Facile Synthesis of Non-nucleoside Compounds Starting from α-Chlorocarbenium Ions and Isocyanates as Potential HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase Inhibitors

Abstract

Chloro(phenyl)carbenium hexachloroantimonate salts react with isocyanates to afford either isoindolium (1) or benzoxazinium salts (2). Addition of one equivalent of alcohol to 2 led, after hydrolysis with aq. NaOH, to the formation of benzoxazin-2-ones 3. Treatment with a large excess of alcohol transformed the salts 1 and 2 to the corresponding isoindol-1-ones 11 and the isocyanates 5, respectively. Reaction of 5 with primary amines furnished the urea derivatives 6 in good yield. The biological activity of 6a -o against HIV-1 was determined.