Tropinone is an alkaloid, famously synthesised in 1917 by Robert Robinson as a synthetic precursor to atropine, a scarce commodity during World War I.[2][3] Tropinone and the alkaloids cocaine and atropine all share the same tropane core structure. Its corresponding conjugate acid at pH 7.3 major species is known as tropiniumone.[4]
Synthesis
The first synthesis of tropinone was by Richard Willstätter in 1901. It started from the seemingly related cycloheptanone, but required many steps to introduce the nitrogen bridge; the overall yield for the synthesis path is only 0.75%.[5] Willstätter had previously synthesized cocaine from tropinone, in what was the first synthesis and elucidation of the structure of cocaine.[6]
This reaction is described as an intramolecular "double Mannich reaction" for obvious reasons. It is not unique in this regard, as others have also attempted it in piperidine synthesis.[9][10]
In place of acetone, acetonedicarboxylic acid is known as the "synthetic equivalent" the 1,3-dicarboxylic acid groups are so-called "activating groups" to facilitate the ring forming reactions. The calcium salt is there as a "buffer" as it is claimed that higher yields are possible if the reaction is conducted at "physiologicalpH".
Reaction mechanism
The main features apparent from the reaction sequence below are:
New enolate formation and new imine formation with loss of water for
Second intramolecular Mannich reaction and second ring closure
Loss of 2 carboxylic groups to tropinone
Some authors have actually tried to retain one of the CO2H groups.[11]
CO2R-tropinone has 4 stereoisomers, although the corresponding ecgonidine alkyl ester has only a pair of enantiomers.
From cycloheptanone
IBX dehydrogenation (oxidation) of cycloheptanone (suberone) to 2,6-cycloheptadienone [1192-93-4] followed by reaction with an amine is versatile a way of forming tropinones.[12][13] The mechanism evoked is clearly delineated to be a double Michael reaction (i.e. conjugate addition).
Biochemistry method
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The reduction of tropinone is mediated by NADPH-dependent reductase enzymes, which have been characterized in multiple plant species.[15] These plant species all contain two types of the reductase enzymes, tropinone reductase I and tropinone reductase II. TRI produces tropine and TRII produces pseudotropine. Due to differing kinetic and pH/activity characteristics of the enzymes and by the 25-fold higher activity of TRI over TRII, the majority of the tropinone reduction is from TRI to form tropine.[16]
^Doble M, Kruthiventi AK (2007). Green Chemistry and Engineering. Oxford: Elsevier. p. 34. ISBN978-0-12-372532-5.
^Birch AJ (1993). "Investigating a Scientific Legend: The Tropinone Synthesis of Sir Robert Robinson, F.R.S". Notes and Records of the Royal Society of London. 47 (2): 277–296. doi:10.1098/rsnr.1993.0034. JSTOR531792. S2CID143267467.
^Wang S, Sakamuri S, Enyedy IJ, Kozikowski AP, Deschaux O, Bandyopadhyay BC, Tella SR, Zaman WA, Johnson KM (2000). "Discovery of a novel dopamine transporter inhibitor, 4-hydroxy-1-methyl-4-(4-methylphenyl)-3-piperidyl 4-methylphenyl ketone, as a potential cocaine antagonist through 3D-database pharmacophore searching. Molecular modeling, structure-activity relationships, and behavioral pharmacological studies". Journal of Medicinal Chemistry. 43 (3): 351–360. doi:10.1021/jm990516x. PMID10669562.
^Wang S, Sakamuri, Enyedy, Kozikowski, Zaman, Johnson (2001). "Molecular modeling, structure--activity relationships and functional antagonism studies of 4-hydroxy-1-methyl-4-(4-methylphenyl)-3-piperidyl 4-methylphenyl ketones as a novel class of dopamine transporter inhibitors". Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry. 9 (7): 1753–1764. doi:10.1016/S0968-0896(01)00090-6. PMID11425577.
^Nicolaou KC, Montagnon T, Baran PS, Zhong YL (2002). "Iodine(V) reagents in organic synthesis. Part 4. O-Iodoxybenzoic acid as a chemospecific tool for single electron transfer-based oxidation processes". Journal of the American Chemical Society. 124 (10): 2245–58. doi:10.1021/ja012127+. PMID11878978.