Gold-Catalyzed Oxime-Oxime Rearrangement

The gold-catalyzed reaction of pyrrole and indole oximes having a propargyl group attached to the nitrogen atom was studied. The selective 6-endo-dig mode of cyclization was observed for the terminal alkynes giving rise to the formation of pyrazine N-oxides in the presence of a gold catalyst. However, the reaction with substituted alkyne transferred the oxime functionality intramolecularly from one carbon atom to another via the 7-endo-dig cyclization process. This transformation is unprecedented in the literature and is named an oximeoxime rearrangement.