The invention relates to a process for the preparation of

diaminobutane from ornithine.

Decarboxylation of oarmino-acids is a known method to produce amino compounds. For example, diaminobutane can be prepared by enzymatic decarboxylation from ornithine. Typically, enzymes suitable for such a process are expensive, the process is performed in highly diluted aqueous solutions, and isolation of the diaminobutane form the fermentation broth is laborious and costly. Alternatively, the enzyme is first isolated form the host. Such a process is described, for example, by J.C. Richards et. al, in "The stereochemistry of the enzymatic decarboxylation of L- arganine and of L-ornithine", Can. J. Chem., 60 (22), 2810-2820. This article describes a process for preparing diaminobutane by decarboxylation of ornithine in aqueous medium catalyzed by L-ornithine decarboxylase (EC 4.1 .1 .17) of E.coli. The process is done in aqueous medium, while for the isolation organic solvents are used.

Several procedures for the decarboxylation of a-amino acids are described in the literature such as thermal decarboxylation, decarboxylation with peroxides as a catalyst or decarboxylation in the presence of ketones or aldehydes. The decarboxylation of L- or D,L-tryptophan into tryptamine can be accomplished by heating tryptophan in diphenylmethane as a solvent (T. Kametani et al. In Synthesis (1972), 475 and further). After refluxing of tryptophan in diphenylmethane as a solvent (boiling temperature 264 °C) for 5-20 min., followed by treatment with dry HCI, the crude tryptamine. HCI salt could be obtained in 93 % yield. After re-crystallization from ethanol/ethyl acetate the pure tryptamine hydrochloride (melting point 248-249 °C) could be obtained as colorless crystals in 63 % yield. Decarboxylation of a-amino acids is also possible by distillation under an Argon atmosphere (EP 1527776). In this way (R)-3-hydroxy-pyrrolidine was obtained in a yield of 72% by thermal decarboxylation of (2S,3R)-3-hydroxypyrrolidine-2-carboxylic acid. The thermal decarboxylation of a- amino acids in an inert medium is accelerated in the presence of organic peroxides as catalysts (G. Chatelus, Bulletin de la Societe Chimique de France (1964), 10, 2523-32; S. Kanao, in Yakugaku Zasshi (1947), 67, 243-244; and Ajinomoto Co in Yakugaku Zasshi (1964), 84, 1014-16). For example, l-leucine is decarboxylated into

isopentylamine by heating in tetralin in the presence of tetralin peroxide as a catalyst. Depending on the purity of the tetralin used, isopentylamine might be obtained in 80- 95 % yield. Heating of a-amino acids with one or more equivalents of a ketone or aldehyde, produces the amines corresponding to the amino acids.

A.F. Al-Sayyab et al. (J. Chem. Soc. (C) (1968), 406-410) describe the decarboxylation/transamination of a-amino acids in the presence of equimolar amounts of (ring substituted) acetophenones or benzophenones. However, apart from decarboxylation, transamination might occur, resulting in the formation of ketones.

G. Chatelus (Bulletin de la Societe Chimique de France (1965), 4, 929-933) describes the decarboxylation of a-amino acids by reaction with an excess of a ketone or aldehyde. For instance, reaction of leucine with an excess (5.56 mol equiv.) of diamyl ketone at 155 °C, followed by acidic hydrolysis results in the formation of the HCI salt of isopentylamine. The disadvantage of the use of one or more equivalents of a ketone or aldehyde is the formation of the Schiff's base of the amine, which has to be hydrolysed under acidic conditions resulting in an aqueous solution of the salt of the amine, from which the amine, after neutralization has to be isolated (e.g. by extraction).

Also S. Wallbaum et al in Synthetic Communications, 24(10), 1381 -

1387 (1994), describe the decarboxylation of a-amino acids by reaction with an excess of a ketone or aldehyde in a high boiling solvent. The a-amino acids are for example L- theonine (2S,3R)-1 , L-hydroxyproline (2S,4R)-2 and the bicyclic proline analogue (1 R,3R,5R)-5. The catalyst used is 2-cyclohexen-1 -one and as solvent a glycol ether, more particular tetraethylene glycol dimethylether is used, and the decarboxylation is carried out at 170°C.

Patent application JP 2014 169230 A describes a method for preparing an alkylene polyamine from an amino acid having an aminoalkyl group, e.g. lysine or ornithine by decarboxylation reaction at 160 - 300°C in the presence of a cyclic ketone which is the liquid state at 160 - 300°C. In all examples herein lysine was used.

The procedures in which the decarboxylation is executed thermally in a high boiling solvent optionally in the presence of catalytic amounts of a ketone or aldehyde (as described by S. Takano et al, Heterocycles (1977), 6 (8), 1 167-1 171 ; K. Rossen et al, Synthetic Communications (1993), 23 (8), 1071 -74; H. Mitsunori, et al, Chemistry Letters (1986), 893-896; S. Wallbaum et al, Synthetic Communications (1994), 24 (10), 1381 -7; ref. 8-1 1 ) and Patent application JP 2014 169230 A is therefore more attractive for production on commercial scale, since the amine is obtained directly in an organic solvent from which it can be isolated e.g. by distillation. For instance, reaction of lysine with a catalytic amount of 2-cyclohexene-1 -one in cyclohexanol (boiling point 160-161 °C) as a solvent, results in the formation of 1 ,5- diaminopentane in high yields, which might be recovered/purified by distillation. It was therefore expected that if similar reactions were executed with ornithine as a starting material this would result in the formation of 1 ,4-diaminobutane.

The inventors have tested several options, but found that either no reaction occurred or that serious side reactions occurred resulting in ring-closed products instead of the desired 1 ,4-diaminobutane.

The aim of the invention has therefore been to provide a process for the preparation of diaminobutane from ornithine, that is effective and results in good yields without many side products.

This aim has been achieved with the process according to the invention, comprising the following steps:

i. preparing a solution of

(a) a salt of ornithine and an acid; and

(b) an aldehyde or a ketone, or a mixture thereof; in

(c) a solvent, wherein the solvent comprises a protic organic solvent or a dipolar aprotic organic solvent, or a mixture thereof, and

ii. heating the solution to a temperature above 100 °C thereby inducing

decarboxylation of the ornithine and formation of diaminobutane.

The effect of the process according to the invention, comprising the use of a salt of ornithine in combination with an aldehyde or a ketone, or a mixture thereof, in a protic organic solvent or a dipolar aprotic organic solvent, or in a mixture thereof, is that nearly quantitative decarboxylation of ornithine is achieved in relatively short time and that hardly any to no ring formation is obtained. This is in contrast with the process starting from ornithine rather than from a salt of ornithine or executed in an apolar solvent. The process executed in cyclohexanol with a catalytic amount of 2- cyclohexene-1 -one while starting from ornithine produces predominantly ring closure rather than decarboxylation of ornithine. In contrast herewith, with the corresponding process performed in an apolar solvent, such as diethyleneglycol dimethyl ether, also known as diglyme, no reaction occurred.

Solvents may be characterized in three broad categories; protic solvents, polar aprotic solvents, and apolar solvents.

Protic solvents are typically polar. Protic solvents, such as for example water, alcohols, and carboxylic acids, have high polarity and are hydrogen bond donors. Polar aprotic solvents, such as for example ketones, sulfones, sulfoxides, and nitriles, cannot donate labile hydrogen atoms to form strong hydrogen bonds, but have a medium polarity due to a sizable permanent dipole moment. Polar aprotic solvents are therefore also known as dipolar aprotic solvents. Generally, such (di)polar aprotic solvents can form hydrogen bonds with solvents capable of donating labile hydrogen atoms. Apolar aprotic solvents, such as for example aliphatic, cycloaliphatic, and aromatic hydrocarbons, have very low to negligible polarity, are not hydrogen bond donors, and generally do not form hydrogen bonds with solvents capable of donating labile hydrogen atoms. These solvents are typically not miscible with water. Examples thereof are diglyme, hexane, benzene, diethyl ether.

Within the context of the present invention, a solvent is understood to be a substance capable of dissolving another substance therein. Typically, the substance used as a solvent is a liquid at the temperature at which the other substance has to be dissolved. Suitably, the substance used as the solvent is a liquid at room temperature and atmospheric pressure (i.e. about 0.1 MPa).

An organic solvent is herein understood to be a liquid substance with a chemical structure comprising at least one carbon atom in the chemical structure.

Within the context of the present invention a protic organic solvent is understood to be an organic solvent that has a hydrogen atom bound to an oxygen atom, as in a hydroxyl group, or to a nitrogen atom, as in an amino group.

Within the context of the present invention a dipolar aprotic organic solvent is understood to be an organic solvent not containing a hydrogen atom bound to an oxygen or a nitrogen atom, which solvent possesses a dielectric constant sufficiently high to induce a reaction of the ornithine salt in the solution comprising the ornithine salt, the aldehyde and/or ketone, and the organic solvent.

Suitably, the dipolar aprotic organic solvent has a dielectric constant of at least 10, preferably at least 15. The dielectric constant is herein understood to be the relative permittivity determined by the method according to ASTM D924-08, and measured at 20 °C and 55 Hz. Herein the relative permittivity is calculated from the measured actual permittivity for the substance divided by the actual permittivity for vacuum.

In the process according to the invention, the protic organic solvent or dipolar aprotic organic solvent used preferably has a boiling point of at least 100°C. More preferably the solvent has a boiling point of at least 125°C, still more preferably at least 140°C, or even at least 150°C, and even better of at least 175 °C. Herein the boiling point referred to is measured at 0.1 MPa (atmospheric pressure). Protic organic solvents and dipolar aprotic organic solvents with a boiling temperature at atmospheric pressure below the desired reaction temperature may be applied in combination with a reaction temperature above said boiling point by using a pressure reactor, to allow the reaction to occur at a higher pressure and thereby raising the temperature at which the solvent starts to boil. For example, solvents with a boiling temperature below 140 °C may be applied in combination with a reaction temperature above 140 °C using such a pressure reactor. Also an elevated temperature higher than 250 °C may be applied. Also here, since most solvents have a lower boiling temperature, it will be necessary in many cases to use a pressure reactor. A pressure reactor may also be used in combination with solvents that have a boiling temperature in the range of 140-250 °C to raise the temperature at which the solvent starts to boil and thereby to allow a higher elevated temperature for speeding up the reaction.

With a solvent like DMSO, or benzyl alcohol, both having a high boiling point, it is possible to get short reaction times to complete the decarboxylation without the necessity to use a pressure reactor.

Suitable dipolar aprotic organic solvents are, for example,

dimethylformamide (DMF), dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), acetonitrile, or dimethyl acetamide. Suitable protic organic solvents are alcohols, for example, C1 -C12 alcohols such as, methanol, ethanol, propanol, butanol, pentanol, hexanol, heptanol, octanol, decanol, and diols and triols. Examples thereof include 1 -propanol, 2-propanol, 1 - butanol, 2-butanol, tert. butanol, 1 -pentanol, 2-pentanol, 3-pentanol, 1 -hexanol, 2- hexanol, , 3-hexanol, cyclohexanol, 1 -heptanol, 1 -octanol, 2-octanol, benzylalcohol, diethyleneglycol, ethylene glycol and glycerol. Other suitable protic solvents include acids, amines, and aminoalcohols. Examples thereof include acetic acid and 2- aminoethanol. Preferably, the protic solvent is an alcohol.

The protic organic solvent and dipolar aprotic organic solvent may also be used as a mixture of different protic organic solvents and/or different dipolar aprotic solvents, provided that they are miscible.

The solvent mixture preferably has a boiling point of at least 100°C, more preferably at least 150°C, and even better at least 175 °C.

Most preferably, the protic or dipolar aprotic organic solvent is DMSO, benzyl alcohol or cyclohexanol, or a mixture thereof.

The decarboxylation step in the process according to the invention takes place at elevated temperature. Practically, the solution is kept at that elevated temperature for a time sufficiently long to obtain complete decarboxylation of the ornithine.

Suitably, this elevated temperature is in the range of 140-250 °C, and preferably in the range of 160-220 °C, and most preferably in the range of 180-210 °C. Although an elevated temperature lower than 140 °C may be applied, this is less practical since reaction times will get longer. A higher reaction temperature generally results in shorter reaction times.

An overview of solvents with different boiling temperatures and dielectric constant (relative permittivity) at 20 - 25 °C, as reported by David R. Lide in CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, CRC press, 74 ^th edition, 1993-1994 and by George W Gokel in Dean's Handbook of Organic Chemistry, 2nd Edition, McGraw-Hill, 2004 , is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Overview of dipolar aprotic solvents with different boiling temperatures and dielectric constant at 20 - 25 °C

Solvent Formula boiling point dielectric constant (at T°C)

(°C)

hexane CeHi4 69.0 1 .890 (20) pentane C5H12 36.1 1 .844 (20) heptane C7H16 98.0 1 .924 (20) cyclohexane C6H12 80.7 2.016 (25) dioxane C4H8O2 101 .1 2.209 (25) carbon tetrachloride CCI4 76.7 2.228 (25) p-xylene CsHio 138.3 2.270 (20) benzene ΰβΗβ 80.1 2.274 (25) toluene C7H8 1 10.6 2.385 (20) / 2.379 (25) carbon disulfide CS ₂ 46.3 2.641 (20) anisole C ₇ H ₈ 0 153.7 4.33 (25) diethyl ether C4H1 ₀ O 34.6 4.335 (20) chloroform CHCI3 61 .2 4.806 (20)

N,N-dimethylaniline CsH-nN 194.2 4.91 (20) chlorobenzene C ₆ H ₅ CI 132.0 5.71 (20) / 5.621 (25) ethyl acetate C4H8O2 77.0 6.1 1 (20) / 6.02 (25) ethyl benzoate C9H10O2 213.0 6.02 (20) 1 ,2-dimethoxyethane 7.20 (25) (glyme) C4H10O2 85.0

diglyme C6H14O3 162.0 7.3 (23) methyl acetate C3H6O2 56.9 7.03 (20) / 6.68 (25) tetrahydrofuran(THF) C ₄ H ₈ 0 66.0 7.58 (25) dimethylphthalate C10H10O4 283.8 8.5 (24) / 8.25 (25) dichloromethane CH2CI2 39.8 9.08 (20) pyridine C ₅ H ₅ N 1 15.5 12.3 (25)

2-pentanone C5H10O 102.3 15.45 (20) ethyl acetoacetate C6H10O3 180.4 15.7 (22)

3-pentanone C5H10O 101 .7 17.00 (20) cyclohexanone ΟβΗιοΟ 155.6 18.3 (20)

2-butanone C4H80 79.6 18.51 (20) acetone C3H60 56.2 20.70 (25)

2,4-pentanedione C5H802 140.4 25.7 (20) benzonitrile C7H5N 205.0 26.5 (20) / 25.20 (25) propane nitrile C3H5N 97.2 27.2 (20) methylpyrrolidone C5H9NO 202 32.0 (25) acetonitrile C2H3N 81.6 37.5 (20) dimethylacetamide C4H9NO 164 37.8 (25) dimethylformamide (DMF) C3H7NO 153.0 38.3 (20) / 36.7 (25) dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) C2H60S 189.0 48.9 (20)

Table 2. Overview of protic solvents with different boiling temperatures at 0.1 MPa.

The salt solution in step (i) may be prepared by dissolving a salt of ornithine and acid in the solvent. This requires that first the salt is prepared. In a preferred embodiment of the process according to the invention, the salt solution in step (i) is prepared in situ by dissolving ornithine and an acid in the solvent.

For the acid in the salt, in principle any acid that can form a salt with ornithine may be used. Preferably, the acid used for the salt of ornithine in the process according to the invention is a strong acid chosen from the group consisting of hydrogen bromide, hydrogen chloride, hydrogen sulfate, hydrogen phosphate and hydrogen nitrate. More preferably, the acid used is hydrogen chloride and the salt is the salt of ornithine and hydrogen chloride.

The acid used in the process according to the invention may suitably be removed from the reaction mixture, formed after step (ii), by use of a stronger amine than 1 ,4-diaminobutane. The stronger diamine can be for example a tertiary amine. A suitable example is tri-ethylamine. The stronger amine has to be added after completion of the decarboxylation. If the tertiary amine is added to the solution prior to or during the decarboxylation step, apart from decarboxylation also ring closure reactions will occur leading to side products such as 6-aminopiperidin-2-one.

For the aldehyde or ketone, it is suitable to use an aldehyde or ketone that is inert towards DAB under the reaction conditions. Examples of a suitable aldehyde are p-methoxybenzaldehyde, propionaldehyde, benzaldehyde, o- hydroxybenzaldehyde, furfural, pyridine-2-carboxaldehyde, pyridine-3-carboxaldehyde. Examples of a suitable ketones are 2-cyclohexen-1 -one, acetone, 2-butanone, 3,3- dimethyl-2-butanone, acetylacetone, 3-pentanone, acetophenone, o- hydroxyacetophenone, benzophenone, o-hydroxybenzophenone. 2,2'- dihydroxybenzophenone, benzoine, otetralone, and cyclohexanone.

In the process according to the invention, the aldehyde and the ketone act as a catalyst for the decarboxylation. Although these components may be present in amounts equimolar or about equimolar to the ornithine salt, or even in excess, without having a negative effect on the decarboxylation of ornithine and the formation of diamino butane, the aldehyde or ketone, or a combination thereof, needs only to be present in a catalytic amount. Suitably, the amount is in the range of 1 - 50 mol%, preferably in the range of 1 - 30 mol %, still more preferably 5 - 20 mol%.

Herein the mol% is relative to the molar amount of the ornithine salt.

Also the concentration of the ornithine salt in the solution, and correspondingly that of the aldehyde or ketone, may be varied widely. Suitably the concentration of the ornithine salt is in the range of 2 - 50 wt.%, for example 5-20 wt %, and a concentration of around 10 wt % has shown to give good results. The concentration is not considered to be critical for the decarboxylation reaction, and either a lower concentration or a higher concentration may be used. Herein the weight percentage (wt.%) is relative to the total weight of the solution.

The solvent used for the process comprises a polar solvent. Herein the polar solvent is either the protic organic solvent, or the dipolar aprotic organic solvent, or the mixture thereof. Next to the polar solvent, the solvent may comprise apolar solvent, provided that the amount of polar solvent is present in a sufficient amount to induce the decarboxylation reaction of the ornithine in the ornithine salt solution.

After completion of the reaction, the diaminobutane may be isolated from the reaction mixture following routine process operations. For example, first the acid is suitably removed from the reaction mixture by use of a tertiary amine, thereby forming a salt that is filtered from the liquid components in the solution. The diaminobutane can be isolated from the other components, i.e. the solvent and the aldehyde and/or ketone, for example by distillation. Suitably, the polar solvent, i.e. the protic organic solvent, or the dipolar aprotic organic solvent, or the mixture thereof, is present in an amount of at least 50 wt.%, preferably at least 75 wt.%, relative to the total weight of the solvent. Even more preferably, the amount is at least 90 wt.%.

Suitably, the amount is 100 wt.%, relative to the total weight of the solvent.

The invention is further illustrated with the following examples and comparative experiments. Experiments

An amount of the salt of ornithine and hydrogen chloride was weighted into a small reaction vessel equipped with a reflux cooler, an aliquot of the solvent and a small amount of aldehyde or ketone was added. The resulting solution was heated under atmospheric pressure and kept under reflux of the solvent. The conversion of the ornithine decarboxylation was followed by thin layer chromatography. The diaminobutane formation and presence or absence of side products by ring closure reaction were confirmed by thin layer chromatography and reference samples.

The solvents used in the experiments, and some properties thereof, are listed in the table 3 and 4 below. The components and the amounts thereof in the various experiments, as well as the reaction conditions and results obtained have been collected in Table 5.

Table 3: Protic solvents

Table 4: Aprotic solvents

Abbreviation Name Relative Boiling

Dielectric Temperature (°C) constant

DMSO dimethylsulfoxide 48.9 189

DG diglyme 7.3 162 The results show that with the use of a solvent with sufficient polarity a good conversion is obtained, in contrast with a relatively apolar solvent like diglyme. Also the addition of triethanolamine does not help to catalyse the desired reaction.

Table 5. Overview of Examples and Comparative Experiments.

a) CHA = cyclohexenon; AA = p-Anisaldehyde b) TEA = triethanolamine; c) RP = ring closed product = 6-aminopiperidin-2-one