Synthesis of Electron-Deficient Heteroaromatic 1,3-Substituted Cyclobutyls via Zinc Insertion/Negishi Coupling Sequence under Batch and Automated Flow Conditions

Org Lett. 2018 Dec 21;20(24):8022-8025. doi: 10.1021/acs.orglett.8b03588. Epub 2018 Dec 10.

Abstract

Synthesis of 1,3-substituted cyclobutyls enabled by zinc insertion into functionalized iodocyclobutyl derivatives followed by Negishi coupling with halo-heteroaromatics is reported. Two distinct sets of conditions were developed; the first involved a two-step batch protocol using activated Rieke zinc, and the second involved a multistep continuous flow process. Both methods showed complementarity and allowed for rapid access to these medicinally relevant motifs, the possibility of scaling up, and automation for library synthesis.