A Practical and General Approach to the Late-Stage Functionalization of Complex Sulfonamides

Herein we describe the development and application of a method for the mild, late-stage conversion of primary sulfonamides to several other other functional groups. These reactions occur via initial reductive deamination of sulfonamides to sulfinates via an NHC-catalyzed reaction of transiently formed N-sulfonylimines. The method described here is tolerant of nearly all common functional groups, as exemplified by the late-stage derivatization of several complex pharmaceutical compounds. Based on the prevalence of sulfonamide-containing drugs and building blocks, we have developed a method to enable sulfonamides to be applied as versatile synthetic handles for synthetic chemsitry.