1,4,4a,10b-Tetrahydro-N,N-dimethyl-4-phenanthridinamines and 1,4,4a,5, 6,10b-Hexahydro-N,N-dimethyl-4-phenanthridinamines.

Synthetic procedures to prepare the title compounds are described. Diels-Alder cycloaddition of β-nitrostyrene derivatives 5 to N,N-dimethyl-1,3-butadien-1-amine, 6, gave 5-aryl-N,N-dimethyl-6-nitro-2-cyclohexen-1-amines 7. Reduction of 7 with zinc in acetic acid gave the diamino derivatives 8. Schotten-Baumann acylation of 8 gave amides 9. Treatment of 8 with alkyl isocyanates gave the aminourea derivatives 10. Bischler-Napieralski cyclodehydration procudure of 9 and 10 gave 1,4,4a,10b-tetrahydrophenanthridinamines 3 and N6-alkyl-1,4,4a,10b-tetrahydro-N4,N4-dimethyl-4,6-phenanthridinediamines 11, respectively. Condensation of diamines 8 with aryl aldehydes under azeotropic conditions gave imines 12 which on treatment with acids yielded 6-aryl-1,4,4a,5,6,10b-hexahydro-N,N-dimethyl-4-phenanthridinamines 4. The stereochemistry of these materials is assigned from the proton magnetic resonance studies.