Synthesis of heterocyclic methylenebisphosphonates by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of ethyl diazoacetate to 1,2-benzoxaphosphorin-3-phosphonates

Reaction of salicylaldehydes with tetraethyl ester of methylenebisphosphonic acid, under Knoevenagel reaction conditions, gives the corresponding 1,2-benzoxaphosphorin-3-phosphonates 5 in good yields. The [3+2] regio- and stereoselective cycloaddition of 5a and 5b with ethyl diazoacetate gives two P-4 epimers of the corresponding pyrazoline bisphosphonate tetraethyl esters 9 and 10. Analogously, ethyl diazoacetate reacts with I and 2 to give the expected pyrazolines 6-8. The structures of the new compounds are revealed and confirmed by analytical, spectroscopic data and X-ray crystallographic analysis. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.