Regioselectivity, scope, and limitations of the addition of organolithium and allylmagnesium reagents to 1H-pyridine-2-thiones; access to 3,4-, 3,6-, and 5,6-dihydropyridine-2-thiones

Organolithium and lithium allyldibutylmagnesate reagents add to readily available NH, NMe, NBn, and NPh substituted pyridine-2-thiones yielding 4- and/or 6-substituted 3,4- or 3,6-dihydropyridine-2-thiones, respectively. The regioselectivity of the addition is dependent on the solvent, temperature, substituent at the nitrogen, and the type or organometallic reactant used, and allows tailoring of both systems. A simple conversion of 6-substituted β,γ-unsaturated δ-thiolactams into their α,β-unsaturated isomers makes the above processes a highly versatile synthetic methodology to access 6-substituted 5,6-dihydropyridine-2-thiones—valuable Michael acceptors.