Multigram Synthesis of 4,4-Disubstituted 3-Oxopyrrolidones: Efficient Starting Materials for Diverse 3-Functionalized Pyrrolidones

Abstract The practical, rapid development of chemical leads for drug discovery depends strongly on scalable building block synthesis procedures. N-Heterocyclic moieties, especially unsaturated ones, remain essential tools in the hands of screening and medicinal chemists. Here, we report four novel chemical block families and the interconversions between them. The synthesis of 4,4-disubstituted 3-oxopyrrolidones was an essential milestone in the diversity-oriented production of 3-aminopyrrolidones, 3-hydroxypyrrolidones, and 3,3′-difluoropyrrolidines. These compounds can be functionalized with conformationally flexible spirocyclic substituents. We developed a multigram procedure to access 4,4-disubstituted 3-oxopyrrolidones from commercially accessible and cost-saving reagents via a short three-step procedure. Here, we report the robust conversion of 3-oxopyrrolidones into 3-aminopyrrolidones, 3,3′-difluoropyrrolidones, and 3-hydroxypyrrolidones, involving a minimal number of steps. We demonstrate the scope and limitations and further perspectives for such synthetic approaches.