Practical and innate C–H functionalization of heterocycles

Nitrogen-rich heterocyclic compounds have had a profound impact on human health, as these chemical motifs are found in a large number of drugs used to combat a broad range of diseases and pathophysiological conditions. Advances in transition metal-mediated cross-coupling have simplified the synthesis of such molecules; however, the development of practical and selective C–H functionalization methods that do not rely upon prefunctionalized starting materials is an underdeveloped area.(1–9) Paradoxically, the innate properties of heterocycles that make them so desirable for biological applications render them challenging substrates for direct chemical functionalization, such as limited solubility, functional group incompatibilities, and reagent/catalyst deactivation. Herein we report that zinc sulfinate salts(9) can be used to transfer alkyl radicals to heterocycles, allowing for a mild, direct and operationally simple formation of medicinally relevant C–C bonds while reacting in an orthogonal fashion to other innate C–H functionalization methods (Minisci, borono-Minisci, electrophilic aromatic substitution, transition metal-mediated C–H insertion, C–H deprotonation).(2–7,9) A toolkit of these reagents was prepared and reacted across a wide range of heterocycles (natural products, drugs, building blocks) without recourse to protecting group chemistry, and can even be employed in a tandem fashion in a single pot in the presence of water and air.