Pyridine and Pyrimidine Derivatives as Privileged Scaffolds in Biologically Active Agents

Pyridine and pyrimidine derivatives have received great interest in recent pharmacological research, being effective in the treatment of various malignancies, such as myeloid leukemia, breast cancer and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Most of the FDA approved drugs show a pyridine or pyrimidine core bearing different substituents. The aim of this review is to describe the most recent reports in this field, with reference to the newly discovered pyridineor pyrimidine-based drugs, to their synthesis and to the evaluation of the most biologically active derivatives. The corresponding benzo-fused heterocyclic compounds, i.e. quinolines and quinazolines, are also reported.

Preparation and Reactions of Trichloromethyl-Substituted Pyridine and Pyrimidine Derivatives

The three-component reaction of lithiated methoxyallene, nitriles and trichloroacetic acid gave three model β-keto enamides that were starting materials for the synthesis of trichloromethyl-substituted pyridine and pyrimidine N-oxide derivatives. Upon treatment with acetic anhydride, the methyl group of the prepared pyrimidine N-oxides was converted into an acetoxymethyl group by a Boekelheide rearrangement. A few typical experiments also revealed that the trichloromethyl group of the prepared pyrimidine N-oxides can be replaced by an alkoxy or a hydroxy group, or transformed into an arylthiomethyl group. An alternative approach to β-keto enamides via the corresponding β-keto enamines was also examined and provided the expected 4-hydroxy-6-(trichloromethyl)pyridine derivative in good yield.

The Flögel-three-component reaction with dicarboxylic acids – an approach to bis(β-alkoxy-β-ketoenamides) for the synthesis of complex pyridine and pyrimidine derivatives

An extension of the substrate scope of the Flögel-three-component reaction of lithiated alkoxyallenes, nitriles and carboxylic acids is presented. The use of dicarboxylic acids allowed the preparation of symmetrical bis(β-ketoenamides) from simple starting materials in moderate yields. Cyclocondensations of these enamides to 4-hydroxypyridine derivatives or to functionalized pyrimidines efficiently provided symmetrically and unsymmetrically substituted fairly complex (hetero)aromatic compounds containing up to six conjugated aryl and hetaryl groups. In addition, subsequent functionalizations of the obtained heterocycles by palladium-catalyzed couplings or by oxidations are reported. We also describe the simple synthesis of a structurally interesting macrocyclic bispyrimidine derivative incorporating a 17-membered ring, whose configuration was elucidated by DFT calculations and by subsequent reactions.