PROCESS FOR THE PREPARATION OF ALPHA-AMINO ALPHA-HYDROGEN CARBOXYLIC ACID AMIDES

Abstract: The invention relates to a process for the preparation of α-amino-α-hydrogen carboxylic acid amides of the formula where R₁ represents alkyl, alkaryl, aryl, alkenyl, heteroalkyl or heteroaryl, whether or not substituted, by conversion of the corresponding amino nitriles and is characterized in that the conver­ sion takes place in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. By preference use is made of 2-6 moles hydrogen peroxide and 3-12 moles ammonia per mole α-amino nitrile.

Description: The invention relates to a process for the preparation of α-amino-α-hydrogen carboxylic acid amides having the formula: where R₁ represents alkyl, alkaryl, aryl, alkenyl, heteroalkyl or heteroaryl, whether or not substituted, by conversion of the corresponding amino nitriles. The α-amino-α-hydrogen carboxylic acid amides obtained can be used in the synthesis of optically pure α-amino acids. Both the amides and the acids can be used in the pharmaceutical, agricultural and the flavours and fragrances industries. GB-A-1548032 discloses that α-amino acid amides can be pre­ pared by conversion of the corresponding nitriles with the aid of a ketone at a pH of 12.5-13.5. JP-A-31-44545 discloses a comparable con­ version, the pH here being higher than 14. This necessitates use of a stronger base than ammonia. The drawback of such processes resides notably in the problem that sterically hindered amino nitriles are converted only very slowly. A good example is the nitrile of tertiary leucine, with R₁ being t-butyl. In addition, the strongly basic alkali hydroxides and tetraalkyl ammonium hydroxides that are used necessitate removal of the inorganic salts in the purification of the α-amino acid amide obtained. This is of importance in particular if the amides obtained are the be used as substrate for enzymatic reactions, the reaction rate of an enzymatic conversion being adversely affected by high salt concentrations. The object of the invention is to eliminate said drawbacks. The invention therefore provides a process for the prepara­ tion of α-amino-α-hydrogen carboxylic acid amides having the formula where R₁ represents an alkyl, alkaryl, aryl, alkenyl, heteroalkyl or heteroaryl, whether or not substituted, by conversion of the corresponding amino nitriles and is characterized in that the conver­ sion takes place in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. This ensures that the conversion from nitrile to amide is effected within a few hours, independent of the bulkiness of R₁. R₁ may, for instance, be t-butyl, 1-methylcyclohexyl and 1,1-dimethyl­ propyl. In addition, the amides obtained can be purified in a simple manner since the ammonia can simply be removed by distillation after decomposition of the excess hydrogen peroxide using, for instance, palladium-on-carbon. Another advantage is that the α-amino acid amides obtained can in a simple manner be converted into the corresponding α-amino acids by means of 1 to 2 equivalents of a strong base such as NaOH or KOH. It is true that an α-amino acid can be prepared directly from the corresponding α-amino nitrile, but this requires the use of 6 equiva­ lents of a strong acid, such as HCl. This has the disadvantage that the environment is highly corrosive in that case. It is true that JP-A-83-31830 discloses a conversion of an α-amino nitrile into an α-amino acid amide in which hydrogen peroxide in a basic environment is used, but this relates to the synthesis of α-methyl-α-amino acid amides rather than α-hydrogen-α-amino acid ami­ des. Furthermore, use is made of an alkali metal hydroxide or carbonate as base, which gives rise to the problems already described when the amide is subjected to the further treatment. In the preparation according to said publication also a very high concentration of hydro­ gen peroxide is used. The process according to the invention is preferably carried out in the presence of 2-6 moles hydrogen peroxide, in particular in the presence of about 2.2 moles hydrogen peroxide, per mole α-amino nitrile. In general it is attempted not to use more moles hydrogen peroxide per mole α-amino nitrile than is strictly necessary. The amount of ammonia to be used in the process according to the invention may vary between 3 and 12 moles NH₃ per mole α-amino nitrile. In particular use is made of between 5 and 8 moles NH₃. Use of more than 12 moles NH₃ does not yield additional advantages. On the whole, the reaction proceeds well if the pH is kept above 9. Upon completion of the reaction, after decomposition of hydrogen peroxide with a reducing agent, the excess ammonia can be removed by, for instance, distillation. This way it is prevented that, besides the desired α-amino acid amides, salts are formed that subsequently have to be removed. The process according to the invention can be carried out at various temperatures. By preference a temperature between 0 and 50°C is used, in particular one between 25 and 45°C. The amino nitriles being thermally instable, it is preferred not to use a higher tem­ perature. The stability of the α-amino nitrile determines the allowable temperature. The α-amino nitriles decompose notable above 60°C into cyanide and ketones, upon which the cyanide may polymerize under the prevailing reaction conditions. The process is generally carried out in solvents such as water and lower alcohols, such as methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopro­ panol, butanol, etc. In principle, higher alcohols may also be used, but they are less interesting because of the poorer miscibility with water. Furthermore use can be made of other organic solvents that can be mixed with water, such as dioxane and tetrahydrofuran. When carried out as described above, the reaction is completed within a few hours. The reaction is not affected by R₁, which can, therefore, in principle be chosen at random. R₁ will generally be an alkyl, alkenyl, aryl, alkaryl, heteroalkyl or heteroaryl group, it of course being possible for the alkyl group to be cyclic. The bulkiness of said group is not important, either, but mostly it will contain not more than 20 carbon atoms. R₁ may optionally be a substituted hydrocarbon residue, insofar as the substituent does not react under the reaction con­ ditions. As such, notably compounds containing oxygen and nitrogen can be mentioned, in particular alkoxy and alkylamine. The optically active α-amino-α-hydrogen carboxylic acid ami­ des and the corresponding acids will generally find application in compounds consisting in part of amino acids or amino acid analogues. R₁ therefore preferably is an organic group, whether or not substi­ tuted, that is closely related to corresponding groups of natural amino acids. Examples are methyl, ethyl, isopropyl, 2-butyl, benzyl, hydroxymethyl, methoxymethyl, benzopyrrolyl, methoxy-substituted ben­ zyl groups and methylimidazolyl. The α-amino nitriles may, for instance, be synthesized by addition of hydrochloric acid to aldehydes in an ammonia-containing environment. A process for doing this is described, for instance, in Org. Synth. Collect. Vol. 3, p. 84 (R.E. Steiger). Conversion of the nitrile into the amide may take place imme­ diately upon addition. It is not necessary, and ofter even unde­ sirable, to isolate the α-amino nitrile since these amino-nitriles may be thermally unstable. After the conversion into α-amino acid amides, which are stable at the usual temperatures, first the excess hydrogen peroxide can be decomposed by means of a reducing agent, after which the ammo­ nia can simply be evaporated. If desired, subsequently separation of the optical isomers can take place. The L-α-amino acid can be obtained by optical separation of the D,L compound, for instance by use of an amidase-containing enzyme preparation obtained from a Pseudomonas putida culture. The optical separation of the D,L compounds could, however, also be effected using physicochemical methods, in which the amide, which already is virtually pure, can very simply be used. The α-amino-α-hydrogen carboxylic acid amides and corresponding acids may serve as intermediaries in the synthesis of products for the agricultural, pharmaceutical and flavours and fragrances industries. Possible applications are, for instance, ampi­ cillin, penicillin, aspartame. The invention will be elucidated with reference to the following examples, without being restricted thereto. Example I An amount of 30 ml concentrated acetic acid was slowly added to 300 ml concentrated ammonia and 70 ml NaCN (30 % solution). The temperature was kept below 40°C. At a temperature ≦ 40°C, 0.5 mole (36 g) isobutyraldehyde was dropwise added. The mixture was stirred for 3 hours at 40°C, upon which it could, if desired, without further treat­ ment, be used for the reaction according to the invention. The amino nitrile obtained, in this case valinonitrile, can, however, also be isolated by extraction with 50 ml toluene. This obviates the need to remove the inorganic salts, present during this preparation, at the end of the next step. Example II In one hour, 49 g (0.5 mole) valinonitrile, obtained in accordance with Example I, and 130 ml hydrogen peroxide (30 % = 1.1 mole) were simultaneously added dropwise to 250 ml concentrated ammo­ nia (12 N). The temperature of the reaction mixture was kept at 30°C. After 2 hours' stirring, 1 g palladium-on-carbon was added to decom­ pose the excess hydrogen peroxide. The palladium-on-carbon was sub­ sequently filtered off and the aqueous layer was evaporated at reduced pressure (T ≦ 40°C). An amount of 32 g valineamide (50 %) was isolated. This yield relates to the result of both the nitrile pre­ paration and the amide preparation according to the invention. Example III Tertiary leucinonitrile and hydrogen peroxide (30 %) were simultaneously added to 300 ml concentrated ammonia in amounts of 0.5 mole (56 g) and 130 ml, respectively. The tertiary leucinonitrile had been obtained from 0.5 mole pivaldehyde in a reaction that was analo­ gous to that of Example I. Addition of the reagents took about an hour, the temperature being kept below 40°C. After another hours's stirring, the hydrogen peroxide was reduced with 1 g 5 % palladium-on-­ carbon and the solid matter was filtered off. The aqueous solution was evaporated at reduced pressure (T ≦ 40°C) and 39 g tertiary leucine­ amide (60 %) could be recovered as white crystalline material. Examples IV through VII In ways analogous to Examples I and II, α-amino-α-hydrogen carboxylic acid amides were prepared from the aldehydes shown in Table 1. The results obtained when the amino nitriles were added as such and when they were added as a solution in toluene or methanol (50 %) were similar. In some cases it is possible to add an α-amino nitrile to a mixture of ammonia and hydrogen peroxide. The yields are based on two steps, from aldehyde via the nitrile to amide.

Claims: 1. Process for the preparation of α-amino-α-hydrogen carboxylic acid amides of the formula where R₁ represents alkyl, alkaryl, aryl, alkenyl, heteroalkyl or heteroaryl, whether or not substituted, by conversion of the corresponding amino nitriles, characterized in that the conversion takes place in the presence of hydrogen peroxide and ammonia. 2. Process according to claim 1, characterized in that it is carried out using 2-6 moles hydrogen peroxide per mole α-amino nitrile. 3. Process according to claim 2, characterized in that use is made of about 2.2 moles hydrogen peroxide per mole α-amino nitrile. 4. Process according to any of claims 1-3, characterized in that it is carried out using 3-12 moles ammonia per mole α-amino nitrile. 5. Process according to claim 4, characterized in that it is carried out using 5-8 moles ammonia per mole α-amino nitrile. 6. Process according to any of claims 1-5, characterized in that it is carried out at a temperature between 0 and 50°C. 7. Process according to claim 6, characterized in that it is carried out at a temperature between 25 and 45°C.

Inventors: BOESTEN, WIHELMUS H. J., KAMPHUIS, JOHAN
Applicants: STAMICARBON B.V.
Application year: 1986
Main classification: C07C231
IPC codes: C07C231, B01J27, C07D233, C07C67, C07D209, C07C237