The reductive cleavage of cyclic aminol ethers to N,N-dialkylaminoderivatives: Modifications to the Eschweiler-Clarke procedure

The reductive cleavage of cyclic aminol ethers to give N-alkylamino- derivatives in very high yields can be achieved using chlorotrimethylsilane in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride: in the case of cyclic aminol ethers derived from formaldehyde the Eschweiler-Clarke reaction can be carried out in formic acid heated under reflux in the absence of formaldehyde.