Total Synthesis of Rutaecarpine and Analogues by Tandem Azido Reductive Cyclization Assisted by Microwave Irradiation

The total synthesis of rutaecarpine and several analogues has been developed by using an azido reductive cyclization process starting from substituted azido benzoic acids. The intramolecular azido reductive cyclization step was performed with triphenylphosphine or Ni2B in HCl-MeOH (1 M) using microwave irradiation. This synthetic route is amenable for the generation of a library of quinazolinone compounds.