Facile one-pot synthesis of 1-amido alkyl-2-naphthols by RuCl2(PPh3)3-catalyzed multi-component reactions

We have developed an efficient and general synthesis of 1-amidoalkyl-2-naphthols by RuCl2(PPh3)3-catalyzed one-pot multi-component reaction of 2-naphthol with aromatic aldehydes and amides. The advantages of these methodologies are easy handling, mild reaction conditions, and use of an effective and non-toxic catalyst. Molecules bearing 1,3-amino oxygenated functional groups have been reported to exhibit a variety of biological and pharmacological activities including nucleoside antibiotics and HIV protease inhibitors such as ritonavir and lipinavir. Importantly, 1-amidoalkyl-2-naphthols can be easily converted to biologically active 1-aminomethyl-2-naphthols by amide hydrolysis. These compounds also exhibit potent antihypertensive, adrenoceptor-blocking, and Ca+2 channel-blocking activities. Because of the importance of these compounds, numerous methods for the synthesis of 1-amidoalkyl-2-naphthols have been described. The reported methods mainly include one-pot three-component reactions of 2-naphthol, aromatic aldehydes, and amides