Preparation of 6-alpha-amino N-substituted morphinans by catalytic hydrogen transfer

1. A process for preparing a 6-alpha-amino N-substituted morphinan, the process comprising contacting a 6-keto N-substituted morphinan with an amine source, a hydrogen donor comprising a formate ion, a transition metal catalyst, and a proton acceptor to form the 6-alpha-amino N-substituted morphinan, wherein the amine source comprises the formula R 6 NH 2 , wherein R 6 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, and substituted hydrocarbyl.

2. The process of claim 1 , wherein the 6-keto N-substituted morphinan is selected from the group consisting of hydrocodone, hydromorphone, oxycodone, oxymorphone, naloxone, and naltrexone; the amine source is selected from the group consisting of a primary amine and an ammonium salt; the hydrogen donor comprising a formate ion is selected from the group consisting of formic acid, a salt of formic acid, and a mixture of formic acid and an organic base; the transition metal catalyst comprises ruthenium, rhodium, or iridium; and the proton acceptor has a pKa of great than about 9.

3. The process of claim 1 , wherein contact between the 6-keto N-substituted morphinan, the amine source, the hydrogen donor, and the transition metal catalyst forms a first intermediate comprising a formate salt of a 6-imine N-substituted morphinan, the first intermediate being converted in situ to a second intermediate comprising a formate salt of a 6-alpha-amino morphinan, and contact between the second intermediate and the proton acceptor forms the 6-alpha-amino N-substituted morphinan.

4. The process of claim 1 , wherein the process produces a product comprising the 6-alpha-amino N-substituted morphinan and no more than about 2% of a 6-beta-amino morphinan epimer.

5. A process for preparing a compound of Formula (IV):

the process comprising:

reducing a compound of Formula (I) in the presence of an amine source (R 6 NH 2 ), a hydrogen donor comprising a formate ion, a transition metal catalyst, and a proton acceptor to form the compound of Formula (IV), the compound of Formula (I) having the structure:

wherein:

R is selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbyl and substituted hydrocarbyl;

R 1 and R 2 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, halogen, and {—}OR 15 ;

R 3 , R 7 , and R 8 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, and {—}OR 15 ;

R 6 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl and substituted hydrocarbyl;

R 14 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and {—}OR 15 ; and

R 15 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, and a hydroxy protecting group.

6. The process of claim 5 , wherein R 1 , R 2 , R 7 , and R 8 are hydrogen; R 14 is hydrogen or hydroxyl; R is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, cycloalkyl, cycloalkylmethyl, alkenyl, aryl, and heterocyclo; R 3 is selected from the group consisting of alkoxy, hydroxy, and protected hydroxyl; the hydrogen donor comprising a formate ion is selected from the group consisting of formic acid, a salt of formic acid, and a mixture of formic acid and an organic base; R 6 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, substituted alkyl, alkenyl, substituted alkenyl, and aryl, and the amine source is a primary amine; the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (I) to the primary amine to the hydrogen donor is from about 1:1:1 to about 1:5:20; the transition metal catalyst comprises ruthenium, rhodium, or iridium; the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (I) to the transition metal catalyst is about 1:0.0001 to about 1:0.01; the reaction between the compound of Formula (I), the amine source, the transition metal catalyst, and the hydrogen donor occurs in the presence of a solvent selected from the group consisting of an aprotic solvent, a protic solvent, a non-polar solvent, and combinations thereof; the reaction between the compound of Formula (I), the amine source, the transition metal catalyst, and the hydrogen donor occurs at a temperature from about 20° C. to about 100° C.; and the proton acceptor has a pKa of greater than about 9 and is selected from the group consisting of ammonia, ammonium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, and sodium hydroxide.

7. The process of claim 5 , wherein R 6 is hydrogen and the amine source is an ammonium salt.

8. The process of claim 7 , wherein the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (I) to the ammonium salt to the hydrogen donor is from about 1:2:1 to about 1:20:20.

9. The process of claim 5 , wherein the hydrogen donor comprises formic acid and triethylamine.

10. The process of claim 9 , wherein the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (I) to triethylamine is from about 1:1 to about 1:10.

11. The process of claim 5 , wherein the transition metal catalyst is selected from the group consisting of dichloro(arene)Ru(II) dimer, dichloro(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)Rh(II) dimer, BINAP-Ru(II) diacetate, BINAP-Ru(II) dichloride, BINAP-Ru(II) dibromide, BINAP-Ru(II) diiodide, [RuCl((R or S)BINAP)(C 6 H 6 )]Cl, dichloro(pentamethylcyclopentadienyl)iridium(III) dimer, Ru(III)chloride, RuCl 3 hydrate, Ru(III) acetylacetonate, tetraalkylammonium RuCl 4 , and pyridinium RuCl 4 .

12. The process of claim 5 , wherein the transition metal catalyst is a Noyori catalyst.

13. The process of claim 5 , wherein a first intermediate comprising Formula (II) is formed after the compound of Formula (I) is contacted with the amine source, the hydrogen source, and the transition metal catalyst, and the first intermediate is converted in situ to a second intermediate comprising Formula (III):

wherein:

R is selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbyl and substituted hydrocarbyl;

R 1 and R 2 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, halogen, and {—}OR 15 ;

R 3 , R 7 , and R 8 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, and {—}OR 15 ;

R 6 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl and substituted hydrocarbyl;

R 14 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and {—}OR 15 ; and

R 15 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, and a hydroxy protecting group.

14. The process of claim 5 , wherein the compound of Formula (IV) has a structure of Formula (V):

wherein:

R is selected from the group consisting of hydrocarbyl and substituted hydrocarbyl;

R 1 and R 2 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, halogen, and {—}OR 15 ;

R 3 , R 7 , and R 8 are independently selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, and {—}OR 15 ;

R 14 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen and {—}OR 15 ; and

R 15 is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, hydrocarbyl, substituted hydrocarbyl, and a hydroxy protecting group.

15. The process of claim 5 , wherein the amine source is a primary amine; the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (I) to the primary amine is about 1:2; the hydrogen donor comprises formic acid and triethylamine; the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (I) to formic acid to triethylamine is about 1:12:3; the transition metal catalyst is dichloro(p-cymene)Ru(II) dimer; the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (I) to the Ru(II) dimer is from about 1:0.001 to 1:0.01; reaction with the primary amine, Ru(II) dimer, and formic acid/triethylamine occurs in the presence of acetonitrile and at a temperature from about 20° C. to about 60° C.; the proton acceptor is ammonia; and reaction with the proton acceptor occurs in a protic solvent system comprising water, at a pH of about 9.5, and at room temperature.

16. The process of claim 5 , wherein the amine source is ammonium acetate; the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (I) to ammonium acetate is about 1:12; the hydrogen donor comprises formic acid and triethylamine; the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (I) to formic acid to triethylamine is about 1:12:5; the transition metal catalyst is dichloro(p-cymene)Ru(II) dimer; the molar ratio of the compound of Formula (I) to the Ru(II) dimer is from about 1:0.001 to 1:0.01; reaction of the ammonium acetate, the Ru(II) dimer, and the formic acid/triethylamine occurs in the presence of ethanol and at a temperature from about 20° C. to about 60° C.; the proton acceptor is ammonia; and reaction with the proton acceptor occurs in a protic solvent system comprising water, at a pH of about 9.5, and at room temperature.

17. The process of claim 5 , wherein the optical activity of the compounds of Formulas (I) or (IV) is (−) or (+), the configuration of C-5, C-13, C-14, and C-9, respectively, is selected from the group consisting of RRRR, RRRS, RRSR, RSRR, SRRR, RRSS, RSSR, SSRR, SRRS, SRSR, RSRS, RSSS, SRSS, SSRS, SSSR, and SSSS, provided that C-15 and C-16 are both either on the alpha face or the beta face of the molecule; and the process produces a product comprising the compound of Formula (IV) and less than 2% of a 6.beta-amino epimer.