Potassium Cyanide → (R)-1-(5-acetoxyhexyl)-7-benzyl-8-cyano-3-methylxanthine

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

To a solution of (R)-1-(5-acetoxyhexyl)-7-benzyl-8-bromo-3-methylxanthine (9.55 g, 20.0 mmol) in anhydrous dimethylsulfoxide was added potassium cyanide (1.43 g, 22.0 mmol). After stirring at 70-80° C. for 4.5 hours, the mixture was cooled to room temperature, quenched with water (500 ml) and extracted with ethyl acetate (4×150 ml). The combined extracts were washed with saturated aqueous sodium chloride solution (45 ml), dried over magnesium sulfate and the solvent was evaporated under reduced pressure. The crude product was purified by flash chromatography on silica gel eluting with ethyl acetate-hexane (1:1) to provide (R)-1-(5-acetoxyhexyl)-7-benzyl-8-cyano-3-methylxanthine (7.60 g, 90% yield) as a beige powder.

Provenance & Evidence