Pyrrolo-dihydropteridines via a cascade reaction consisting of iminium cyclization and O-N Smiles rearrangement

The reactions of 5-pyrrolyl-pyrimidinyloxyacetaldehyde or methyl ketone with primary amines yielded hydroxymethylpyrrolopteridine derivatives via a cascade of iminium cyclization and O-N Smiles rearrangement. The present cascade exhibited a different profile compared to the previously reported ones, which consisted of N-N Smiles rearrangement. Lewis acid (TiCl4) under carefully controlled conditions was employed to suppress the competing formation of imine dimers to give the desired heterocycles. A plausible mechanism involving the iminium cyclization and Smiles rearrangement is proposed. This methodology has been used to generate a series of 6-hydroxymethylpyrrolo[1,2-f]pteridine derivatives with potential biological activities.