Formaldehyde surrogates in multicomponent reactions

• Cecilia I. Attorresi,
• Javier A. Ramírez and
• Bernhard Westermann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 564–595, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.45

• . Application of glyoxylate derivatives in post-cyclization reactions as a C1 building block Glyoxylate derivatives have been used in Ugi- and Passerini-type reactions, since the adduct generated in both cases has two reactive centers for post-cyclization possibilities: the ester moiety and the α-carbon to the

• salts and TEMPO as the radical initiator/oxidant couple that promoted the intramolecular radical cyclization of suitable 1,3-dicarbonyl Ugi adducts 54 and 55 (Scheme 45) [108][109]. The stabilization of the enol in the 1,3-dicarbonyl Ugi adduct allows single-electron transfer (SET) with the anion

• these examples, even if the whole process is performed in one-pot, the reaction needs two steps: the generation of the Ugi (or Passerini) adduct and then the post-cyclization reaction. Interestingly, Peshkov et al. showed that when phenyl glyoxal is used instead of ethyl glyoxylate, a pyrrolone

Organocatalytic kinetic resolution of 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds through a retro-Michael reaction

• James Guevara-Pulido,
• Fernando González-Pérez,
• José M. Andrés and
• Rafael Pedrosa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 473–482, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.34

• reaction mixture. The percentage of the retro-Michael reaction was calculated by comparing the signal of the starting 1,5-dicarbonyl adduct (rac-1) with the enal (cinnamaldehyde) product of the retro-Michael reaction. To determine whether the reaction favors one stereoisomer over the other and to assess

• are reacted in the presence of the catalyst A [25]. This can be explained by considering the principle of microscopic reversibility. In the reversible process, the catalyst forms the same enamine intermediate preferentially formed in the Michael reaction. This means that the adduct anti-(3R,4S)-1

• favored, preserving the (3S,4R)-1 untransformed and avoiding the equilibrium reversal towards the formation of the Michael adduct, thereby preserving the enantiomeric purity of the isolated product. To investigate the scope of the reaction, we extended our kinetic resolution study to a set of 5

New tandem Ugi/intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction based on vinylfuran and 1,3-butadienylfuran derivatives

• Yuriy I. Horak,
• Roman Z. Lytvyn,
• Andrii R. Vakhula,
• Yuriy V. Homza,
• Nazariy T. Pokhodylo and
• Mykola D. Obushak

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 444–450, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.31

• -3aH-furo[2,3-f]isoindole core in excellent yields. Under the same conditions, the (2E,4E)-5-(furan-2-yl)penta-2,4-dienal gives an Ugi adduct that undergoes the IMDA reaction without involving the furan core. The cycloaddition leads to the formation of 2,3,3a,4,5,7a-hexahydro-1H-isoindoles in high

• the Ugi reaction with a maleic acid to form adducts containing both, diene and dienophilic fragments. It was found that aldehyde 1a reacted with amines 2, isonitriles 3, and maleic acid monoanilide (4a) to form an adduct that spontaneously underwent a [4 + 2] cycloaddition giving furoisoindoles 5a–h

• achieving molecular diversity of derivatives for creating libraries of compounds for bioscreening. Finally, in such a tandem Ugi/IMDA reaction, furyl-2-pentadienal was studied. It was found, that the Ugi adduct formed from (2E,4E)-5-(furan-2-yl)penta-2,4-dienal (8) underwent the IMDA reaction, without

Antibiofilm and cytotoxic metabolites from the entomopathogenic fungus Samsoniella aurantia

• Rita Toshe,
• Syeda J. Khalid,
• Blondelle Matio Kemkuignou,
• Esteban Charria-Girón,
• Paul Eckhardt,
• Birthe Sandargo,
• Kunlapat Nuchthien,
• J. Jennifer Luangsa-ard,
• Till Opatz,
• Hedda Schrey,
• Sherif S. Ebada and
• Marc Stadler

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 327–339, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.23

• (Figure 1) was purified as a yellow amorphous solid. The molecular formula of 1 was determined as C25H29NO5 indicating twelve degrees of unsaturation based on the HRESIMS that revealed a protonated molecule at m/z 424.2126 [M + H]+ (calculated 424.2118) and a sodium adduct at m/z 446.1947 [M + Na

Three-component reactions of conjugated dienes, CH acids and formaldehyde under diffusion mixing conditions

• Dmitry E. Shybanov,
• Maxim E. Kukushkin,
• Eugene V. Babaev,
• Nikolai V. Zyk and
• Elena K. Beloglazkina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 262–269, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.18

• formaldehyde (generated from paraformaldehyde upon heating), an adduct of a methylidene derivative of a CH acid dienophile was detected in some cases only in reference [15] (when carrying out the reaction in a sealed tube in the presence of copper(II) acetate). However, in most reactions only the hetero-Diels

• and 8, the reaction also produced hetero-Diels–Alder reaction adducts 6 and 9. For these, CH–O 1H NMR signals in the region of 4.9–5.4 ppm were characteristic. It is worth noting that the individual isolated compounds 8 and particularly 9 were unstable when stored in solution, and boiling adduct 8 or

Dioxazolones as electrophilic amide sources in copper-catalyzed and -mediated transformations

• Seungmin Lee,
• Minsuk Kim,
• Hyewon Han and
• Jongwoo Son

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 200–216, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.12

• amidation process of dioxazolones. Dioxazolone 1 binds to the chiral copper complex 3, generating the adduct INT-1. Decarboxylation then occurs, forming the copper nitrenoid intermediate INT-2, subsequently undergoing hydrogen atom transfer in a regioselective manner to afford INT-3. The related acyl

Quantifying the ability of the CF₂H group as a hydrogen bond donor

• Matthew E. Paolella,
• Daniel S. Honeycutt,
• Bradley M. Lipka,
• Jacob M. Goldberg and
• Fang Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 189–199, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.11

• the HB donor. As shown in Figure 3B, in our hands, the Kd of the phenol–Reichardt's dye HB adduct determined is consistent with the reported value [52]. Some of our other results, however, were puzzling. For example, according to our titration data, 1a is a better HB donor than 12. This observation is

Synthesis of acenaphthylene-fused heteroarenes and polyoxygenated benzo[j]fluoranthenes via a Pd-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura/C–H arylation cascade

• Merve Yence,
• Dilgam Ahmadli,
• Damla Surmeli,
• Umut Mert Karacaoğlu,
• Sujit Pal and
• Yunus Emre Türkmen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3290–3298, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.273

• that benzofuran adduct 15c was previously reported by Dyker to be obtained in only 10% yield when 12 was reacted with 10 equivalents of unsubstituted benzofuran, in the presence of 5 mol % of Pd(OAc)2 at 100 °C for 3 days [52]. The compatibility of five-membered nitrogen heterocycles with our

Direct trifluoroethylation of carbonyl sulfoxonium ylides using hypervalent iodine compounds

• Radell Echemendía,
• Carlee A. Montgomery,
• Fabio Cuzzucoli,
• Antonio C. B. Burtoloso and
• Graham K. Murphy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3182–3190, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.263

• reductive elimination (path 1) [37][38][39]. This pathway initiates by formation of a halogen bond complex between 1a and the trifuoroethyl(mesityl)iodonium ion 2a’, where adduct XB-1 is presumably in equilibrium with isomeric XB-2. Reductive elimination of the iodoarene from XB-2 would furnish B, whose

Multicomponent reactions driving the discovery and optimization of agents targeting central nervous system pathologies

• Lucía Campos-Prieto,
• Aitor García-Rey,
• Eddy Sotelo and
• Ana Mallo-Abreu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3151–3173, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.261

• , isocyanide, and TMSN3, after which the Ugi adduct is treated with an excess of different isocyanates resulting in the corresponding hydantoin derivatives. Finally, under microwave irradiation, the Boc group is removed under acid conditions and the benzodiazepine core is formed after ring closure (Scheme 18

• agents for central nervous system pathologies. This combination not only enhances the pace of discovery but also broadens the scope of potential treatments, underscoring the significant impact of MCRs in medicinal chemistry. Classical MCRs. Different scaffolds that can be formed with the Ugi adduct. Most

Hypervalent iodine-mediated intramolecular alkene halocyclisation

• Charu Bansal,
• Oliver Ruggles,
• Albert C. Rowett and
• Alastair J. J. Lennox

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3113–3133, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.258

• , deuterium labelling, rearrangements on stereodefined substrates, and structural analyses (NMR and X-ray) of the reaction products. RT-NMR-derived data strongly supported a pathway of alkene activation by the iodane, as opposed to the formation of an N-I(III) adduct. The presence of 5-exo-products, with

• . A mechanism for the reaction was proposed by the authors (Scheme 27), whereby a TMS-adduct A of the amide is formed, alkene activation and cyclisation from oxygen forms the cyclised intermediate B, then displacement of PhI by chloride gives the product. Chai, Jiang, Zhu and co-workers reported the

Advances in the use of metal-free tetrapyrrolic macrocycles as catalysts

• Mandeep K. Chahal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3085–3112, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.257

• (Table 5). DFT calculations predicted that the catalytically active species is the adduct of porphyrin and TBACl (18-I), which forms an activated complex (18-II) with the substrate followed by a ring-opening nucleophilic attack of Cl−. The electron-rich nitrogen atom in 18-III further activates

• porphyrins, and provided evidence for aryl radical formation through mass spectrometry and NMR analysis of the adduct formed from the reaction between the radical intermediate and the scavenger 2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-1-piperidin-1-oxyl (TEMPO). Furthermore, they used the catalysts for borylation of arylamines

Recent advances in transition-metal-free arylation reactions involving hypervalent iodine salts

• Ritu Mamgain,
• Kokila Sakthivel and
• Fateh V. Singh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2891–2920, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.243

• products. The radical path was considered for the reaction mechanism as on adding TEMPO as radical scavenger the radical trapping adduct was detected by HRMS. Simultaneously with the above work, Murarka and co-workers also reported an organophotoredox-catalyzed stereoselective allylic arylation method for

Multicomponent synthesis of α-branched amines using organozinc reagents generated from alkyl bromides

• Baptiste Leroux,
• Alexis Beaufils,
• Federico Banchini,
• Olivier Jackowski,
• Alejandro Perez-Luna,
• Fabrice Chemla,
• Marc Presset and
• Erwan Le Gall

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2834–2839, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.239

• , a secondary aniline only furnished traces of the expected product. Aliphatic aldehydes also failed to deliver the multicomponent adduct. Conclusion In conclusion, we have shown in this work that alkyl bromides can be used instead of alkyl iodides in a direct zincation–multicomponent organometallic

Synthesis of tricarbonylated propargylamine and conversion to 2,5-disubstituted oxazole-4-carboxylates

• Kento Iwai,
• Akari Hikasa,
• Kotaro Yoshioka,
• Shinki Tani,
• Kazuto Umezu and
• Nagatoshi Nishiwaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2827–2833, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.238

• temperature without addition of acetic acid. To address this, the reaction was performed at −78 °C, and acetic acid was added at the same temperature, yielding adduct 4a in 13% yield (Table 1, entry 2). The reaction yield was significantly influenced by the amounts of 3a and butyllithium used. The yield of 4a

•  3) [13][14]. To a dry THF solution of adduct 4a, butyllithium was added, and the reaction mixture was stirred at −78 °C for 5 min. Following the addition of acetic acid, the reaction mixture was concentrated and subjected to silica gel column chromatography, resulting in the isolation of ethyl 5

• -butoxide was observed, suggesting that lithium ions activate for the ring closure. Under the conditions in Table 3, entry 3, adduct 4 underwent ring formation. This reaction was not influenced by the bulkiness of the substituent on the alkynyl group, yielding the corresponding oxazoles 5b–d (Table 3

Access to optically active tetrafluoroethylenated amines based on [1,3]-proton shift reaction

• Yuta Kabumoto,
• Eiichiro Yoshimoto,
• Bing Xiaohuan,
• Masato Morita,
• Motohiro Yasui,
• Shigeyuki Yamada and
• Tsutomu Konno

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2776–2783, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.233

• published that the asymmetric conjugate addition of 4-methylphenylboronic acid towards (E)-5-bromo-4,4,5,5-tetrafluoro-1-phenyl-2-penten-1-one (8) in the presence of a rhodium catalyst coordinated with (S)-BINAP gave the corresponding Michael adduct 9 in 94% enantiomeric excess (reaction 2, Scheme 1) [22

• at room temperature for 24 h gave the corresponding [1,3]-proton shift adduct (S)-20b in 31% yield (Table 1, entry 1). In this case, the HF-elimination product 21b was also obtained in 16% [37], and the starting material was recovered in 53%. As shown in entries 2–7 of Table 1, the reactions in

Interaction of a pyrene derivative with cationic [60]fullerene in phospholipid membranes and its effects on photodynamic actions

• Hayato Takagi,
• Çetin Çelik,
• Ryosuke Fukuda,
• Qi Guo,
• Tomohiro Higashino,
• Hiroshi Imahori,
• Yoko Yamakoshi and
• Tatsuya Murakami

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2732–2738, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.231

• the 1O2 adduct of 4-oxo-TEMP (4-oxo-TEMPO) were observed in the dispersion of catC60-lip ([catC60] = 5 µM) in PBS(–) showing an evidence of energy transfer reaction by the photoexcited catC60 (Figure 5a(ii)). In the presence of electron donor (NADH) under photoirradiation, •OH generation was observed

• as a •OH adduct of DMPO (DMPO-OH, Figure 5b(ii)) revealing that electron transfer reaction was also occurring. Using DEPMPO as a spin trapping reagent, detection of O2•– was tried and some radical adducts were detected, but without being clearly identified (Figure 5c(i), (ii)). The reason of the

• inability of O2•– detection is not known at present. Upon addition of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) to this system, an adduct of DEPMPO and •CH3 (DEPMPO-CH3), which was presumably generated from the reaction of •OH and DMSO, was clearly observed, further confirming the generation of •OH (Figure 5b(iii)). At the

5th International Symposium on Synthesis and Catalysis (ISySyCat2023)

• Anthony J. Burke and
• Elisabete P. Carreiro

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2704–2707, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.227

• novel lipophilic cinchona squaramide organocatalyst. This organocatalyst was evaluated in a benchmark Michael addition of acetylacetone to trans-β-nitrostyrene, yielding the Michael adduct with high yield and enantioselectivity. The hydrophobic chain of the catalyst allowed the organocatalyst to be

Computational design for enantioselective CO₂ capture: asymmetric frustrated Lewis pairs in epoxide transformations

• Maxime Ferrer,
• Iñigo Iribarren,
• Tim Renningholtz,
• Ibon Alkorta and
• Cristina Trujillo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2668–2681, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.224

• = 5.47·104 s−1 for capturing CO2 and k2 = 4.85·10−12 s−1 for capturing the epoxide. Despite the FLP–CO2 adduct being less thermodynamically stable than the FLP–epoxide adduct (−10.1 kcal·mol−1 vs −44.8 kcal·mol−1), the lower activation barrier for the capture of CO2 and the temperature considered (273.0

• K) suggest a kinetically controlled reaction. To further shift the chemical equilibrium toward CO2 capture, increasing steric hindrance at the epoxide was explored by introducing bulky substituents into the scaffold. This resulted in an increase in activation barriers for adduct formation. Including

• differences in energy between the stationary points, the better the exploration of the catalytic space. To determine the set of scaffolds to be used for volcano plot analysis, the CO2–FLP adduct of each of the fourteen scaffolds was optimised (Figure 3). Based on the stability of the optimised adducts

The scent gland composition of the Mangshan pit viper, Protobothrops mangshanensis

• Jonas Holste,
• Paul Weldon,
• Donald Boyer and
• Stefan Schulz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2644–2654, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.222

• derivatization products by GC–MS. Failure of DMDS derivatization on unsaturated isoprenoids has been reported [21]. It has been suggested that steric hindrance of trisubstituted double bonds results in little or no adduct formation [21]. Another method for elucidating double bond positions is the formation of

A review of recent advances in electrochemical and photoelectrochemical late-stage functionalization classified by anodic oxidation, cathodic reduction, and paired electrolysis

• Nian Li,
• Ruzal Sitdikov,
• Ajit Prabhakar Kale,
• Joost Steverlynck,
• Bo Li and
• Magnus Rueping

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2500–2566, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.214

• then attacked by the nucleophilic amidosulfinate, which also functions as an electrolyte. The amidosulfinate is generated through the formation of a Lewis acid–base adduct. A subsequent oxidation step, accompanied by deprotonation, yields the sulfonamide product. SO2 captures the excess electrons via

Asymmetric organocatalytic synthesis of chiral homoallylic amines

• Nikolay S. Kondratyev and
• Andrei V. Malkov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2349–2377, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.201

• , the latter acting as a catalytically active species. After the addition of 1 equiv of imine 73 at −40 °C, proton Ha of 72 shifted upfield which was close to what was observed in the TfOH adduct 71, and which supported the formation of intermediate 74. The authors estimated the equilibrated ratio

Improved deconvolution of natural products’ protein targets using diagnostic ions from chemical proteomics linkers

• Andreas Wiest and
• Pavel Kielkowski

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2323–2341, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.199

• interrupted CuAAC mechanism [65]. The thiotriazole product of this reaction, which is indistinguishable in the protein-level downstream analysis, is formed by coupling between protein free thiol groups and the triazole–copper adduct (Figure 4). However, its formation can be avoided by eliminating the free

Stereoselective mechanochemical synthesis of thiomalonate Michael adducts via iminium catalysis by chiral primary amines

• Michał Błauciak,
• Dominika Andrzejczyk,
• Błażej Dziuk and
• Rafał Kowalczyk

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2313–2322, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.198

• center in proximity to the reactive moiety of the covalent substrate adduct to the catalyst contributes to the efficient transfer of chirality to the resulting product, even in the distant position of the 1,6-conjugated system [39]. For these reasons, iminium catalysis using primary amines appears to be

• product with 93% ee after 24 h, while the bifunctional primary amine-thiourea catalysts (system B) required 4 days to provide an adduct with similar enantioselectivity. Prolonged reaction time is in general the innate nature of organocatalytic reactions employing iminium activation approaches. With the

• impressive boost of the reaction rate in the ball mill was observed (3 h vs 4 days), the stereochemical outcome suffered giving the desired adduct with 59% ee instead of 94% ee in solution. Owing to the introduction of an additional functional group in the form of a thiourea moiety does not entail a

Metal-free double azide addition to strained alkynes of an octadehydrodibenzo[12]annulene derivative with electron-withdrawing substituents

• Naoki Takeda,
• Shuichi Akasaka,
• Susumu Kawauchi and
• Tsuyoshi Michinobu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2234–2241, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.191

• indicates that the formed double azide adduct is 6a, which is consistent with our previous report [18]. The double azide addition was further investigated by changing the reaction temperature. The rate constant was determined by the temperature-dependent 1H NMR spectra in CDCl3. The reaction kinetics

• outer side (in-out-ts), but the thermodynamically stable final product is a regioselective “in-in” adduct, i.e., compound 6a. Optical properties Absorption and emission spectra of 6a were measured in CH2Cl2 (Figure 5). The conjugation is changed and a highly-twisted macrocyle forms by the double azide

• were almost independent of solvents. For example, the λem in CHCl3 and THF was 514 nm (Figure S11 in Supporting Information File 1). The double benzyl azide adduct of DBA-OHex displayed similar absorption and emission spectra with a λmax of 247 nm and λem of 539 nm in CH2Cl2. Since the Stokes shift of