Theoretical Study of the Mechanism of the Formation of 3-unsubstituted 4,4-disubstituted Beta-lactams by Silver-induced Ring Expansion of Alkoxycyclopropylamines: a New Synthetic Route to 4-alkoxycarbonyl-4-alkyl-2-azetidinones

The mechanisms of formation of 4,4-dialkyl- and 4-alkoxycarbonyl-4-alkyl-2-azetidinones by silver-induced ring expansion of the corresponding 2,2-disubstituted N-chloro-1-hydroxycyclopropylamines were theoretically investigated by means of the B3LYP method and the PCM solvation model. The obtained results indicate that these reactions are facile two-step regioselective processes proceeding through a short-life nitrenium intermediate. The theoretical results thus predict that this synthetic strategy, which has already been used to obtain 4,4-dialkyl-2-azetidinones, could also be a new route to efficiently obtain in a regio- and stereoselective way 4-alkoxycarbonyl-4-alkyl-2-azetidinones, which are precursors of conformationally constrained amino acids.