitrogen heterocycles as leaving groups appear as a safer and practical alternative to the cyanide ion and allow the use of organolithiums as the attacking nucleophiles.The substitution of the cyano group also is achieved by deprotonation-alkylation followed by a decyanation reaction.Switching from this sequence to the Bruylants reaction induces opposite stereoselectivities.
Starting from amine 20, the Strecker reaction was Ti(IV)-catalyzed and used Et 2 AlCN as cyanide source.Treatment of aminonitrile 21 with an excess of Grignard reagent afforded intermediate 22 precursor of NIBR-1282 (Scheme 11).

Table 1 .
Bruylants reactions of enantiomerically enriched 7 Effect of AgBF 4 as additive.Yields in brackets refer to yields without AgBF 4 .
4 was less efficient or even counterproductive.When -aminonitriles 9 or 10 precursors of tertiary amines 11 were treated with AgBF 4 in CDCl 3 , signals typical of the iminium ions where observed by NMR. 36Scheme 6.