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The tert-butyloxycarbonyl protecting group (BOC group) is a protecting group used in organic synthesis.
Contents
The BOC group can be added to the amine under aqueous conditions using di-tert-butyl dicarbonate in the presence of a base such as sodium bicarbonate. Protection of the amine can also be accomplished in acetonitrile solution using 4-dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP) as the base.
Removal of the BOC in amino acids can be accomplished with strong acids such as trifluoroacetic acid neat or in dichloromethane, or with HCl in methanol. A complication may be the tendency of the t-butyl cation intermediate to alkylate other nucleophiles; scavengers such as anisole or thioanisole may be used. Selective cleavage of the N-Boc group in the presence of other protecting groups is possible when using AlCl3.
Trimethylsilyl iodide followed by methanol can also be used for Boc deprotection, especially where other deprotection methods are too harsh for the substrate. The mechanism involves silylation of the carbonyl oxygen and elimination of tert-butyl iodide (1), methanolysis of the silyl ester to the carbamic acid (2) and finally decarboxylation to the amine (3).
Amine protection
The tert-butyloxycarbonyl (Boc) group is used as a protecting group for amines in organic synthesis.
Common amine protection methods
BOC-protected amines are prepared using the reagent di-tert-butyl-iminodicarboxylate. Upon deprotonation, this reagent affords a doubly BOC-protected source of NH−
2, which can be N- alkylated. The approach is complementary to the Gabriel synthesis of amines.