A difluoromethyl group (CF2H) is considered to be a lipophilic and metabolically stable bioisostere of an amino (NH2) group. Therefore, methods that can directly convert a NH2 group into a CF2H group would be of great value to medicinal chemistry. We report an efficient Cu-catalyzed approach for the conversion of alkyl pyridinium salts, which can be readily synthesized from the corresponding alkyl amines, to their alkyl difluoromethane analogues. This protocol tolerates a broad range of functional groups and can be applied to late-stage modification of complex amino-containing pharmaceuticals.
Authors: Samson B. Zacate
Faculty Advisor: Dr. Wei Liu, Chemistry and Biochemistry
Xiaojun Zeng, Wenhao Yan, Aijie Cai, Yufei Wang, Dongqi Yang, Kundi Yang, Wei Liu
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