Ring opening of donor-acceptor cyclopropanes with the azide ion: a tool for construction of N-heterocycles.

A general method for ring opening of various donor-acceptor cyclopropanes with the azide ion through an SN 2-like reaction has been developed. This highly regioselective and stereospecific process proceeds through nucleophilic attack on the more-substituted C2 atom of a cyclopropane with complete inversion of configuration at this center. Results of DFT calculations support the SN 2 mechanism and demonstrate good qualitative correlation between the relative experimental reactivity of cyclopropanes and the calculated energy barriers. The reaction provides a straightforward approach to a variety of polyfunctional azides in up to 91 % yield. The high synthetic utility of these azides and the possibilities of their involvement in diversity-oriented synthesis were demonstrated by the developed multipath strategy of their transformations into five-, six-, and seven-membered N-heterocycles, as well as complex annulated compounds, including natural products and medicines such as (-)-nicotine and atorvastatin.