3-Aminopropylazetidines: facile synthesis 
 and application for medicinal chemical purposes

The 3-(azetidin-1-yl)propan-1-amine moiety is present in various potentially pharmacologically-active molecules and can be of interest also for the design of metal-complexing agents. In the present study, a new, one-pot protocol using mild conditions has been developed for the straightforward synthesis of various drug-like N- aminopropyl scaffolds. The process combines azetidine dimerization with a subsequent functionalization such as alkylation or amide formation. Analyzing more in detail the first step, the conditions (concentration, catalyst, solvent, temperature) affecting azetidine ring opening and controlled dimerization were investigated.