Structural preferences for the double bond position in some unsaturated 3,3-diphenylpyrrolidines

The reaction between 3,3-diphenyl-3-cyano-1-methylpropyl isocyanate and ethyl magnesium bromide leads to 2-ethyl-5-methyl-3,3-diphenyl-1-pyrroline rather than the isomeric 2-ethylidenepyrrolidine. The protonated N-methyl analogue (identical with a major metabolite of methadone) retains the 1-pyrroline structure, but the free base is a cis-trans mixture of the corresponding 2-ethylidenepyrrolidines; the cis Me/Ph isomer preponderates and is the sole product (obtained as a quaternary salt) when the mixture is treated with methyl iodide. 5-Methyl-2-methylene-3,3-diphenylpyrrolidine, a lower homologue of the methadone metabolite, isomerizes to a 1-pyrroline derivative when protonated or methylated. All structural conclusions are based on i.r. and p.m.r. spectroscopic evidence.