Radical cyclization in heterocycle synthesis. Part 13: Sulfanyl radical addition–cyclization of oxime ethers and hydrazones connected with alkenes for synthesis of cyclic β-amino acids

A combination of sulfanyl radical addition–cyclization of the oxime ethers and hydrazones connected with alkenes and subsequent conversion of a phenylsulfanylmethyl group to a carboxyl group provides a novel method for the construction of the cyclic β-amino acids. Upon treatment with thiophenol in the presence of AIBN, the oxime ethers and hydrazones smoothly underwent sulfanyl radical addition-cyclization to give the 2-(phenylsulfanylmethyl)cycloalkylamine. This method was successfully applied to the practical synthesis of 2-aminocyclopentanecarboxylic acid and 4-amino-3-pyrrolidinecarboxylic acid.