Cyclic sulfonamides via the ring-closing metathesis reaction

The first examples of ring-closing metathesis (RCM) reactions on allyl- and vinylsulfonamide templates 1 and 2 catalyzed by the Grubbs ruthenium alkylidene 3 are described. The rate of cyclization of these reactions are sensitive to simple olefin substitution. These RCM reactions yield novel cyclic allyl- and vinylsultams 4 and 5 and represent our initial efforts toward the construction of novel sulfonamides.