Improved Synthesis of -Methylcadaverine.

Alkaloids compose a large class of natural products, and mono-methylated polyamines are a common intermediate in their biosynthesis. In order to evaluate the role of selectively methylated natural products, synthetic strategies are needed to prepare them. Here, -methylcadaverine is prepared in 37.3% yield in three steps. The alternative literature two-step strategy resulted in reductive deamination to give -methylpiperidine as determined by the single crystal structure. A straightforward strategy to obtain the mono-alkylated aliphatic diamine, cadaverine, which avoids potential side-reactions, is demonstrated.