The synthetic versatility of alkoxycarbonyl- and hydroxymethyl-piperazine-2,5-diones

Alkoxycarbonylpiperazine-2,5-diones are versatile precursors for the α-functionalisation of piperazine-2,5-diones. The alkoxycarbonyl group activates the α-carbon position to alkylation reactions and this provides a mild and selective method for the extension of the carbon framework of piperazine-2,5-diones. In addition, the alkoxycarbonyl group can be converted to the carboxy group, which in turn can be ‘deleted’ or manipulated for the installation of carbon and/or heteroatom substituents where desired, the latter via N-acyliminium chemistry. We also demonstrate that hydroxymethylpiperazine-2,5-diones complement carboxypiperazinediones as precursors for the generation of N-acyliminium ions.