ISSN 1017-2548(Print)
ISSN 2234-8530(Online)
Volume 37, Number 1
JKCSEZ 37(1)
February 20, 1993 

New synthetic method for diethyl N-[4-{[(2,4-diamino-6-yl)methyl]-amino}benzoyl]-L-glutamate(10) which is an intermediate of methotrexate is described. p-Nitrobenzoyl-L-glutamate was obtained via a two-step sequence which involves condensation of p-nitrobenzoyl chloride with diethyl-L-glutamate and Fischer esterification reaction with ethanol. Reductive methylation of diethyl-p-nitrobenzoyl-L-glutamate were carried out by reaction with formic acid and paraformaldehyde in the presence of PtO2 catalyst and yielded diethyl N-(4-methylaminobenzoyl)-L-glutamate(7). It was followed by allylation and iodoazidozation to give the diethyl-p-[N-(2-azido-3-iodopropyl)-N-methyl]aminobenzoyl-L-glutamate(9). The cyclization reaction of compound(9) with 2,4,5,6-tetraaminopyrimidine was carried out by intermolecular nucleophilic substitution to give the desired methotrexate diethylester.