Synthesis and reactivity of 5-methylenehydantoins

5-Methylenehydantoin, as well as the N-mono- and N,N-di-protected derivatives, can be obtained by different synthetic routes. These compounds can undergo a large variety of reactions, such as Diels–Alder, epoxidation, methanol addition and conjugate addition reactions of different types of nucleophiles, including carbon (cyanide), nitrogen (piperidine) and sulfur (thiols, thioacetate) nucleophiles. The reactivity with electrophilic reagents, such as m-CPBA or methanol in acidic medium, and the need for Lewis acids to promote the conjugate addition reactions indicate that hydantoin is a poor electron-withdrawing group.