Title of Invention	PREPARATION AND USE OF MAGNESIUM AMIDES
Abstract	The present application relates to mixed Mg/Li amides of the general formula R¹R²N-Mg(NR³R4)Mx1-m zLiY (II) wherein R¹, R², R³, and R4 are, independently, selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or silyl derivatives thereof; and R¹ and R² together, or R³ and R4 together can be part of a cyclic or polymeric structure; and wherein at least one of R¹ and R² and at least one of R³ and R is other than H; X and Y are, independently, selected from the group consisting of F; Cl; Br; I; CN; SCN; NCO; HaIOn , wherein n = 3 or 4 and Hal is selected from Cl, Br and I; NO3; BF4; PF6; H; a carboxylate of the general formula RXCO2; an alcoholate of the general formula ORX; a thiolate of the general formula SRX; RXP(O)O₂; or SCORX; or SCSRX; OnSRx, wherein n = 2 or 3; or NOn, wherein n = 2 or 3; and a derivative thereof; wherein Rx is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or derivatives thereof, or H; m is O or 1 ; and z > O; as well as a process for the preparation of the mixed Mg/Li amides and the use of these amides, e.g. as bases.

Title of Invention

PREPARATION AND USE OF MAGNESIUM AMIDES

Abstract

The present application relates to mixed Mg/Li amides of the general formula R¹R²N-Mg(NR³R4)Mx1-m zLiY (II) wherein R¹, R², R³, and R4 are, independently, selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or silyl derivatives thereof; and R¹ and R² together, or R³ and R4 together can be part of a cyclic or polymeric structure; and wherein at least one of R¹ and R² and at least one of R³ and R is other than H; X and Y are, independently, selected from the group consisting of F; Cl; Br; I; CN; SCN; NCO; HaIOn , wherein n = 3 or 4 and Hal is selected from Cl, Br and I; NO3; BF4; PF6; H; a carboxylate of the general formula RXCO2; an alcoholate of the general formula ORX; a thiolate of the general formula SRX; RXP(O)O₂; or SCORX; or SCSRX; OnSRx, wherein n = 2 or 3; or NOn, wherein n = 2 or 3; and a derivative thereof; wherein Rx is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or derivatives thereof, or H; m is O or 1 ; and z > O; as well as a process for the preparation of the mixed Mg/Li amides and the use of these amides, e.g. as bases.

Full Text	FORM 2 THE PATENTS ACT, 1970 (39 of 1970) & THE PATENTS RULES, 2003 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION [See section 10, Rule 13] PREPARATION AND USE OF MAGNESIUM AMIDES; LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAT MUNCHEN, WHOSE ADDRESS IS GESCHWISTER-SCHOLL-PLATZ 1, D-80539 MUNCHEN, GERMANY THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED. The present application relates to magnesium amides, a method for the preparation of magnesium amides and the use of these amides. The metalation of aromatics is one of the most useful transformations in organic synthesis since it allows the regioselective functionaJization of various aryl derivatives.[1] Traditionally, strong bases such as alkyl lithium (RLi) or lithium amides (R2NLi) have been used to perform such deprotonations. However, these highly reactive bases display often undesirable side reactions due to the too high reactivity of the resulting aryl lithium compounds. Another serious limitation is the low stability of lithium amides in THF solutions at room temperature which requires an in situ generation of these reagents. Furthermore, the deprotonation of aromatics by lithium bases often requires very low temperatures (-78°C to -90°C) which comptieates .the scale-up of these inactions and the use of solvent mixtures such as THF/pentane may be needed. Alternative methods have been developed using magnesium amides123 such as compounds 1-3 or amido zincates[3] 4 (see Scheme 1). The low solubility of the magnesium amides R2NMgCl (1) could be improved by Eaton who developed the use of magnesium amides of type R2NMgR' (2) and (R2N)2Mg (3). Nevertheless, for achieving high conversions it is usually necessary to use a large excess of the magnesium amides (2-8 equivalents), which complicates further quenching reactions with electrophiles (up to 15 equivalents of electrophile may have to be used). Similarly, the dialkyl amino zincate 4 requires the use of 3.5-4 equivalents of an electrophile in subsequent quenching reactions. Scheme 1. Typical bases used for the deprotonation of aromatics or heterocycles. The use of these bases is thus either limited by their poor solubility, or they are not very efficient in view of the amounts of base and the amount of electrophile needed to perform the desired conversion. Their activity or reactivity is very low. 2 The use of lithium salts to increase the solubility of Grignard reagents is known from EP 1 582 523. In this application, the main function of the Grignard reagents of the general formula R (MgX)n LiY disclosed therein is to perform a halogen/magnesium exchange in either aliphatic or aromatic systems. The Grignard reagent derivatives provide a "nucleophilic carbon atom" at a magnesium-carbon-bond. By the addition of a lithium salt to the Grignard reagent, the reactivity of the Grignard reagents can be increased by forming a magnesiate intermediate. These Grignard reagents then show a higher reactivity and selectivity due to the formation of a magnesiate intermediate. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive magnesium base which is highly soluble and more reactive. A further object of the present invention is to provide a magnesium base showing a high kinetic activity and a high selectivity. These objects are achieved by the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are set forth in the dependent claims. Surprisingly, the inventors found that mixed magnesium and lithium amides of type R'R2N-MgX zLiY (I) can be prepared by reacting an amine R!R2NH with a Grignard reagent R'MgX in the presence of LiY or with R'MgX zLiY in a solvent. I) Rl, R2 and R' independently are selected from substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or derivatives thereof, and, for R and R only, the silyl derivatives thereof. One of R1 and R2 may be H; or R1 and R2 together can be part of a cyclic or polymeric structure. X and Y independently are selected from the group consisting of F; CI; Br; I; CN; SCN; NCO; HalOn, wherein n = 3 or 4 and Hal is selected from CI, Br and I; N03; BF4; PF6; H; a carboxylate of the general formula RXC02; an alcoholate of the general formula ORx; a 3 thiolate of the general formula SRX; RxP(0)02; or SCORx; OnSRx, wherein n = 2 or 3; or NOn, wherein n = 2 or 3; and a derivative thereof; wherein Rx is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms; linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or derivatives thereof; or H. X and Y may be identical or different. In the above given context, z > 0. The amides of formula I can also be prepared in an alternative way by reacting a lithium amide of the formula R R NLi with a magnesium salt of the form MgXj or Mg XY. This reaction is preferably carried out in a solvent. In order to achieve a compound of formula I, the magnesium salt and the lithium amide are reacted in approximately equimolar ratio. Thus, the ratio of lithium amide to magnesium salt is usually in the range of 1:0.8-l .2, preferably in the range of 1:0.9-1.1, and most preferably in the range of 1 ;0.95-1.05. Additionally, the inventors found that magnesium bisamides of the general formula R1R2N-Mg(NR3R4)MX1-M zLiY (II) can be prepared. In this formula, R1, R2, R3, and R4 are, independently, selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or silyl derivatives thereof; and R1 and R2 together, and/or R3 and R4 together can be part of a cyclic or polymeric structure; and wherein at least one of R1 and R2 and at least one of R3 and R4 is other than H. X and Y are, independently, selected from the group consisting of F; CI; Br; I; CN; SCN; NCO; HalOn , wherein n = 3 or 4 and Hal is selected from CI, Br and I; N03; BF4; PF6; H; a carboxylate of the general formula RxC02; an alcoholats of the general formula ORx; a thiolate of the general formula SRx; RxP(0)02; or SCORx; or SCSRx; OnSRx, wherein n - 2 or 3; or NOn, wherein n = 2 or 3; and a derivative thereof; wherein Rx is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or derivatives thereof, or H; 4 in the above given formula II, m is 0 or 1; and z > 0. For m = 0, the compounds of formula II are identical to the compounds of formula I. The adduct with a solvent should also be encompassed by any of the compounds of formula I or II. The bisamides of the general formula II wherein m = 1 can be prepared from the monoamides of formula I. When reacting R1R2N-MgXzLiY with R3R4NLi, a bisamide of formula II is formed. This reaction is equivalent to a reaction of a generally known Grignard reagent R'MgX in the presence of an amine R'R NH, and subsequently with R3R4NLi. The lithium may also be added as a lithium salt in the form LiY, especially when the Grignard reagent or the monoamide are not complexed with a lithium salt. Obviously, the reagent may also be of the form R R N-MgX zLiY, wherein a lithium salt is already present with the monoamide. In this way, bisamides may be prepared, wherein the two amides are different. However, the two amides may also be the same. Alternatively, the bisamides may be prepared by reacting two lithium amides R'R2NLI and R3R4NLi with a magnesium salt MgX2- If both lithium amides are identical, or a magnesium monoamide is reacted with a lithium amide of the same type, a bisamide of the general formula Mg(NR1R2)2 zLiY will result. For a higher solubility of the magnesium salt MgX2, this salt may be prepared in situ, for example as described below. Both the monoamides as well as the bisamides of the present invention show an increased solubility and a high reactivity. Unlike Grignard reagents, which can perform halogen/magnesium exchanges, the amides of the present invention are bases which will tolerate many functional groups, especially halogen substituents. This is due to the different nature of the nitrogen magnesium bond present in the amides of the present application in view of a carbon magnesium bond as in Grignard reagents. The increase in reactivity of the Grignard reagents in the presence of a lithium salt is due to the formation of magnesiate intermediates. In contrast thereto, however, the lithium salt which is added to the amides according to the present application prevents the formation of aggregates. The formation of aggregates is a well known problem in the background art in relation to magnesium amides. As a consequence, the amides known so far have to be used in high excess as they are not very reactive. As the amides of the present invention are not present as aggregates due to the presence of a lithium salt, the amides are much more reactive and more soluble than the amides known so far. 5 Many common solvents can be used in the present invention. In principle, any solvent capable of dissolving the specific amine and the Grignard reagent used as starting materials and the resulting products. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the solvent is selected from cyclic, linear or branched mono or polyethers, thioethers, amines, phosphines, and derivatives thereof containing one or more additional heteroatoms selected from O, N, S and P, preferably tetrahydrofuran (THF), 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, dibutyl ether, diethyl ether, tert-butylmethyl ether, dimethoxyethane, dioxanes, preferably 1,4-dioxane, triethylamine, ethyldiisopropylamine, dimethyl sulfide, dibutylsulfide; cyclic amides, preferably N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone (NEP), N-butyl-2-pyrrolidone (NBP); cyclic, linear or branched alkanes and/or alkenes wherein one or more hydrogens are replaced by a halogen, preferably dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, CC14; urea derivatives, preferably N,N'-dimethylpropyleneurea (DMPU); aromatic, heteroaromatic or aliphatic hydrocarbons, preferably benzene, toluene, xylene, pyridine, pentane, cyclohexane, hexane, heptane; hexamethylphosphorus triamide (HMPA), CS2; or combinations thereof. rhe process of the invention for the preparation of amides of formula I is carried out by eacting an amine R!R2NH with a Grignard reagent R'MgX in the presence of LiY or with R/MgX zLiY in a solvent. The materials are contacted preferably at room temperature for the Tiinirnum time necessary to provide the desired yield. Temperatures between 0°C and 50°C ire preferred, however, higher or lower reaction temperatures are also suitable. The preparation of the bisamides of formula II is usually carried out at temperatures between 40°C and 50°C, preferably in the range of-20°C to 30°C and most preferred at around 0°C. \ person skilled in the art will however be able to select a suitable temperature for the preparation of the amides of formula I or II by routine experimentation. n another preferred embodiment, X and Y are independently or both CI, Br or I, and preferably CI. In yet another preferred embodiment, the preparation of a compound a formula I is achieved by j'PrMgCl LiCl[5]. This embodiment is particularly preferred since /PrMgCl LiCl is xmmercially available. 6 Generally, any Grignard reagent can be used to prepare the mixed Mg/Li-amides in the presence of any lithium salt. It is nevertheless preferred to use a Grignard reagent the side or by-products of which can easily be removed from the reaction mixture. The presence of a lithium salt accelerates the exchange reaction compared to homoleptic reagents RMgX and R2Mg without the use of a lithium salt. According to a second aspect, the present invention is directed to the mixed Mg/Li amide R'R2N-MgX zLiY (I), wherein R1, R2, X, Y and z are defined as above. This corresponds to an amide according to formula II, wherein m = 0. The second aspect also relates to a mixed Mg/Li bisamide of the general formula R1R2N-Mg(NR3R4)MX1-M zLiY (II), wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, X, Y, m and z are defined as above. It is to be understood that the adduct of a solvent is also comprised by any of these formulae. A third aspect of the present invention is directed to a solution of the amide (I) or (II) in a solvent. The solvent can be any suitable solvent capable of dissolving the amide. Especially preferred solvents are the solvents listed above for the preparation of the amides. All aspects and features described above in relation to the first aspect shall also apply to the second and third aspect of the invention. In a fourth aspect, the present invention is related to the use of mixed Mg/Li amides (I) and (11). The amides of the present invention can be used to remove acidic protons. The deprotonated species can then subsequently be quenched with an elecrrophile. In principle it is possible to use all kinds of electrophiles that are, for example, cited in the following references, but are not limited thereto: a) Handbook of Grignard reagents; edited by Gary S. Silverman and Philip E. Rakita (Chemical industries; v. 64). b) Grignard reagents New Developments; edited by Herman G. Richey, Jr., 2000, John Wiley & Sons Ltd. c) Methoden der Organischen Chemie, Houben-Weyl, Band XIII/2a, Metallorganische Verbindungen Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Zn, Cd. 1973. d) The chemistry of the metal-carbon bond, vol 4. edited by Frank R. Hartley. 1987, John Wiley & Sons. 7 The final aspect of the invention relates to the product of the reaction of an electrophile with a substrate which has been deprotonated with a reagent of the general formula I or II. In all aspects relating to the monoamides of the formula I, z is preferably in the range from 0.01 - 5, more preferably from 0.5 - 2, even more preferably from 0.9 to 1.2 and most preferred about 1. In the most preferred embodiment of the invention according to formula I, z is used in an equimolar ratio compared to the amide. In relation to the bisamide of formula II, wherein m = 1, z is preferably in the range of from 0.01-5, more preferably from 0.5 - 2.5, even more preferably from 1.8 to 2.2 and most preferred about 2. The present invention is described in the following on the basis of specific examples. Especially, /-PrMgCl is used as Grignard reagent. However, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to such examples. Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. All publications and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety. As used herein, the terms "alknyi", "aifcenyi" and "alkynyi" refer to linear, cyclic and branched, substituted and unsubstitued C1-C20 compounds. Preferred ranges for these compounds are C\|-C,o, preferably CrO3 (lower alkyl) and C2-C10 and preferably C2-C5, respectively, for alkenyl and alkynyl. The term "cycloalkyi" generally refers to linear and branched, substituted and unsubstitued C3-C20 cycloalkanes. Here, preferred ranges are C3-C15, more preferably C3-C8. Whenever any of the residues R1, R2, R3 and/or R4 are substituted by a substituent, the substituent may be selected by a person skilled in the art from any known substituent. A person skilled in the art will select a possible substituent according to his knowledge and will be able to select a substituent which will not interfere with other substituents present in the 8 molecule and which will not interfere or disturb possible reactions, especially the reactions described within this application. Possible substituents include without limitation halogenes, preferably fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine; aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic hydrocarbons, especially alkanes, alkylenes, arylenes, alkylidenes, arylidenes, heteroarylenes and heteroarylidenes; carbonxylic acids including the salts thereof; carboxylic acid halides; aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic carboxylilc acid esters; aldehydes; aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic ketones; alcohols and alcoholates, including a hydroxyl group; phenoles and phenolates; aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic ethers; aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic peroxides; hydroperoxides; aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic amides or amidines; - nitriles; aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic amines; aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic imines; aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic sulfides including a thiol group; sulfonic acids including the salts thereof; - thioles and thiolates; - phosphonic acids including the salts thereof; phosphinic acids including the salts thereof; phosphorous acids including the salts thereof; phosphinous acids including the salts thereof; The substituents may be bound to the residues R1, R2, R3 and/or R4 via a carbon atom, an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, or a phosphorus atom. The hetero atoms in any structure containing hetero atoms, as e.g. heteroarylenes or heteroaromatics, may preferably be N,0, S and P. When R1 and R2, or R3 and R4 can be part of a cyclic structure, it is to be understood that R1 and R2 together, or R3 and R4 together, are a divalent saturated or unsaturated, linear or branched alknyl, alkenyl or alkynyl which forms in connection with the nitrogen atom of the 9 amide a cyclic secondary amide. An example of such a cyclic amide is the amide of TMPH. Further, the residues R1 and R2, and/or R3 and R4 can be part of a polymeric structure. The nitrogen atom of the amide is the connected to a polymeric backbone which may even contain more than one nitrogen atom for the formation of an amide according to the invention. The term "aryl" as used herein refers to substituted or unsubstituted C4-C24 aryl- By "heteroaryl", a substituted or unsubstituted C3-C24 aryl, containing one or more heteroatoms as B, O, N, S, Se, P, is meant. Preferred ranges for both are C4-C15, more preferably C4-C10 and includes aryls and fused aryls with or without heteroatoms. A preferred ring size comprises 5 or 6 ring atoms. Mixed magnesium and lithium amides R]R2NMgCl LiCl (R! and R2 = i-Pr or R!R2N = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl) can be prepared by reacting i-PrMgCI LiCl[4,5] with diisopropylamine or 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (TMPH), respectively, in THF (-20°C -80°C, for 0.1-48 h ). The resulting Li/Mg-reagents 5a (R1 and R2 = /-Pr) and 5b (R1R2N = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl) proved to have an excellent solubility in THF (0.6 M and 1.2 M, respectively) as well as an improved kinetic acidity and regioselectivity for the magnesation of various aromatics and heterocycles. The activity of the amides (I) can be shown on the basis of the magnesiation of isoquinoline. Diisopropylamido magnesium chloride-lithium chloride 5a leads to the magnesiated isoquinoline 6 after 12 h reaction time at 25°C and by using 2 equivalents of the base. After iodoiysis, the iodoisoquinoline 7a is isolated in 88% yield (Scheme 2). Even more active is the sterically more hindered and less aggregated 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidino magnesium chloride-lithium chloride reagent 5b. It leads to a complete magnesiation within 2 h at 25°C. Remarkably, with this base only 1.1 equivalents are required to achieve a complete metaiation. The resulting Grignard reagent 6 provides after iodoiysis the iodoisoquinoline 7a in 96% yield (Scheme 2 and Table 1). N-MgCI LiCl Scheme 2. Magnesiation of isoquinoline 10 After the magnesation of a reagent, it can be subjected to a transmetalation. After e.g. a transmetalation with CuCN 2LiCl (20 mol %), the addition of benzoyl chloride (1.2 equiv.) provides the ketone 7b in 86% yield (entry 2 of Table 1). The presence of an excess of magnesium amides often hampers the performance of palladium-catalyzed cross-couplings. The inventors found that the Grignard reagents generated by deprotonation with 5b (1.1 equiv.) such as 6 are readily transmetalated to the corresponding zinc derivative (ZnCl2 (1.1 equiv.), 0°C, 5 min.) and undergo a Negishi-cross-coupling reaction using Pd(dba)2 (5 mol%) (dba ~ dibenzylideneacetone), P(2-fur)3 (7 mol%) (fur=furyl) with ethyl 4-iodobenzoate (1.2 equiv.; 50°C, 12 h) leading to the arylated quinoline (7c) in 82% yield. This behaviour is general and 3-bromoquinoline is metalated with 5b (1.1 equiv., -30°C, 0.5 h) leading to the 2-magnesiated quinoline 8 (entries 4 and 5 of Table 1). Thus, the quenching of 8 with h and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) provides the two quinolines 9a and 9b in 96-93% yield. Whereas the deprotonation of 2,6-dichloropyridine with i-Pr2NMgCl LiCl 5a and lithium diisopropylamide (LDA)t8jI provides a 1:1 mixture of 3- and 4-magnesiated 2,6-dichloro¬pyridine, the use of TMPMgCl LiCl 5b furnishes only the 4-magnesiated pyridine 10. Its reaction with typical electrophiles (b, DMF and PhCHO) provides the expected products 11a-c in 84^-93% yield (entries 6-8 of Table 1). Interestingly, metalation of 3,5-dibromopyridine with LDA proceeds selectively at 4-position[6b] while in the case of (TMPMgCl LiCl 5b 1.1 equiv, r20°C, 0.5h) regioselective metalation of 3,5-dibromopyridine is observed leading after the reaction with DMF to the pyridylaldehyde 13 in 95% yield (entry 9 of Table 1). The magnesiation of heterocycles bearing more acidic protons17' such as thiazole, thiophene, furan, benzothiophene or benzothiazole proceeds smoothly between 0°C and 25°C leading to the organomagnesium derivatives 14a-c and 16a-b. After trapping with standard electrophiles, the expected products 15a-c and 17a-b are obtained in 81-98% yield (entries 10-14 of Table I). The metalation of pyrimidine derivatives is a challenging problem due to the propensity of these heterocycles to add organometallic reagents.[8] ' The inventors found that the inverse addition of the pyrimidine derivatives 18-20 to a THF solution of 5b (1.05 equiv.) at -55°C 11 for approx. 5 min. provides the corresponding magnesiated derivatives 21-23 in 83-90% yields as indicated by iodolysis experiments leading to the iodinated pyrimidines 24-26 (scheme 3). Scheme 3. Regioselective magnesiation of pyrimidines The mixed magnesium-lithium amide 5b is also well suited for the regioselective metalation of polyfunctional aromatic systems. Thus, the reaction of 2-phenylpyridine 27 in THF at 55°C with 5b (2.0 equiv.) for 24 h provides the Grignard reagent 28 showing a rare case where a phenyl ring is preferentially metalated compared to a pyridine ring. After iodolysis, the ortho-iodinated product 29 is obtained in 80% yield. Interestingly, the metalation of polyfunctional aromatics such as the bromodiester 30 also succeeds using only the stoichiometric amount of base 5b (1.1 equiv.) in THF (-30°C, 0.5 h) leading regioselectively to the arylmagnesium species 31 which after iodolysis furnishes the polyfunctional aromatic derivative 32 in 88% yield. 12 27 5b, (2.0 equiv) > THF, 55 °C, 24 h 29: 80% 30 31 32:88 % Scheme 4. Regioselective magnesiation of polyfunctional aromatic systems A solution of TMPMgCI LiCl can easily be prepared in THF due to its excellent solubility and it is stable for more than 6 months at 25°C. The use of TMPMgCI LiCl allows for the regioselective functionalization of various aromatics and heteroaromatics. It gives access to new magnesium species not readily available via a Br/Mg-exchange reactions or by previously reported metalation procedures. The residues R1 and R2 are not limited to organic compounds. R1 and R2 may also be silylated compounds like trimethylsilyl. The preparation of the bis(trimethylsilyl) amide 33 can be achieved by reacting bis(trirnethylsilyl)amine with /-PrMgCI LiCl at room temperature (see Scheme 5). This base can efficiently be used to deprotonate ketones like e.g. cyclohexanone as can be seen from Scheme 5. 2) Mel Scheme 5: Preparation and use of silylated magnesium amide 13 The Grignard reagents can also be used to prepare a polymeric base. 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl piperidine (TMPH) is a well known base. It can be used to prepare the corresponding mixed Mg/Li amide TMPMgCl LiCl 5b. This monomelic base is very reactive but also very expensive. A corresponding polymeric base to TMPH is chimassorb 994, the structure of which is shown in Scheme 6. Chimassorb 994 Scheme 6: Structure of chimassorb 994 Chimassorb 994 can be used to prepare the corresponding mixed Mg/Li amide by reacting chimassorb 994 with i-PrMgCl LiCl at room temperature (see Scheme 5). This base 34 is stable and soluble in THF before and after deprotonation. As being a polymeric base, it can be easily removed after completion of the reaction. Since chimassorb 994 is much cheaper than TMP, a corresponding base can be prepared at reduced costs. The polymeric base 34 shows slightly lower activity than monomelic TMPMgCl LiCl but is nevertheless very effective in deprotonating compounds with acidic protons like isoquinoline. A corresponding example is shown in Scheme 7. The polymeric base can be used to deprotonate various substrates. For example, isoquinoline reacts at room temperature with the base 34 affording after quenching with iodine 1-iodoisoquinoline 7a. Chimassorb 994 34 Scheme 7: Preparation and use of the mixed Mg/Li amide of chimassorb 994 14 The above given examples show that the new mixed Mg/Li-bases of the general type R R NMgX zLiY have a high kinetic activity due to the presence of a lithium salt which breaks oligomeric aggregates of magnesium amides. An example of a symmetrical bisamide reagent is (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl 40a. It is prepared by reacting in situ generated MgCh with lithium 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidide (TMPLi) in THF at 0°C for 30 minutes (see Scheme 8). MgCI2,THF,O°C,30min. >95 % Scheme 8: Preparation of the bisamide (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl (40a). Additionally, other symmetrical bisamides can be prepared in high yields using the same methodology as for the preparation of 40a. All examples shown below (40b-40c) were prepared in >95% yield (Scheme 9) in analogy to the preparation of 40a. This also includes bisamides containing silyl substituted amines. Scheme 9: Further examples of symmetrical bisamides. Comparative metalation experiments on aromatic substrates were performed under identical conditions with 1.1 equivalents of both (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl (40a) and TMPMgCl-LiCl (5b). The bisamide reagent (TMP)2Mg-2LiCI shows highly superior reactivity than TMPMgCl-LiCl and it was even able to deprotonate very weak acidic substrates. 15 Scheme 10 gives an overview over examples of reactions of four different aromatic substances (41-44) with (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl (40a) and TMPMgClLiCl (5b) under identical conditions. The respective yields are indicated for the products of each of the two amides 40a and 5b. This experiment clearly shows the even superior reactivity of the bisamides in view of the monoamides. All reactions are carried out at room temperature (rt) being at 25°C. C02'Bu 42a Scheme 10: Comparison of reaction of aryls with monoamide 5b and bisamide 40a. Additionally, the resultant Grignard intermediates derived from (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl show good stability and tolerance to various substrates. Furthermore, they react with different eletrophiles providing the corresponding functionalized derivatives in good yields. Examples are shown in Table 2 below. 16 It could also be shown that mixed magnesium bases bearing two different amide functions, i.e. RR2N and R3R4N being different, have improved properties over the corresponding symmetrical reagents bearing two identical amide functions. The unsymmetrical reagents 40e-40i are prepared from TMPMgCl-LiCI, i-Pr2NMgCl-LiCl and (2-ethyl-hexyl)2NMgCl-LiClf9^, respectively, and the corresponding lithium species of \H-benxotriazole (Bt), 5,6-dimethly-1H-benzotriazole, (DMBt) and catbaxote (CBZ,), respectively (Scheme 11). 40g Scheme 11: Preparation of compound 40e-40i having two different amide functions. Especially, the base 40e provides a far higher reactivity than TMPMgCI LiCI (5b) and (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl (40a) when using special directing metalation groups (DMG). TMPMgCl-LiCI provides full metalation of 44 in 90 minutes at 0°C, and reagent 40a provides full metalation in 60 minutes. In contrast thereto, the use of 40e provides full metalation at 0°C in only 10 minutes. Furthermore, only 1.3 equivalents of the base 40e are used in contrast 17 to 1.5 equivalents of TMPMgClUCl. Moreover, the yield of 45a is higher compared to the useofTMPMgCl-UCl (Scheme 12). f^-NMe2 then ,2i 0 =c t0 rt k^k ^~NMe2 NMe2 NMe2 44 44a: 78 % Scheme 12: Comparison of the reactivity of unsymmetrical bisamide 40e in view of monoamide 5b and symmetrical bisamide 40a. The regulating intermediates derived from (TMP)Mg(Bt)-2LiCl show good stability and tolerance to various substrates. They can be trapped with an electrophile like iodine to provide the corresponding functionalized derivatives in good yields. Examples are shown in Table 3. As can be seen from the above given examples, the new mixed Mg/Li-bases are very effective in deprotonating organic compounds. The deprotonation can be achieved in different solvents and can preferably be conducted at temperatures between -90°C and 100°C. Further, due to the effective deprotonation reaction, the amides of the present invention preferably only require the use of 0.9-5 equivalents, more preferably 1-2 equivalents and most preferably 1.1-1.5 equivalents per proton to be deprotonated. With this new type of base, which is highly soluble and the side products of which do not disturb the following reactions, many new products may be.obtained, or known reactions 18 pathways will be more efficient, A person skilled in the art will easily recognise the benefit of the new Mg/Li-base and will be able to use this base in a wide variety of chemical reactions. In the following, examples are given to illustrate the present invention. However, these examples are given for illustrative purposes only and are not supposed to limit the scope of the invention which is determined by the claims below. Experimental Section: Preparation of the reagent TMPMgCI LiCI (5b): A dry and argon flushed 250 mL flask, equipped with a magnetic stirrer and a septum, was charged with freshly titrated i-PrMgClLiCl (100 mL, 1.2 M in THF, 120mmol). 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (TMPH) (19.8 g, 126 mmol, 1.05 equiv) was added dropwise at room temperature. The reaction mixture was stirred until gas evaluation was completed (ca. 24 h) at room temperature. Preparation of 1-iodoisoquinoline (7a): A-dry and argon flushed 10 mL flask, equipped with a magnetic stirrer and a septum, was charged with TMPMgCI LiCI (5 mL, 1.2 M in THF, 6.0 mmol). Isoquinoline (703 mg, ' 5.45 mmol) in THF (5 ml) was added dropwise at room temperature. During addition, the reaction mixture became red and the metalation was complete after 2 h (as checked by GC analysis of reaction aliquots quenched with a solution of I2 in THF, the conversion was more than 98%). A solution of I2 in THF (6 ml, 1 M in THF, 6.0 mmol) was slowly added at -20°C. The reaction mixture was quenched with sat. aqueous NH4CI solution (10 mL). The aqueous phase was extracted with ether (4x10 mL), dried with Na2S04 and concentrated in vacuo. The crude residue was purified by filter column chromatography (CH2C1/2pentane) yielding 1-iodoisoquinoline (7a; 1.33 mg, 96%) as slightly yellow crystals (mp = 74-76°C). The products listed in table 1 below can be produced according to the preparation of 1 -iodoisoquinoline (7a). 19 Table 1. Products obtained by the magnesiation of heterocycles with TMPMgCl LiCl (5b) and reaction with electrophiles. Lithium chloride and TMPH are complexed to the Grignard reagent. [b]Reaction conditions for the deprotonation with TMPMgCl LiCl (5b, 1.1 equiv.). [c]Isolated yield of analytically pure product.' ]A transmetalation with CuCN-2LiCl (0.2 equiv) was performed 20 Preparation of (TMP)2Mg 2LiCl (40a). Magnesium turnings (15 mmol) were placed in an argon-flushed-Schlenk flask and THF (30 ml) was added. 1,2-Dichloroethane (16 mmol) was added dropwise and the reaction was stirred until all magnesium was consumed, approximately 2 h. In another argon-flushed-Schlenk flask 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (TMPH) (30 mmol) and THF (20 ml) were placed. This solution was cooled to -40°C and n-BuLi (30 mmol) was added dropwise. After the addition, the reaction mixture was warmed to 0°C and stirred at same temperature for 30 min. The MgCh solution was then transferred via cannula into the TMPLi solution and the reaction mixture was stirred at 0°C for 30 min, then warmed to room temperature and stirred for an additional 1 h. The solvents were removed then in vacuo followed by addition of THF while stirring until complete dissolution of the salts. The fresh (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl solution was titrated prior to use at 0°C against benzoic acid using 4-(phenylazo)-diphenylamine as indicator.Average concentration in THF was 0,6 mol/1. Preparation of (PIR)2Mg 2LiCI (40b). Prepared according to 40a from pyrrolidine (PIR) (30 mmol), «-BuLi (30 mmol), magnesium turnings (15 mmol) and 1,2-dichloroethane (16 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0,65 mol/1. Preparation of (i-Pr)2NMg 2LiCI (40c). Prepared according to 40a from diisopropylamine (30 mmol), M-BuLi (30 mmol), magnesium turnings (15 mmol) and 1,2-dichloroethane (16 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0,84 mol/1. Preparation of (HMDS)2Mg 2LiCl (40d). Prepared according to 40a from 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) (30 mmol), «-BuLi (30 mmol), magnesium turnings (15 mmol) and 1,2-dichloroethane (16 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0,86 mol/L. 21 Magnesiations of functionalized arenes with (TMP)2Mg-2LiCI: Preparation of di-tert-butyI4-iodobenzene-l,3-dioate (51a). A dry and nitrogen-flushed 10-ml-Schlenk-flask, equipped with a magnetic stirring bar and a septum, was charged with a solution of the di-tert-butyl isophthalate (278 mg, J mmol) in dry THF (1 ml). After cooling to 0°C, a freshly, prepared (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl solution (0.6 mol/1 in THF, 1.83 ml, 1.1 mmol) was added dropwise and the reaction mixture was stirred at the same temperature. The completion of the metalation (2 h) was checked by GC-analysis of reaction aliquots quenched with a solution of h in dry ether. Iodine (508 mg, 2 mmol) dissolved in dry THF (2 ml) was then added at 0°C and the resulting mixture warmed to room temperature. After stirring for 1 hour, the reaction mixture was quenched with sat. aq. Na2S203, extracted with ether (3 x 20 ml) and dried over Na2S04. After filtration the solvent was removed in vacuo. Purification by flash-chromatography (n-pentane/di ethyl ether, 10:1) furnished compound 51a (380 mg, 94%) as a yellow oil. The products listed in Table 2 below can be produced according to the preparation of di-tert-butyl 4-iodobenzene-l,3-dioate (51a), using the corresponding temperatures and reactions times as indicated in the table. 22 Table 2. Products obtained by the magnesiation of aromatics with (TMP)2Mg"2LiCl and reactions with eletrophiles. Entry Substrate Temp.[°C] Time Electrophile E Product Yield 23 Entry Substrate Temp.[°C] Time Eiectropnite E* Product Yield 13 49 -40 5h BrCl3C2Cl2Br 49b: E=Br 70% C02Et C02Et E [a]A transmetalation with CuCN-2LiCl was performed. Ib]Obtained by palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling after transmetalation with ZnCh. Preparation of (TMP)Mg(Bt)2LiCl (40e): Benzotriazole (Bt)(1.19g, lO.Ommol) was placed in a flame dried, argon flushed 50ml Schlenk tube equipped with magnetic stirring bar and septum. THF (10 ml) was added. The solution was cooled to -40°C. Then n-BuLi (3.62ml, 2.76M in hexane, lO.Ommol) was added drop wise. White precipitate was formed immediately. After the end of the addition the resulting suspension was stirred at -40°C for 30 min. Then solvents were removed in vacuo followed by addition of TMPMgCILiCl (8.93 ml, 1.12M in THF, lO.Ommol). After the complete dissolving of the white solid, THF was removed in vacuo. To the resulting brownish gel, THF was added while stirring until complete dissolution of the salts. The fresh (TMP)Mg(Bt)-2LiCl solution was titrated at room temperature against benzoic acid using 4-(phenylazo)-diphenylamine as an indicator. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0.35 mol/1. Preparation of (TMP)lVIg(DMBt)'2LiCl (40f): Prepared according to 40e from 5,6-dimethyl-lH-benzotriazole (10 mmol)s n-BuLi (lO mmol) and TMPMgCl-LiCl (lOmmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0.33 mol/1. 24 Preparation of (TMP)Mg(CBZ)-2LiCl (40g): Prepared according to 40e from 9//-carbazole (10 mmol), n-BuLi (10 mmol), TMPMgClLiCl (10 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0.33 mol/1. Preparation of (i-Pr2N)Mg(Bt)-2LiCl (40h): Prepared according to 40e from benzotriazole (10 mmol), «-BuLi (10 mmol) and (/-Pr2N)MgCl'LiCl (10 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0.24 mol/1. Preparation of (2-ethyMiexyl)2NMg(Bt>2LiCl (40i): Prepared according to 40e from benzotriazole (10 mmol), n-BuLi (10 mmol) and (2-ethyl-hexyl)2NMgCl LiCl (10 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0.23 mol/1. Magnesiations of functional ized arenes with (TMP)Mg(Bt)-2LiCI: Preparation of ethyl 3-{[bis(dimethylamino)phosphoryl]oxy}-2-iodobenzoate (44a). A dry and nitrogen-flushed 25-ml Schlenk flask, equipped with a magnetic stirring bar and a septum, was charged ethyl 3-{[bis(dimethylamino)phosphoryl]oxy}benzoate 44 (300 mg, 1.00 mmol) in dry THF (3 ml). After cooling to 0°C, a freshly prepared (TMP)Mg(Bt)-2LiCl solution (4.33 ml, 0.3 M in THF, 1.3 mmol) was added dropwise and the reaction mixture was stirred at the same temperature. The completion of the metalation (10 min) was checked by GC-analysis of reaction aliquots quenched with a solution of h in dry THF. Iodine (508 mg, 2.0 mmol) dissolved in dry THF (2 ml) was then added at 0°C and the resulting mixture warmed to room temperature. After stirring for 1 hour, the reaction mixture was quenched with sat. aq. Na2S2O3, extracted with ether (3 x 20 ml) and dried over Na2S04. After filtration, the solvent was removed in vacuo. Purification by flash-chromatography using ethyl acetate as eluent furnished ethyl 3-{[bis(dimethylamino)phosphoryl]oxy}-2-iodobenzoate 44a (332 mg, 78%) as a yellow oil. The products listed in Table 3 below can be produced according to the preparation of ethyl 3-{[bis(dimethyIamino)phosphoryl]oxy}-2-iodobenzoate 44a, using the corresponding temperatures and reactions times as indicated in the table. 25 Table 3. Products obtained by the magnesiation of aromatics with (TMP)Mg(Bt)-2LiCI and reactions with eletrophiles. Product Entry Yield Substate Temp. f°C] Time Electrophile 26 References and notes: [1] a) M. Schlosser, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 376-393. b) A. Turck, N. Pie, F. Mongin, G. Queguiner, Tetrahedron 2001, 57,4489-4505. c) F. Mongin, G. Queguiner, Tetrahedron 2001, 57, 4059-4090 d) M. Schlosser, Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2001, 21, 3975-3984. e) D. M. Hodgson, C. D. Bray, N. D. Kindon, Org. Lett 2005, 7, 2305-2308. f) J-C. Plaquevent, T. Perrard, D. Cahard, Chem. Eur. J. 2002, 8, 3300-3307. g) C. -C. Chang, M. S. Ameerunisha, Coord Chem. Rev. 1999, 189, 199-278. h) J. Clayden, Organolithiums: Selectivity for Synthesis. Editor(s): J. E. Baldwin, R. M. Williams 2002, Publisher: Elsevier, i) F. Leroux, M. Schlosser, E. Zohar, I. Marek, The preparation of organolithium reagents and intermediates Editors): Rappoport, Zvi; Marek, Ilan. Chemistry of Organolithium Compounds 2004,1, 435-493. Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. j) K. W. Henderson, W. J. Kerr, Chem.-A Eur. J. 2001, 7(16), 3430-3437. k) K. W. Henderson, W. J. Kerr, J. H. Moir, Tetrahedron 2002, 58(23), 4573-4587.1) M. C. Whisler, S. MacNeil, V. Snieckus, P. Beak, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43(17), 2206-2225. m) G. Queguiner, F. Marsais, V. Snieckus, J. Epsztajn, Adv. in Het. Chem. 1991, 52, 187-304. n) M. Veith, S. Wieczorek, K. Fries, V. Huch, Z Anorg. ALLg. Chem. 2000, 626(5), 1237-1245. [2] a) M-X. Zhang, P. E. Eaton, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2002, 41, 2169-2171. b) Y. Kondo, Y. Akihiro, T. Sakamoto, J. Chem. Soc, Perkin Trans. 1: Org. Bio-Org. Chem. 1996, 19, 2331-2332. c) P. E. Eaton, C. H. Lee, Y. Xiong, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1989, 111, 8016-18. d) P. E. Eaton, M-X. Zhang, N. Komiya, C-G. Yang, I. Steele, R. Gilardi, Synlett 2003, 9, 1275-1278. e) P. E. Eaton, R. M. Martin, J. Org. Chem. 1988, 53, 2728-32. f) M. Shilai, Y. Kondo, T. Sakamoto, J. Chem. Soc, Perkin Trans. 1: Org. Bio-Org. Chem. 2001, 4, 442. g) P. Knochel, W. Dohle, N. Gommermann, F. F. Kneisel, F. Kopp, T. Kom, I. Sapountzis, V. A. Vu, Angew. Chem. 2003, 115, 4438-4456. [3] a) Y. Kondo, M. Shilai, M. Uchiyama, T. Sakamoto, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 3539-3540. b) T. Imahori, M. Uchiyama, T. Sakamoto, Y. Kondo, Chem. Comm. 2001, 23, 2450-2451. ' [4] A. Krasovskiy, P. Knochel, Angew. Chem. 2004, 116, 4438; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 3333 b) H. Ren, A. Krasovskiy, P. Knochel, Chem. Commun. 2005, 543. c) H. Ren, A. Krasovskiy, P. Knochel, Org. Lett. 2004, 6,4215. 27 [5] /-PrMgCl LiCl is commercially available from Chemetall GmbH (Frankfurt) [6] a) A. J. Clarke, S. McNamara, O. Meth-Cohn, Tetrahedron Lett. 1974, 27, 2373-6. b) Y. G. Gu,; E. K. Bayburt, Tetrahedron Lett 1996, 37, 2565. [7] a) H. Froehlich, W. Kalt, J. Org. Chem. 1990, 55, 2993-5. b) C. Peyron, J-M. Navarre, N. Van Craynest, R. Benhida, Tetrahedron Lett. 2005, 46, 3315-3318. c) D. W. Slocum, P. L. Gierer,/. Org. Chem. 1976, 4l\ 3668-74. [8] a) Y. G. Gu, E. K. Bayburt, Tetrahedron Lett. 1996, 37, 2565-8. b) W. Schlecker, A. Huth, E. Ottow, J. Mulzer, Lieb. Ann. 1995, 8, 1441-6. c) W. Schlecker, A. Huth, E. Ottow, J. Mulzer, J. Org. Chem. 1995, 60, 8414-16. d) A. Bouillon, J-C. Lancelot, V. Collot, P. R. Bovy, S. Rault, Tetrahedron 2002, 58, 3323-3328. e) A. Bouillon, J-C. Lancelot, J. S. de O. Santos, V. Collot, P. R. Bovy, S. Rault, Tetrahedron 2003, 59, 10043-10049. f) A. Bouillon, J-C. Lancelot, V. Collot, P. R. Bovy, S. Rault, Tetrahedron 2002, 58, 4369-4373. g) A. Bouillon, J-C. Lancelot, V. Collot, P. R. Bovy, S. Rault, Tetrahedron 2002, 58, 2885-2890. h) H. Awad, F. Mongin, F. Trecourt, G. Queguiner, F. Marsais, Tetrahedron Lett. 2004, 45, 7873-7877. i) D. L. Comins, M. O. Killpack, J. Org. Chem. 1990, 55, 69-73. j) R. Radinov, Kh. Chanev, M. Khaimova, J. Org. Chem. 1991, 56, 4793-6. k) S. Choppin, P. Gros, Y. Fort, Org. Lett. 2000, 2, 803-805. [9] (2-Ethyl-hexyl)2NMgCl'LiCl is prepared by reacting bis(2-ethylhexyl)amine with i-P^NMgCl LiCl in THF at room temperature for 48h. For a general procedure see A. Krasovskiy, V. Krasovskaya, P. Knochel, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2006, 45, 2958-2961. 28 We Claim 1. A reagent of the general formula R1R2N-MgX-zLiY (II) wherein R1 and R' are, independently, selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or silyl derivatives thereof; and R1 and R2 together can be part of a cyclic structure; and wherein at least one of R1 and R2 is other than H; X and Y are, independently, selected from the group consisting of F; CI; Br; I; CN; SCN; NCO; HalOn , wherein n = 3 or 4 and Hal is selected from CI, Br and I; N03; BF4; PF6; H; a carboxylate of the general formula RxC02; an alcoholate of the general formula ORx; a thiolate of the general formula SRX; RxP(0)02; or SCORx; or SCSRx; OnSRx, wherein n = 2 or 3; or NOns wherein n = 2 or 3; wherein R is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or H; z>0; or as adduct with a solvent. 2. Solution of the reagent according to claim 1 in a solvent. 3. Solution according to claim 2, wherein the solvent is selected from cyclic, linear or branched mono or polyethers, thioethers, amines, phosphines, and derivatives thereof containing one or more additional heteroatoms selected from O, N, S and P, preferably tetrahydrofuran (THF), 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, dibutyl ether, diethyl ether, tert- butylmethyl ether, dimethoxyethane, dioxanes, preferably 1,4-dioxane, triethylamine, ethyldiisopropylamine, dimethylsulfide, dibutylsulfide; cyclic amides, preferably N- methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone (NEP), N-butyl-2-pyrrolidone 29 (NBP); cyclic, linear or branched alkanes and/or alkenes wherein one or more hydrogens are replaced by a halogen, preferably dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, CCU; urea derivatives, preferably N,N'-dimethylpropyleneurea (DMPU); aromatic, heteroaromatic or aliphatic hydrocarbons, preferably benzene, toluene, xylene, pyridine, pentane, cyclohexane, hexane, heptane; hexamethylphosphorus triamide (HMPA), CS2; or combinations thereof. 4. Use of the reagent according to claim 1 in a reaction with an electrophile. 5. Use of the reagent according to claim 1 for the deprotonation of any substrate which can form stabilized or unstabilized carbaniones. 6. Process for the preparation of a mixed Mg/Li amide comprising reacting in a solvent a primary or secondary amine with a Grignard reagent in the presence of a lithium salt, or with a Grignard reagent complexed with a lithium salt, or reacting in a solvent a primary or secondary lithium amide with a magnesium salt. 7. Process for the preparation of a reagent having the general formula R]R2N-MgXzLiY (IT) wherein R and R are, independently, selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkyny], or silicon derivatives thereof; and R1 and R2 together can be part of a cyclic structure; and wherein at least one of R1 and R2 and at least one of R3 and R4 is other than H; X and Y are, independently, selected from the group consisting of F; CI; Br; I; CN; SCN; NCO; HalOn , wherein n = 3 or 4 and Hal is selected from CI, Br and I; N03; BF4; PF6; H; a carboxylate of the general formula RXC02; an alcoholate of the general formula ORx; a thiolate of the general formula SRX; RxP(0)02; or SCORx; or SCSRx; OnSRx, wherein n = 2 or 3; or NOn, wherein n = 2 or 3; 30 wherein R is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or H; and z>0; comprising reacting in a solvent R R NH with a Grignard reagent R'MgX in the presence or LiY, or with R'MgX-zLiY, or reacting in a solvent R!R2NLi with MgX2; and wherein R' is selected from substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or derivatives thereof. 8. Process according to claim 7, wherein X and Y are independently or both CI, Br or I, and preferably CI. 9. Process according to claim 7 or 8, wherein z is in the range from 0.01 - 5, preferably from 0.5 - 2, more preferably from 0.9 to 1.2 and most preferred about 1. 10. Process according to any of the claims 7-9, wherein the Grignard reagent R'MgX-zLiY is /PrMgCl-LiCl. 11. Process according to any of the claims 7-10, wherein the solvent is selected from cyclic, linear or branched mono or polyethers, thioethers, amines, phosphines, and derivatives thereof containing one or more additional heteroatoms selected from O, N, S and P, preferably tetrahydrofuran (THF), 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, dibutyl ether, diethyl ether, tert-butylmethyl ether, dimethoxyethane, dioxanes, preferably 1,4-dioxane, triethylamine, ethyldiisopropylamine, dimethylsulfide, dibutylsulfide; cyclic amides, preferably N- methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone (NEP), N-butyl-2-pyrrolidone (NBP); cyclic, linear or branched alkanes and/or alkenes wherein one or more hydrogens are replaced by a halogen, preferably dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, CC14; urea derivatives, preferably N,N'-dimethylpropyleneurea (DMPU); aromatic, heteroaromatic or aliphatic hydrocarbons, preferably benzene, toluene, xylene, pyridine, pentane, 31 cyclohexane, hexane, heptane; hexamethylphosphorus triamide (HMPA), CS2; or combinations thereof. Dated this 7th day of July, 2008 FOR LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAT MUNCHEN By their agent (SAIMA SAGHIR ANSARI) KRISHNA & SAURASTRI 32

Full Text

FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT, 1970 (39 of 1970)
& THE PATENTS RULES, 2003
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10, Rule 13]
PREPARATION AND USE OF MAGNESIUM AMIDES;
LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAT
MUNCHEN, WHOSE ADDRESS IS
GESCHWISTER-SCHOLL-PLATZ 1, D-80539
MUNCHEN, GERMANY
THE FOLLOWING SPECIFICATION
PARTICULARLY DESCRIBES THE
INVENTION AND THE MANNER IN WHICH IT IS TO BE PERFORMED.

The present application relates to magnesium amides, a method for the preparation of magnesium amides and the use of these amides.
The metalation of aromatics is one of the most useful transformations in organic synthesis since it allows the regioselective functionaJization of various aryl derivatives.[1] Traditionally, strong bases such as alkyl lithium (RLi) or lithium amides (R2NLi) have been used to perform such deprotonations. However, these highly reactive bases display often undesirable side reactions due to the too high reactivity of the resulting aryl lithium compounds. Another serious limitation is the low stability of lithium amides in THF solutions at room temperature which requires an in situ generation of these reagents. Furthermore, the deprotonation of aromatics by lithium bases often requires very low temperatures (-78°C to -90°C) which comptieates .the scale-up of these inactions and the use of solvent mixtures such as THF/pentane may be needed.
Alternative methods have been developed using magnesium amides123 such as compounds 1-3 or amido zincates[3] 4 (see Scheme 1). The low solubility of the magnesium amides R2NMgCl (1) could be improved by Eaton who developed the use of magnesium amides of type R2NMgR' (2) and (R2N)2Mg (3). Nevertheless, for achieving high conversions it is usually necessary to use a large excess of the magnesium amides (2-8 equivalents), which complicates further quenching reactions with electrophiles (up to 15 equivalents of electrophile may have to be used). Similarly, the dialkyl amino zincate 4 requires the use of 3.5-4 equivalents of an electrophile in subsequent quenching reactions.

Scheme 1. Typical bases used for the deprotonation of aromatics or heterocycles.
The use of these bases is thus either limited by their poor solubility, or they are not very efficient in view of the amounts of base and the amount of electrophile needed to perform the desired conversion. Their activity or reactivity is very low.
2

The use of lithium salts to increase the solubility of Grignard reagents is known from EP 1 582 523. In this application, the main function of the Grignard reagents of the general formula R (MgX)n LiY disclosed therein is to perform a halogen/magnesium exchange in either aliphatic or aromatic systems. The Grignard reagent derivatives provide a "nucleophilic carbon atom" at a magnesium-carbon-bond. By the addition of a lithium salt to the Grignard reagent, the reactivity of the Grignard reagents can be increased by forming a magnesiate intermediate. These Grignard reagents then show a higher reactivity and selectivity due to the formation of a magnesiate intermediate.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an inexpensive magnesium base which is highly soluble and more reactive. A further object of the present invention is to provide a magnesium base showing a high kinetic activity and a high selectivity.
These objects are achieved by the features of the independent claims. Preferred embodiments are set forth in the dependent claims.
Surprisingly, the inventors found that mixed magnesium and lithium amides of type R'R2N-MgX zLiY (I) can be prepared by reacting an amine R!R2NH with a Grignard reagent R'MgX in the presence of LiY or with R'MgX zLiY in a solvent.
I)
Rl, R2 and R' independently are selected from substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or derivatives thereof, and, for R and R only, the silyl derivatives thereof. One of R1 and R2 may be H; or R1 and R2 together can be part of a cyclic or polymeric structure.
X and Y independently are selected from the group consisting of F; CI; Br; I; CN; SCN; NCO; HalOn, wherein n = 3 or 4 and Hal is selected from CI, Br and I; N03; BF4; PF6; H; a carboxylate of the general formula RXC02; an alcoholate of the general formula ORx; a
3

thiolate of the general formula SRX; RxP(0)02; or SCORx; OnSRx, wherein n = 2 or 3; or NOn, wherein n = 2 or 3; and a derivative thereof; wherein Rx is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms; linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or derivatives thereof; or H.
X and Y may be identical or different. In the above given context, z > 0.
The amides of formula I can also be prepared in an alternative way by reacting a lithium amide of the formula R R NLi with a magnesium salt of the form MgXj or Mg XY. This reaction is preferably carried out in a solvent. In order to achieve a compound of formula I, the magnesium salt and the lithium amide are reacted in approximately equimolar ratio. Thus, the ratio of lithium amide to magnesium salt is usually in the range of 1:0.8-l .2, preferably in the range of 1:0.9-1.1, and most preferably in the range of 1 ;0.95-1.05.
Additionally, the inventors found that magnesium bisamides of the general formula
R1R2N-Mg(NR3R4)MX1-M zLiY (II)
can be prepared. In this formula, R1, R2, R3, and R4 are, independently, selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or silyl derivatives thereof; and R1 and R2 together, and/or R3 and R4 together can be part of a cyclic or polymeric structure; and wherein at least one of R1 and R2 and at least one of R3 and R4 is other than H.
X and Y are, independently, selected from the group consisting of F; CI; Br; I; CN; SCN; NCO; HalOn , wherein n = 3 or 4 and Hal is selected from CI, Br and I; N03; BF4; PF6; H; a carboxylate of the general formula RxC02; an alcoholats of the general formula ORx; a thiolate of the general formula SRx; RxP(0)02; or SCORx; or SCSRx; OnSRx, wherein n - 2 or 3; or NOn, wherein n = 2 or 3; and a derivative thereof; wherein Rx is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or derivatives thereof, or H;
4

in the above given formula II, m is 0 or 1; and z > 0. For m = 0, the compounds of formula II are identical to the compounds of formula I. The adduct with a solvent should also be encompassed by any of the compounds of formula I or II.
The bisamides of the general formula II wherein m = 1 can be prepared from the monoamides of formula I. When reacting R1R2N-MgXzLiY with R3R4NLi, a bisamide of formula II is formed. This reaction is equivalent to a reaction of a generally known Grignard reagent R'MgX in the presence of an amine R'R NH, and subsequently with R3R4NLi. The lithium may also be added as a lithium salt in the form LiY, especially when the Grignard reagent or the monoamide are not complexed with a lithium salt. Obviously, the reagent may also be of the form R R N-MgX zLiY, wherein a lithium salt is already present with the monoamide. In this way, bisamides may be prepared, wherein the two amides are different. However, the two amides may also be the same.
Alternatively, the bisamides may be prepared by reacting two lithium amides R'R2NLI and R3R4NLi with a magnesium salt MgX2- If both lithium amides are identical, or a magnesium monoamide is reacted with a lithium amide of the same type, a bisamide of the general formula Mg(NR1R2)2 zLiY will result. For a higher solubility of the magnesium salt MgX2, this salt may be prepared in situ, for example as described below.
Both the monoamides as well as the bisamides of the present invention show an increased solubility and a high reactivity. Unlike Grignard reagents, which can perform halogen/magnesium exchanges, the amides of the present invention are bases which will tolerate many functional groups, especially halogen substituents. This is due to the different nature of the nitrogen magnesium bond present in the amides of the present application in view of a carbon magnesium bond as in Grignard reagents. The increase in reactivity of the Grignard reagents in the presence of a lithium salt is due to the formation of magnesiate intermediates. In contrast thereto, however, the lithium salt which is added to the amides according to the present application prevents the formation of aggregates. The formation of aggregates is a well known problem in the background art in relation to magnesium amides. As a consequence, the amides known so far have to be used in high excess as they are not very reactive. As the amides of the present invention are not present as aggregates due to the presence of a lithium salt, the amides are much more reactive and more soluble than the amides known so far.
5

Many common solvents can be used in the present invention. In principle, any solvent capable of dissolving the specific amine and the Grignard reagent used as starting materials and the resulting products. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the solvent is selected from cyclic, linear or branched mono or polyethers, thioethers, amines, phosphines, and derivatives thereof containing one or more additional heteroatoms selected from O, N, S and P, preferably tetrahydrofuran (THF), 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, dibutyl ether, diethyl ether, tert-butylmethyl ether, dimethoxyethane, dioxanes, preferably 1,4-dioxane, triethylamine, ethyldiisopropylamine, dimethyl sulfide, dibutylsulfide; cyclic amides, preferably N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone (NEP), N-butyl-2-pyrrolidone (NBP); cyclic, linear or branched alkanes and/or alkenes wherein one or more hydrogens are replaced by a halogen, preferably dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, CC14; urea derivatives, preferably N,N'-dimethylpropyleneurea (DMPU); aromatic, heteroaromatic or aliphatic hydrocarbons, preferably benzene, toluene, xylene, pyridine, pentane, cyclohexane, hexane, heptane; hexamethylphosphorus triamide (HMPA), CS2; or combinations thereof.
rhe process of the invention for the preparation of amides of formula I is carried out by eacting an amine R!R2NH with a Grignard reagent R'MgX in the presence of LiY or with R/MgX zLiY in a solvent. The materials are contacted preferably at room temperature for the Tiinirnum time necessary to provide the desired yield. Temperatures between 0°C and 50°C ire preferred, however, higher or lower reaction temperatures are also suitable. The preparation of the bisamides of formula II is usually carried out at temperatures between 40°C and 50°C, preferably in the range of-20°C to 30°C and most preferred at around 0°C. \ person skilled in the art will however be able to select a suitable temperature for the preparation of the amides of formula I or II by routine experimentation.
n another preferred embodiment, X and Y are independently or both CI, Br or I, and preferably CI.
In yet another preferred embodiment, the preparation of a compound a formula I is achieved by j'PrMgCl LiCl[5]. This embodiment is particularly preferred since /PrMgCl LiCl is xmmercially available.
6

Generally, any Grignard reagent can be used to prepare the mixed Mg/Li-amides in the presence of any lithium salt. It is nevertheless preferred to use a Grignard reagent the side or by-products of which can easily be removed from the reaction mixture. The presence of a lithium salt accelerates the exchange reaction compared to homoleptic reagents RMgX and R2Mg without the use of a lithium salt.
According to a second aspect, the present invention is directed to the mixed Mg/Li amide R'R2N-MgX zLiY (I), wherein R1, R2, X, Y and z are defined as above. This corresponds to an amide according to formula II, wherein m = 0. The second aspect also relates to a mixed Mg/Li bisamide of the general formula R1R2N-Mg(NR3R4)MX1-M zLiY (II), wherein R1, R2, R3, R4, X, Y, m and z are defined as above. It is to be understood that the adduct of a solvent is also comprised by any of these formulae.
A third aspect of the present invention is directed to a solution of the amide (I) or (II) in a solvent. The solvent can be any suitable solvent capable of dissolving the amide. Especially preferred solvents are the solvents listed above for the preparation of the amides.
All aspects and features described above in relation to the first aspect shall also apply to the second and third aspect of the invention.
In a fourth aspect, the present invention is related to the use of mixed Mg/Li amides (I) and (11). The amides of the present invention can be used to remove acidic protons. The deprotonated species can then subsequently be quenched with an elecrrophile. In principle it is possible to use all kinds of electrophiles that are, for example, cited in the following references, but are not limited thereto:
a) Handbook of Grignard reagents; edited by Gary S. Silverman and Philip E. Rakita (Chemical industries; v. 64).
b) Grignard reagents New Developments; edited by Herman G. Richey, Jr., 2000, John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
c) Methoden der Organischen Chemie, Houben-Weyl, Band XIII/2a, Metallorganische Verbindungen Be, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Zn, Cd. 1973.
d) The chemistry of the metal-carbon bond, vol 4. edited by Frank R. Hartley. 1987, John
Wiley & Sons.
7

The final aspect of the invention relates to the product of the reaction of an electrophile with a substrate which has been deprotonated with a reagent of the general formula I or II.
In all aspects relating to the monoamides of the formula I, z is preferably in the range from 0.01 - 5, more preferably from 0.5 - 2, even more preferably from 0.9 to 1.2 and most preferred about 1. In the most preferred embodiment of the invention according to formula I, z is used in an equimolar ratio compared to the amide.
In relation to the bisamide of formula II, wherein m = 1, z is preferably in the range of from 0.01-5, more preferably from 0.5 - 2.5, even more preferably from 1.8 to 2.2 and most preferred about 2.
The present invention is described in the following on the basis of specific examples. Especially, /-PrMgCl is used as Grignard reagent. However, it is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to such examples.
Unless otherwise defined, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. All publications and other references mentioned herein are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
As used herein, the terms "alknyi", "aifcenyi" and "alkynyi" refer to linear, cyclic and branched, substituted and unsubstitued C1-C20 compounds. Preferred ranges for these compounds are C|-C,o, preferably CrO3 (lower alkyl) and C2-C10 and preferably C2-C5, respectively, for alkenyl and alkynyl. The term "cycloalkyi" generally refers to linear and branched, substituted and unsubstitued C3-C20 cycloalkanes. Here, preferred ranges are C3-C15, more preferably C3-C8.
Whenever any of the residues R1, R2, R3 and/or R4 are substituted by a substituent, the substituent may be selected by a person skilled in the art from any known substituent. A person skilled in the art will select a possible substituent according to his knowledge and will be able to select a substituent which will not interfere with other substituents present in the
8

molecule and which will not interfere or disturb possible reactions, especially the reactions described within this application. Possible substituents include without limitation
halogenes, preferably fluorine, chlorine, bromine and iodine;
aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic hydrocarbons, especially alkanes,
alkylenes, arylenes, alkylidenes, arylidenes, heteroarylenes and heteroarylidenes;
carbonxylic acids including the salts thereof;
carboxylic acid halides;
aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic carboxylilc acid esters;
aldehydes;
aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic ketones;
alcohols and alcoholates, including a hydroxyl group;
phenoles and phenolates;
aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic ethers;
aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic peroxides;
hydroperoxides;
aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic amides or amidines;
- nitriles;
aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic amines;
aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic imines;
aliphatic, alicyclic, aromatic or heteroaromatic sulfides including a thiol group;
sulfonic acids including the salts thereof;
- thioles and thiolates;
- phosphonic acids including the salts thereof; phosphinic acids including the salts thereof; phosphorous acids including the salts thereof; phosphinous acids including the salts thereof;
The substituents may be bound to the residues R1, R2, R3 and/or R4 via a carbon atom, an oxygen atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, or a phosphorus atom. The hetero atoms in any structure containing hetero atoms, as e.g. heteroarylenes or heteroaromatics, may preferably be N,0, S and P.
When R1 and R2, or R3 and R4 can be part of a cyclic structure, it is to be understood that R1
and R2 together, or R3 and R4 together, are a divalent saturated or unsaturated, linear or
branched alknyl, alkenyl or alkynyl which forms in connection with the nitrogen atom of the
9

amide a cyclic secondary amide. An example of such a cyclic amide is the amide of TMPH. Further, the residues R1 and R2, and/or R3 and R4 can be part of a polymeric structure. The nitrogen atom of the amide is the connected to a polymeric backbone which may even contain more than one nitrogen atom for the formation of an amide according to the invention.
The term "aryl" as used herein refers to substituted or unsubstituted C4-C24 aryl- By "heteroaryl", a substituted or unsubstituted C3-C24 aryl, containing one or more heteroatoms as B, O, N, S, Se, P, is meant. Preferred ranges for both are C4-C15, more preferably C4-C10 and includes aryls and fused aryls with or without heteroatoms. A preferred ring size comprises 5 or 6 ring atoms.
Mixed magnesium and lithium amides R]R2NMgCl LiCl (R! and R2 = i-Pr or R!R2N = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl) can be prepared by reacting i-PrMgCI LiCl[4,5] with diisopropylamine or 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (TMPH), respectively, in THF (-20°C -80°C, for 0.1-48 h ). The resulting Li/Mg-reagents 5a (R1 and R2 = /-Pr) and 5b (R1R2N = 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidyl) proved to have an excellent solubility in THF (0.6 M and 1.2 M, respectively) as well as an improved kinetic acidity and regioselectivity for the magnesation of various aromatics and heterocycles.
The activity of the amides (I) can be shown on the basis of the magnesiation of isoquinoline. Diisopropylamido magnesium chloride-lithium chloride 5a leads to the magnesiated isoquinoline 6 after 12 h reaction time at 25°C and by using 2 equivalents of the base. After iodoiysis, the iodoisoquinoline 7a is isolated in 88% yield (Scheme 2). Even more active is the sterically more hindered and less aggregated 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidino magnesium chloride-lithium chloride reagent 5b. It leads to a complete magnesiation within 2 h at 25°C. Remarkably, with this base only 1.1 equivalents are required to achieve a complete metaiation. The resulting Grignard reagent 6 provides after iodoiysis the iodoisoquinoline 7a in 96% yield (Scheme 2 and Table 1).

N-MgCI LiCl

Scheme 2. Magnesiation of isoquinoline
10

After the magnesation of a reagent, it can be subjected to a transmetalation. After e.g. a transmetalation with CuCN 2LiCl (20 mol %), the addition of benzoyl chloride (1.2 equiv.) provides the ketone 7b in 86% yield (entry 2 of Table 1).
The presence of an excess of magnesium amides often hampers the performance of palladium-catalyzed cross-couplings. The inventors found that the Grignard reagents generated by deprotonation with 5b (1.1 equiv.) such as 6 are readily transmetalated to the corresponding zinc derivative (ZnCl2 (1.1 equiv.), 0°C, 5 min.) and undergo a Negishi-cross-coupling reaction using Pd(dba)2 (5 mol%) (dba ~ dibenzylideneacetone), P(2-fur)3 (7 mol%) (fur=furyl) with ethyl 4-iodobenzoate (1.2 equiv.; 50°C, 12 h) leading to the arylated quinoline (7c) in 82% yield. This behaviour is general and 3-bromoquinoline is metalated with 5b (1.1 equiv., -30°C, 0.5 h) leading to the 2-magnesiated quinoline 8 (entries 4 and 5 of Table 1). Thus, the quenching of 8 with h and N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) provides the two quinolines 9a and 9b in 96-93% yield.
Whereas the deprotonation of 2,6-dichloropyridine with i-Pr2NMgCl LiCl 5a and lithium diisopropylamide (LDA)t8jI provides a 1:1 mixture of 3- and 4-magnesiated 2,6-dichloro¬pyridine, the use of TMPMgCl LiCl 5b furnishes only the 4-magnesiated pyridine 10. Its reaction with typical electrophiles (b, DMF and PhCHO) provides the expected products 11a-c in 84^-93% yield (entries 6-8 of Table 1). Interestingly, metalation of 3,5-dibromopyridine with LDA proceeds selectively at 4-position[6b] while in the case of (TMPMgCl LiCl 5b 1.1 equiv, r20°C, 0.5h) regioselective metalation of 3,5-dibromopyridine is observed leading after the reaction with DMF to the pyridylaldehyde 13 in 95% yield (entry 9 of Table 1).
The magnesiation of heterocycles bearing more acidic protons17' such as thiazole, thiophene, furan, benzothiophene or benzothiazole proceeds smoothly between 0°C and 25°C leading to the organomagnesium derivatives 14a-c and 16a-b. After trapping with standard electrophiles, the expected products 15a-c and 17a-b are obtained in 81-98% yield (entries 10-14 of Table I).
The metalation of pyrimidine derivatives is a challenging problem due to the propensity of
these heterocycles to add organometallic reagents.[8] ' The inventors found that the inverse
addition of the pyrimidine derivatives 18-20 to a THF solution of 5b (1.05 equiv.) at -55°C
11

for approx. 5 min. provides the corresponding magnesiated derivatives 21-23 in 83-90% yields as indicated by iodolysis experiments leading to the iodinated pyrimidines 24-26
(scheme 3).

Scheme 3. Regioselective magnesiation of pyrimidines
The mixed magnesium-lithium amide 5b is also well suited for the regioselective metalation of polyfunctional aromatic systems. Thus, the reaction of 2-phenylpyridine 27 in THF at 55°C with 5b (2.0 equiv.) for 24 h provides the Grignard reagent 28 showing a rare case where a phenyl ring is preferentially metalated compared to a pyridine ring. After iodolysis, the ortho-iodinated product 29 is obtained in 80% yield. Interestingly, the metalation of polyfunctional aromatics such as the bromodiester 30 also succeeds using only the stoichiometric amount of base 5b (1.1 equiv.) in THF (-30°C, 0.5 h) leading regioselectively to the arylmagnesium species 31 which after iodolysis furnishes the polyfunctional aromatic derivative 32 in 88% yield.
12

27

5b, (2.0 equiv)
>
THF, 55 °C, 24 h

29: 80%

30 31 32:88 %
Scheme 4. Regioselective magnesiation of polyfunctional aromatic systems

A solution of TMPMgCI LiCl can easily be prepared in THF due to its excellent solubility and it is stable for more than 6 months at 25°C. The use of TMPMgCI LiCl allows for the regioselective functionalization of various aromatics and heteroaromatics. It gives access to new magnesium species not readily available via a Br/Mg-exchange reactions or by previously reported metalation procedures.
The residues R1 and R2 are not limited to organic compounds. R1 and R2 may also be silylated compounds like trimethylsilyl. The preparation of the bis(trimethylsilyl) amide 33 can be achieved by reacting bis(trirnethylsilyl)amine with /-PrMgCI LiCl at room temperature (see Scheme 5). This base can efficiently be used to deprotonate ketones like e.g. cyclohexanone as can be seen from Scheme 5.

2) Mel Scheme 5: Preparation and use of silylated magnesium amide
13

The Grignard reagents can also be used to prepare a polymeric base. 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl piperidine (TMPH) is a well known base. It can be used to prepare the corresponding mixed Mg/Li amide TMPMgCl LiCl 5b. This monomelic base is very reactive but also very expensive. A corresponding polymeric base to TMPH is chimassorb 994, the structure of which is shown in Scheme 6.

Chimassorb 994
Scheme 6: Structure of chimassorb 994
Chimassorb 994 can be used to prepare the corresponding mixed Mg/Li amide by reacting chimassorb 994 with i-PrMgCl LiCl at room temperature (see Scheme 5). This base 34 is stable and soluble in THF before and after deprotonation. As being a polymeric base, it can be easily removed after completion of the reaction. Since chimassorb 994 is much cheaper than TMP, a corresponding base can be prepared at reduced costs. The polymeric base 34 shows slightly lower activity than monomelic TMPMgCl LiCl but is nevertheless very effective in deprotonating compounds with acidic protons like isoquinoline. A corresponding example is shown in Scheme 7. The polymeric base can be used to deprotonate various substrates. For example, isoquinoline reacts at room temperature with the base 34 affording after quenching with iodine 1-iodoisoquinoline 7a.

Chimassorb 994

34

Scheme 7: Preparation and use of the mixed Mg/Li amide of chimassorb 994
14

The above given examples show that the new mixed Mg/Li-bases of the general type R R NMgX zLiY have a high kinetic activity due to the presence of a lithium salt which breaks oligomeric aggregates of magnesium amides.
An example of a symmetrical bisamide reagent is (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl 40a. It is prepared by reacting in situ generated MgCh with lithium 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidide (TMPLi) in THF at 0°C for 30 minutes (see Scheme 8).

MgCI2,THF,O°C,30min. >95 %

Scheme 8: Preparation of the bisamide (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl (40a).
Additionally, other symmetrical bisamides can be prepared in high yields using the same methodology as for the preparation of 40a. All examples shown below (40b-40c) were prepared in >95% yield (Scheme 9) in analogy to the preparation of 40a. This also includes bisamides containing silyl substituted amines.

Scheme 9: Further examples of symmetrical bisamides.
Comparative metalation experiments on aromatic substrates were performed under identical
conditions with 1.1 equivalents of both (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl (40a) and TMPMgCl-LiCl (5b). The
bisamide reagent (TMP)2Mg-2LiCI shows highly superior reactivity than TMPMgCl-LiCl and
it was even able to deprotonate very weak acidic substrates.
15

Scheme 10 gives an overview over examples of reactions of four different aromatic substances (41-44) with (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl (40a) and TMPMgClLiCl (5b) under identical conditions. The respective yields are indicated for the products of each of the two amides 40a and 5b. This experiment clearly shows the even superior reactivity of the bisamides in view of the monoamides. All reactions are carried out at room temperature (rt) being at 25°C.

C02'Bu
42a

Scheme 10: Comparison of reaction of aryls with monoamide 5b and bisamide 40a.
Additionally, the resultant Grignard intermediates derived from (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl show good stability and tolerance to various substrates. Furthermore, they react with different eletrophiles providing the corresponding functionalized derivatives in good yields. Examples are shown in Table 2 below.
16

It could also be shown that mixed magnesium bases bearing two different amide functions, i.e. R*R2N and R3R4N being different, have improved properties over the corresponding symmetrical reagents bearing two identical amide functions. The unsymmetrical reagents 40e-40i are prepared from TMPMgCl-LiCI, i-Pr2NMgCl-LiCl and (2-ethyl-hexyl)2NMgCl-LiClf9^, respectively, and the corresponding lithium species of \H-benxotriazole (Bt), 5,6-dimethly-1H-benzotriazole, (DMBt) and catbaxote (CBZ,), respectively (Scheme 11).

40g
Scheme 11: Preparation of compound 40e-40i having two different amide functions.
Especially, the base 40e provides a far higher reactivity than TMPMgCI LiCI (5b) and (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl (40a) when using special directing metalation groups (DMG). TMPMgCl-LiCI provides full metalation of 44 in 90 minutes at 0°C, and reagent 40a provides full metalation in 60 minutes. In contrast thereto, the use of 40e provides full metalation at 0°C in only 10 minutes. Furthermore, only 1.3 equivalents of the base 40e are used in contrast
17

to 1.5 equivalents of TMPMgClUCl. Moreover, the yield of 45a is higher compared to the useofTMPMgCl-UCl (Scheme 12).

f^-NMe2 then ,2i 0 =c t0 rt k^k ^~NMe2
NMe2 NMe2
44 44a: 78 %

Scheme 12: Comparison of the reactivity of unsymmetrical bisamide 40e in view of monoamide 5b and symmetrical bisamide 40a.

The regulating intermediates derived from (TMP)Mg(Bt)-2LiCl show good stability and tolerance to various substrates. They can be trapped with an electrophile like iodine to provide the corresponding functionalized derivatives in good yields. Examples are shown in Table 3.

As can be seen from the above given examples, the new mixed Mg/Li-bases are very effective in deprotonating organic compounds. The deprotonation can be achieved in different solvents and can preferably be conducted at temperatures between -90°C and 100°C. Further, due to the effective deprotonation reaction, the amides of the present invention preferably only require the use of 0.9-5 equivalents, more preferably 1-2 equivalents and most preferably 1.1-1.5 equivalents per proton to be deprotonated.

With this new type of base, which is highly soluble and the side products of which do not disturb the following reactions, many new products may be.obtained, or known reactions
18

pathways will be more efficient, A person skilled in the art will easily recognise the benefit of the new Mg/Li-base and will be able to use this base in a wide variety of chemical reactions.
In the following, examples are given to illustrate the present invention. However, these examples are given for illustrative purposes only and are not supposed to limit the scope of the invention which is determined by the claims below.
Experimental Section:
Preparation of the reagent TMPMgCI LiCI (5b):
A dry and argon flushed 250 mL flask, equipped with a magnetic stirrer and a septum, was charged with freshly titrated i-PrMgClLiCl (100 mL, 1.2 M in THF, 120mmol). 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (TMPH) (19.8 g, 126 mmol, 1.05 equiv) was added dropwise at room temperature. The reaction mixture was stirred until gas evaluation was completed (ca. 24 h) at room temperature.
Preparation of 1-iodoisoquinoline (7a):
A-dry and argon flushed 10 mL flask, equipped with a magnetic stirrer and a septum, was charged with TMPMgCI LiCI (5 mL, 1.2 M in THF, 6.0 mmol). Isoquinoline (703 mg, ' 5.45 mmol) in THF (5 ml) was added dropwise at room temperature. During addition, the reaction mixture became red and the metalation was complete after 2 h (as checked by GC analysis of reaction aliquots quenched with a solution of I2 in THF, the conversion was more than 98%). A solution of I2 in THF (6 ml, 1 M in THF, 6.0 mmol) was slowly added at -20°C. The reaction mixture was quenched with sat. aqueous NH4CI solution (10 mL). The aqueous phase was extracted with ether (4x10 mL), dried with Na2S04 and concentrated in vacuo. The crude residue was purified by filter column chromatography (CH2C1/2pentane) yielding 1-iodoisoquinoline (7a; 1.33 mg, 96%) as slightly yellow crystals (mp = 74-76°C).
The products listed in table 1 below can be produced according to the preparation of 1 -iodoisoquinoline (7a).
19

Table 1. Products obtained by the magnesiation of heterocycles with TMPMgCl LiCl (5b) and reaction with electrophiles.

Lithium chloride and TMPH are complexed to the Grignard reagent. [b]Reaction conditions for the deprotonation with TMPMgCl LiCl (5b, 1.1 equiv.). [c]Isolated yield of analytically pure product.' ]A transmetalation with CuCN-2LiCl (0.2 equiv) was performed
20

Preparation of (TMP)2Mg 2LiCl (40a).
Magnesium turnings (15 mmol) were placed in an argon-flushed-Schlenk flask and THF (30 ml) was added. 1,2-Dichloroethane (16 mmol) was added dropwise and the reaction was stirred until all magnesium was consumed, approximately 2 h. In another argon-flushed-Schlenk flask 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine (TMPH) (30 mmol) and THF (20 ml) were placed. This solution was cooled to -40°C and n-BuLi (30 mmol) was added dropwise. After the addition, the reaction mixture was warmed to 0°C and stirred at same temperature for 30 min. The MgCh solution was then transferred via cannula into the TMPLi solution and the reaction mixture was stirred at 0°C for 30 min, then warmed to room temperature and stirred for an additional 1 h. The solvents were removed then in vacuo followed by addition of THF while stirring until complete dissolution of the salts. The fresh (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl solution was titrated prior to use at 0°C against benzoic acid using 4-(phenylazo)-diphenylamine as indicator.Average concentration in THF was 0,6 mol/1.
Preparation of (PIR)2Mg 2LiCI (40b).
Prepared according to 40a from pyrrolidine (PIR) (30 mmol), «-BuLi (30 mmol), magnesium turnings (15 mmol) and 1,2-dichloroethane (16 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0,65 mol/1.
Preparation of (i-Pr)2NMg 2LiCI (40c).
Prepared according to 40a from diisopropylamine (30 mmol), M-BuLi (30 mmol), magnesium turnings (15 mmol) and 1,2-dichloroethane (16 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0,84 mol/1.
Preparation of (HMDS)2Mg 2LiCl (40d).
Prepared according to 40a from 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) (30 mmol), «-BuLi (30 mmol), magnesium turnings (15 mmol) and 1,2-dichloroethane (16 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0,86 mol/L.
21

Magnesiations of functionalized arenes with (TMP)2Mg-2LiCI: Preparation of di-tert-butyI4-iodobenzene-l,3-dioate (51a).
A dry and nitrogen-flushed 10-ml-Schlenk-flask, equipped with a magnetic stirring bar and a septum, was charged with a solution of the di-tert-butyl isophthalate (278 mg, J mmol) in dry THF (1 ml). After cooling to 0°C, a freshly, prepared (TMP)2Mg-2LiCl solution (0.6 mol/1 in THF, 1.83 ml, 1.1 mmol) was added dropwise and the reaction mixture was stirred at the same temperature. The completion of the metalation (2 h) was checked by GC-analysis of reaction aliquots quenched with a solution of h in dry ether. Iodine (508 mg, 2 mmol) dissolved in dry THF (2 ml) was then added at 0°C and the resulting mixture warmed to room temperature. After stirring for 1 hour, the reaction mixture was quenched with sat. aq. Na2S203, extracted with ether (3 x 20 ml) and dried over Na2S04. After filtration the solvent was removed in vacuo. Purification by flash-chromatography (n-pentane/di ethyl ether, 10:1) furnished compound 51a (380 mg, 94%) as a yellow oil.
The products listed in Table 2 below can be produced according to the preparation of di-tert-butyl 4-iodobenzene-l,3-dioate (51a), using the corresponding temperatures and reactions times as indicated in the table.
22

Table 2. Products obtained by the magnesiation of aromatics with (TMP)2Mg"2LiCl and reactions with eletrophiles.

Entry Substrate Temp.[°C] Time Electrophile E* Product

Yield

23

Entry Substrate Temp.[°C] Time Eiectropnite E* Product Yield

13 49 -40 5h BrCl3C2Cl2Br 49b: E=Br 70%
C02Et C02Et
E

[a]A transmetalation with CuCN-2LiCl was performed. Ib]Obtained by palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling after transmetalation with ZnCh.
Preparation of (TMP)Mg(Bt)2LiCl (40e):
Benzotriazole (Bt)(1.19g, lO.Ommol) was placed in a flame dried, argon flushed 50ml Schlenk tube equipped with magnetic stirring bar and septum. THF (10 ml) was added. The solution was cooled to -40°C. Then n-BuLi (3.62ml, 2.76M in hexane, lO.Ommol) was added drop wise. White precipitate was formed immediately. After the end of the addition the resulting suspension was stirred at -40°C for 30 min. Then solvents were removed in vacuo followed by addition of TMPMgCILiCl (8.93 ml, 1.12M in THF, lO.Ommol). After the complete dissolving of the white solid, THF was removed in vacuo. To the resulting brownish gel, THF was added while stirring until complete dissolution of the salts. The fresh (TMP)Mg(Bt)-2LiCl solution was titrated at room temperature against benzoic acid using 4-(phenylazo)-diphenylamine as an indicator. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0.35 mol/1.
Preparation of (TMP)lVIg(DMBt)'2LiCl (40f):
Prepared according to 40e from 5,6-dimethyl-lH-benzotriazole (10 mmol)s n-BuLi (lO mmol) and TMPMgCl-LiCl (lOmmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0.33 mol/1.
24

Preparation of (TMP)Mg(CBZ)-2LiCl (40g):
Prepared according to 40e from 9//-carbazole (10 mmol), n-BuLi (10 mmol), TMPMgClLiCl
(10 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0.33 mol/1.
Preparation of (i-Pr2N)Mg(Bt)-2LiCl (40h):
Prepared according to 40e from benzotriazole (10 mmol), «-BuLi (10 mmol) and (/-Pr2N)MgCl'LiCl (10 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0.24 mol/1.
Preparation of (2-ethyMiexyl)2NMg(Bt>2LiCl (40i):
Prepared according to 40e from benzotriazole (10 mmol), n-BuLi (10 mmol) and (2-ethyl-hexyl)2NMgCl LiCl (10 mmol) in THF. Average concentration in THF was found to be 0.23 mol/1.
Magnesiations of functional ized arenes with (TMP)Mg(Bt)-2LiCI:
Preparation of ethyl 3-{[bis(dimethylamino)phosphoryl]oxy}-2-iodobenzoate (44a).
A dry and nitrogen-flushed 25-ml Schlenk flask, equipped with a magnetic stirring bar and a septum, was charged ethyl 3-{[bis(dimethylamino)phosphoryl]oxy}benzoate 44 (300 mg, 1.00 mmol) in dry THF (3 ml). After cooling to 0°C, a freshly prepared (TMP)Mg(Bt)-2LiCl solution (4.33 ml, 0.3 M in THF, 1.3 mmol) was added dropwise and the reaction mixture was stirred at the same temperature. The completion of the metalation (10 min) was checked by GC-analysis of reaction aliquots quenched with a solution of h in dry THF. Iodine (508 mg, 2.0 mmol) dissolved in dry THF (2 ml) was then added at 0°C and the resulting mixture warmed to room temperature. After stirring for 1 hour, the reaction mixture was quenched with sat. aq. Na2S2O3, extracted with ether (3 x 20 ml) and dried over Na2S04. After filtration, the solvent was removed in vacuo. Purification by flash-chromatography using ethyl acetate as eluent furnished ethyl 3-{[bis(dimethylamino)phosphoryl]oxy}-2-iodobenzoate 44a (332 mg, 78%) as a yellow oil.
The products listed in Table 3 below can be produced according to the preparation of ethyl 3-{[bis(dimethyIamino)phosphoryl]oxy}-2-iodobenzoate 44a, using the corresponding temperatures and reactions times as indicated in the table.
25

Table 3. Products obtained by the magnesiation of aromatics with (TMP)Mg(Bt)-2LiCI and
reactions with eletrophiles.
Product
Entry
Yield
Substate Temp. f°C] Time Electrophile

26

References and notes:
[1] a) M. Schlosser, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2005, 44, 376-393. b) A. Turck, N. Pie, F. Mongin, G. Queguiner, Tetrahedron 2001, 57,4489-4505. c) F. Mongin, G. Queguiner, Tetrahedron 2001, 57, 4059-4090 d) M. Schlosser, Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2001, 21, 3975-3984. e) D. M. Hodgson, C. D. Bray, N. D. Kindon, Org. Lett 2005, 7, 2305-2308. f) J-C. Plaquevent, T. Perrard, D. Cahard, Chem. Eur. J. 2002, 8, 3300-3307. g) C. -C. Chang, M. S. Ameerunisha, Coord Chem. Rev. 1999, 189, 199-278. h) J. Clayden, Organolithiums: Selectivity for Synthesis. Editor(s): J. E. Baldwin, R. M. Williams 2002, Publisher: Elsevier, i) F. Leroux, M. Schlosser, E. Zohar, I. Marek, The preparation of organolithium reagents and intermediates Editors): Rappoport, Zvi; Marek, Ilan. Chemistry of Organolithium Compounds 2004,1, 435-493. Publisher: John Wiley & Sons Ltd. j) K. W. Henderson, W. J. Kerr, Chem.-A Eur. J. 2001, 7(16), 3430-3437. k) K. W. Henderson, W. J. Kerr, J. H. Moir, Tetrahedron 2002, 58(23), 4573-4587.1) M. C. Whisler, S. MacNeil, V. Snieckus, P. Beak, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43(17), 2206-2225. m) G. Queguiner, F. Marsais, V. Snieckus, J. Epsztajn, Adv. in Het. Chem. 1991, 52, 187-304. n) M. Veith, S. Wieczorek, K. Fries, V. Huch, Z Anorg. ALLg. Chem. 2000, 626(5), 1237-1245.
[2] a) M-X. Zhang, P. E. Eaton, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2002, 41, 2169-2171. b) Y. Kondo, Y. Akihiro, T. Sakamoto, J. Chem. Soc, Perkin Trans. 1: Org. Bio-Org. Chem. 1996, 19, 2331-2332. c) P. E. Eaton, C. H. Lee, Y. Xiong, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1989, 111, 8016-18. d) P. E. Eaton, M-X. Zhang, N. Komiya, C-G. Yang, I. Steele, R. Gilardi, Synlett 2003, 9, 1275-1278. e) P. E. Eaton, R. M. Martin, J. Org. Chem. 1988, 53, 2728-32. f) M. Shilai, Y. Kondo, T. Sakamoto, J. Chem. Soc, Perkin Trans. 1: Org. Bio-Org. Chem. 2001, 4, 442. g) P. Knochel, W. Dohle, N. Gommermann, F. F. Kneisel, F. Kopp, T. Kom, I. Sapountzis, V. A. Vu, Angew. Chem. 2003, 115, 4438-4456.
[3] a) Y. Kondo, M. Shilai, M. Uchiyama, T. Sakamoto, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1999, 121, 3539-3540. b) T. Imahori, M. Uchiyama, T. Sakamoto, Y. Kondo, Chem. Comm. 2001, 23, 2450-2451. '
[4] A. Krasovskiy, P. Knochel, Angew. Chem. 2004, 116, 4438; Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2004, 43, 3333 b) H. Ren, A. Krasovskiy, P. Knochel, Chem. Commun. 2005, 543. c) H. Ren, A. Krasovskiy, P. Knochel, Org. Lett. 2004, 6,4215.
27

[5] /-PrMgCl LiCl is commercially available from Chemetall GmbH (Frankfurt)
[6] a) A. J. Clarke, S. McNamara, O. Meth-Cohn, Tetrahedron Lett. 1974, 27, 2373-6. b) Y. G. Gu,; E. K. Bayburt, Tetrahedron Lett 1996, 37, 2565.
[7] a) H. Froehlich, W. Kalt, J. Org. Chem. 1990, 55, 2993-5. b) C. Peyron, J-M. Navarre, N. Van Craynest, R. Benhida, Tetrahedron Lett. 2005, 46, 3315-3318. c) D. W. Slocum, P. L. Gierer,/. Org. Chem. 1976, 4l\ 3668-74.
[8] a) Y. G. Gu, E. K. Bayburt, Tetrahedron Lett. 1996, 37, 2565-8. b) W. Schlecker, A. Huth, E. Ottow, J. Mulzer, Lieb. Ann. 1995, 8, 1441-6. c) W. Schlecker, A. Huth, E. Ottow, J. Mulzer, J. Org. Chem. 1995, 60, 8414-16. d) A. Bouillon, J-C. Lancelot, V. Collot, P. R. Bovy, S. Rault, Tetrahedron 2002, 58, 3323-3328. e) A. Bouillon, J-C. Lancelot, J. S. de O. Santos, V. Collot, P. R. Bovy, S. Rault, Tetrahedron 2003, 59, 10043-10049. f) A. Bouillon, J-C. Lancelot, V. Collot, P. R. Bovy, S. Rault, Tetrahedron 2002, 58, 4369-4373. g) A. Bouillon, J-C. Lancelot, V. Collot, P. R. Bovy, S. Rault, Tetrahedron 2002, 58, 2885-2890. h) H. Awad, F. Mongin, F. Trecourt, G. Queguiner, F. Marsais, Tetrahedron Lett. 2004, 45, 7873-7877. i) D. L. Comins, M. O. Killpack, J. Org. Chem. 1990, 55, 69-73. j) R. Radinov, Kh. Chanev, M. Khaimova, J. Org. Chem. 1991, 56, 4793-6. k) S. Choppin, P. Gros, Y. Fort, Org. Lett. 2000, 2, 803-805.
[9] (2-Ethyl-hexyl)2NMgCl'LiCl is prepared by reacting bis(2-ethylhexyl)amine with i-P^NMgCl LiCl in THF at room temperature for 48h. For a general procedure see A. Krasovskiy, V. Krasovskaya, P. Knochel, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2006, 45, 2958-2961.
28

We Claim
1. A reagent of the general formula
R1R2N-MgX-zLiY (II)
wherein
R1 and R' are, independently, selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or silyl derivatives thereof; and R1 and R2 together can be part of a cyclic structure; and wherein at least one of R1 and R2 is other than H;
X and Y are, independently, selected from the group consisting of F; CI; Br; I; CN; SCN; NCO; HalOn , wherein n = 3 or 4 and Hal is selected from CI, Br and I; N03; BF4; PF6; H; a carboxylate of the general formula RxC02; an alcoholate of the general formula ORx; a thiolate of the general formula SRX; RxP(0)02; or SCORx; or SCSRx; OnSRx, wherein n = 2 or 3; or NOns wherein n = 2 or 3;
wherein R is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or H;
z>0;
or as adduct with a solvent.
2. Solution of the reagent according to claim 1 in a solvent.
3. Solution according to claim 2, wherein the solvent is selected from cyclic, linear or
branched mono or polyethers, thioethers, amines, phosphines, and derivatives thereof
containing one or more additional heteroatoms selected from O, N, S and P, preferably
tetrahydrofuran (THF), 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, dibutyl ether, diethyl ether, tert-
butylmethyl ether, dimethoxyethane, dioxanes, preferably 1,4-dioxane, triethylamine,
ethyldiisopropylamine, dimethylsulfide, dibutylsulfide; cyclic amides, preferably N-
methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone (NEP), N-butyl-2-pyrrolidone
29

(NBP); cyclic, linear or branched alkanes and/or alkenes wherein one or more hydrogens are replaced by a halogen, preferably dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, CCU; urea derivatives, preferably N,N'-dimethylpropyleneurea (DMPU); aromatic, heteroaromatic or aliphatic hydrocarbons, preferably benzene, toluene, xylene, pyridine, pentane, cyclohexane, hexane, heptane; hexamethylphosphorus triamide (HMPA), CS2; or combinations thereof.
4. Use of the reagent according to claim 1 in a reaction with an electrophile.
5. Use of the reagent according to claim 1 for the deprotonation of any substrate which can form stabilized or unstabilized carbaniones.
6. Process for the preparation of a mixed Mg/Li amide comprising reacting in a solvent a primary or secondary amine with a Grignard reagent in the presence of a lithium salt, or with a Grignard reagent complexed with a lithium salt, or reacting in a solvent a primary or secondary lithium amide with a magnesium salt.
7. Process for the preparation of a reagent having the general formula
R]R2N-MgXzLiY (IT)
wherein
R and R are, independently, selected from H, substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkyny], or silicon derivatives thereof; and R1 and R2 together can be part of a cyclic structure; and wherein at least one of R1 and R2 and at least one of R3 and R4 is other than H;
X and Y are, independently, selected from the group consisting of F; CI; Br; I; CN; SCN; NCO; HalOn , wherein n = 3 or 4 and Hal is selected from CI, Br and I; N03; BF4; PF6; H; a carboxylate of the general formula RXC02; an alcoholate of the general formula ORx; a thiolate of the general formula SRX; RxP(0)02; or SCORx; or SCSRx; OnSRx, wherein n = 2 or 3; or NOn, wherein n = 2 or 3;
30

wherein R is a substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or H; and
z>0;
comprising
reacting in a solvent R R NH with a Grignard reagent R'MgX in the presence or LiY, or
with R'MgX-zLiY, or reacting in a solvent R!R2NLi with MgX2; and
wherein R' is selected from substituted or unsubstituted aryl or heteroaryl containing one or more heteroatoms, linear, branched or cyclic, substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, alkenyl, alkynyl, or derivatives thereof.
8. Process according to claim 7, wherein X and Y are independently or both CI, Br or I, and preferably CI.
9. Process according to claim 7 or 8, wherein z is in the range from 0.01 - 5, preferably from 0.5 - 2, more preferably from 0.9 to 1.2 and most preferred about 1.
10. Process according to any of the claims 7-9, wherein the Grignard reagent R'MgX-zLiY is /PrMgCl-LiCl.
11. Process according to any of the claims 7-10, wherein the solvent is selected from cyclic,
linear or branched mono or polyethers, thioethers, amines, phosphines, and derivatives
thereof containing one or more additional heteroatoms selected from O, N, S and P,
preferably tetrahydrofuran (THF), 2-methyltetrahydrofuran, dibutyl ether, diethyl ether,
tert-butylmethyl ether, dimethoxyethane, dioxanes, preferably 1,4-dioxane, triethylamine,
ethyldiisopropylamine, dimethylsulfide, dibutylsulfide; cyclic amides, preferably N-
methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP), N-ethyl-2-pyrrolidone (NEP), N-butyl-2-pyrrolidone
(NBP); cyclic, linear or branched alkanes and/or alkenes wherein one or more hydrogens
are replaced by a halogen, preferably dichloromethane, 1,2-dichloroethane, CC14; urea
derivatives, preferably N,N'-dimethylpropyleneurea (DMPU); aromatic, heteroaromatic
or aliphatic hydrocarbons, preferably benzene, toluene, xylene, pyridine, pentane,
31

cyclohexane, hexane, heptane; hexamethylphosphorus triamide (HMPA), CS2; or combinations thereof.
Dated this 7th day of July, 2008
FOR LUDWIG-MAXIMILIANS-UNIVERSITAT MUNCHEN
By their agent
(SAIMA SAGHIR ANSARI) KRISHNA & SAURASTRI
32

PREPARATION AND USE OF MAGNESIUM AMIDES

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