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Synthesis of guanidines

Recent Literature


Simple lanthanide amides are highly efficient catalysts for the guanylation of both aromatic and secondary amines with a high activity under mild conditions. These catalysts are compatible with a wide range of solvents and substrates.
Q. Li, S. Wang, S. Zhou, G. Yang, X. Zhu, Y. Liu, J. Org. Chem., 2007, 72, 6763-6767.


Q. Li, S. Wang, S. Zhou, G. Yang, X. Zhu, Y. Liu, J. Org. Chem., 2007, 72, 6763-6767.


Ytterbium triflate is an efficient catalyst for the addition of a wide scope of amines to carbodiimides under solvent-free condition to provide N,N',N''-trisubstituted guanidines in good yields.
X. Zhu, Z. Du, F. Xu, Q. Shen, J. Org. Chem., 2009, 74, 6347-6349.


The use of cyanuric chloride (TCT) instead of classical HgCl2 as activating reagent for di-Boc-thiourea provides an alternative route for the guanylation of amines and  eliminates the environmental hazard of heavy-metal waste without appreciable loss of yield or reactivity.
A. Porcheddu, L. De Luca, G. Giacomelli, Synlett, 2009, 3368-3372.


Two new guanidinylation reagents, N,N′-bis(ortho-chloro-Cbz)-S-methylisothiourea and N,N′-bis(ortho-bromo-Cbz)-S-methylisothiourea, proved to be superior to already known reagents. The guanidinylations of amines with all reagents were accelerated by addition of DMAP.
T. Gers, D. Kunce, P. Markowski, J. Izdebski, Synthesis, 2004, 37-42.


A convenient one-step transformation of primary and secondary amines into the corresponding unprotected guanidines using 4-benzyl-3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrazole-1-carboxamidine and its polymer-bound variant is described. The scopes and limitations of the method, the microwave-assistance of amidination as well as a recycling protocol are examined.
W. Solodenko, P. Bröker, J. Messinger, U. Schön, A. Kirschning, Synthesis, 2006, 461-466.


The synthesis of 3,5-dimethyl-N-nitro-1-pyrazole-1-carboxamidine (DMNPC) has been optimised. A detailed protocol for the preparation of a range of guanidines via nitroguanidines is described using DMNPC as guanidinylating reagent.
J. A. Castillo-Meléndez, B. T. Golding, Synthesis, 2004, 1655-1663.


Primary amines are converted to protected NG-hydroxyguanidines in a one-pot procedure using readily prepared materials. A high-yielding preparation of NG-hydroxy-L-arginine, the intermediate in the enzymatic conversion of L-arginine to nitric oxide and L-citrulline by nitric oxide synthase, is described.
N. I. Martin, J. J. Woodward, M. A. Marletta, Org. Lett., 2006, 8, 4035-4038.