Lewis acid-promoted direct substitution of 2-methoxy-3-cyanopyridines by organo cuprates. Part 3: Facile preparation of nicotinamide and nicotinic acid derivatives

2-Methoxy-3-cyano-4,6-diarylpyridines were subjected to Lewis acid-promoted nucleophilic displacement reactions with various organo cuprates to afford the corresponding 2,4,6-trisubstituted nicotinonitriles. Subsequent hydrolysis of compounds 10 and 11 afforded the corresponding 2,4,6-trisubstituted nicotinic acid 22 and nicotinamide 23 derivatives, respectively. The mechanism of the displacement reaction has been studied experimentally and by molecular modeling calculations.