Novel synthetic route to 1,4-dihydropyridines from β-amino acrylates by using titanium(IV) chloride under facile conditions

The reactions of Boc-β-amido- and β-amino acrylates, in which the Cdouble bond; length as m-dashC possesses both nucleophilic and electrophilic sites, were investigated under acidic conditions. The trifluoroacetic-acid induced cyclization of the β-amido acrylates to the corresponding oxazolidin-2-ones involves a rarely seen nucleophilic attack of the carbamate carbonyl group. The cyclotrimerization of β-amino acrylates to N-substituted 1,4-dihydropyridines was observed in the presence of a Lewis acid. High yields of 1,4-dihydropyridines (70–83%) were readily obtained by using substoichiometric amount TiCl4 under mild condition. The cyclotrimerization is presumably occurring via a Hantzsch related mechanism involving three addition/elimination reactions of the amphiphilically reactive Cdouble bond; length as m-dashC.