A Facile Synthesis of Tetracycles of the γ-Lycorane Type

Abstract

When an attempted application of the general scheme of alkaloid synthesis, based on the partial hydrogenation of 1 -alkyl-3-acylpyridinium salts and acid-induced cyclization of the resultant 2-piperideines,² to the construction of an Amaryllidaceae alkaloid system failed in the cyclization step, i.e. the transformation of dihydroisoquinoline 4a (prepared by the treatment of ester 2a ³ with 5-bromo-2 -pentanone ethylene ketal, followed by hydrogenation of the salt over palladium-charcoal) into a tricyclic ketal ester,⁴ an alternate, route of synthesis still utilizing a previously prepared isoquinoline precursor (3b) was investigated. The initial observation of the easy conversion of 3b into N-methyl (1a) and O-ethyl products (2b) was helpful in this connection.