Recent advances in oxidative radical difunctionalization of N-arylacrylamides enabled by carbon radical reagents

• Jiangfei Chen,
• Yi-Lin Qu,
• Ming Yuan,
• Xiang-Mei Wu,
• Heng-Pei Jiang,
• Ying Fu and
• Shengrong Guo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1207–1271, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.98

• different substituents, including aryl, heteroaryl, and alkyl groups at the terminal alkyne, were well tolerated, yielding moderate to good results (16aa–da). Furthermore, variations in the nitrile reaction partners, such as butyronitrile (16ea), 2-phenylacetonitrile (16fa), malononitrile (16ga), and 3-oxo

Silver(I) triflate-catalyzed post-Ugi synthesis of pyrazolodiazepines

• Muhammad Hasan,
• Anatoly A. Peshkov,
• Syed Anis Ali Shah,
• Andrey Belyaev,
• Chang-Keun Lim,
• Shunyi Wang and
• Vsevolod A. Peshkov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 915–925, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.74

• . Another set of pyrazolodiazepines 16p–v was readily obtained from the substrates 15p–v stemming from various 3-substituted propiolic acids and aliphatic or aromatic isocyanides. Finally, the annulation of substrates 15w and 15x, featuring a terminal alkyne, also proceeded in a 7-endo-dig fashion, yielding

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

• (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), or dioxane to achieve high yields. The assumed mechanism is initiated by activation of the C–H bond of the terminal alkyne by a metal catalyst. The resulting metal acetylide reacts with the imine/enamine through a nucleophilic addition. Because imines/enamines are

• the same amine component) deprotonates the terminal alkyne, generating the metal acetylide derivative A, which is the active nucleophilic species in the reaction. Intermediate A undergoes an oxidative addition by the dihaloalkane, generating intermediate B. This undergoes reductive elimination to

• , in which the copper catalyst (CuCl, 15 mol %) only activates the C–H bond of the terminal alkyne, and the resulting nucleophile A reacts with the iminium ion F generated from CH2Cl2 and the secondary amine via an aminal intermediate E (Scheme 24) [68]. However, Yu et al. found no evidence for the

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

• functionalities were well tolerated in this transformation (26e–g). Moreover, an olefin-containing terminal alkyne was suitable to afford product 26h, demonstrating excellent chemoselectivity. However, the formation of 26i was not observed under the standard reaction conditions. Instead, the decomposition of

Recent advances in electrochemical copper catalysis for modern organic synthesis

• Yemin Kim and
• Won Jun Jang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 155–178, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.9

• substrate 1 in the presence of a base to form Cu(II) complex 5, which undergoes anodic oxidation to generate Cu(III) intermediate 6. Carboxylate-assisted C–H activation of the benzamide subsequently leads to the formation of Cu(III) species 7. Metalation of the terminal alkyne 2, followed by reductive

• terminal alkyne 2 in the presence of a chiral copper catalyst and base, which reacts with the electrophilic iminium intermediate 15 to yield the desired chiral product 14. Active Cu(I) is regenerated either through cathodic reduction or by reaction with TEMPO–H. A year after the Mei group’s report, the Xu

Synthesis of the 1,5-disubstituted tetrazole-methanesulfonylindole hybrid system via high-order multicomponent reaction

• Cesia M. Aguilar-Morales,
• América A. Frías-López,
• Nadia V. Emilio-Velázquez,
• Alejandro Islas-Jácome,
• Angelica Judith Granados-López,
• Jorge Gustavo Araujo-Huitrado,
• Yamilé López-Hernández,
• Hiram Hernández-López,
• Luis Chacón-García,
• Jesús Adrián López and
• Carlos J. Cortés-García

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3077–3084, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.256

• trifluoroethanol as the solvent and at room temperature [23][24][25][26]. In the initial reaction, propargylamine served as a bifunctional reagent, with the primary amine group participating in the first step and the terminal alkyne promoting the subsequent heteroannulation. (Scheme 2). As observed in our previous

Copper-catalyzed yne-allylic substitutions: concept and recent developments

• Shuang Yang and
• Xinqiang Fang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2739–2775, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.232

• terminal alkyne is the active species in the reactions. In this regard, merging the unique feature of Cu-catalyzed propargylic substitution with allylic substitution is a feasible solution to the challenge, which will represent a new sort of substitution reaction. From 2022, the Cu-catalyzed yne-allylic

• chelation interaction between the enolate derived from acyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds and copper (Scheme 5, 8a–j). Detailed control experiments indicate that the terminal alkyne moiety is critical and the reaction proceeds through an SN1 mechanism. An outer-sphere nucleophilic attack through copper

• demonstrated that the terminal alkyne unit is crucial for the process and the reactions using different isomers all proceed via the same intermediate. Nonlinear relationship experiments proved that the active catalyst is a mono-copper complex containing one ligand. A catalytic cycle is proposed in which copper

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

• prerequisite required for a probe used in a chemical proteomic study is an embedded bioorthogonal handle, for example a terminal alkyne or azide, which is able to react chemoselectively with a tag facilitating unambiguous identification by a selected analytical technique, for example LC–MS/MS (Figure 1) [35

• CuAAC due to its rapid reaction kinetics, robustness, and relatively small steric hindrance of the terminal alkyne, which is usually attached to the probe core scaffold to form an alkyne probe [5][63]. Once the covalent bond between the probe and protein is formed, the cells are lysed, and the probe

• alkyne probe from the CuAAC reaction mixture or by increasing the concentration of the reducing agent such as tris(2-carboxyethyl)phosphine (TCEP). The reversed chemical proteomics approach in which the azide probe and alkyne tag are used suffers from similar unspecific reactivity of the terminal alkyne

gem-Difluorination of carbon–carbon triple bonds using Brønsted acid/Bu₄NBF₄ or electrogenerated acid

• Mizuki Yamaguchi,
• Hiroki Shimao,
• Kengo Hamasaki,
• Keiji Nishiwaki,
• Shigenori Kashimura and
• Kouichi Matsumoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2261–2269, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.194

• the case of an aliphatic terminal alkyne, such as dec-1-yne (1d), the 19F NMR study indicated 46% yield with method A (Table 2, entry 5), but it was difficult to purify and isolate product 2d because of the low molecular weight. Scale up conditions of method A, for the purpose of the isolation, led to

Three-component N-alkenylation of azoles with alkynes and iodine(III) electrophile: synthesis of multisubstituted N-vinylazoles

• Jun Kikuchi,
• Roi Nakajima and
• Naohiko Yoshikai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 891–897, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.79

• ). Observing no byproducts originating from phenylacetylene, we speculate that the lack of reactivity stems from the relatively low electron density of the terminal alkyne, which likely leads to direct coordination of pyrazole to the iodine(III) reagent. To probe the relative reactivity of different azoles

Isolation and structure determination of a new analog of polycavernosides from marine Okeania sp. cyanobacterium

• Kairi Umeda,
• Naoaki Kurisawa,
• Ghulam Jeelani,
• Tomoyoshi Nozaki,
• Kiyotake Suenaga and
• Arihiro Iwasaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 645–652, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.57

• polycavernosides. Keywords: macrolide glycoside; marine cyanobacterium; marine natural products; polycavernosides; terminal alkyne; Introduction In 1991, an outbreak of food poisoning caused by a species of red algae known as ‘Polycavernosa tsudai’ occurred in Guam, which resulted in killing of three people. Two

• HMBC δH 1.62 (H-23)/δC 84.6 (C-25), δH 2.18 (H-24)/δC 84.6 (C-25), and δH 2.18 (H-24)/δC 68.6 (C-26) revealed a terminal alkyne structure. Additionally, COSY correlations shown in Figure 2 revealed the side chain structure of 1 containing a terminal alkyne and a conjugated trans triene (C-15 to C-26

Perspectives on push–pull chromophores derived from click-type [2 + 2] cycloaddition–retroelectrocyclization reactions of electron-rich alkynes and electron-deficient alkenes

• Michio Yamada

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 125–154, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.13

• process. The [2 + 2] CA–RE sequence proceeds successively, as depicted in Scheme 1, where electron-donating groups are denoted as EDGs. During the [2 + 2] CA process, the nucleophilic attack by the terminal alkyne carbon of an electron-rich alkyne on an electron-deficient alkene, such as TCNE and 7,7,8,8

1-Butyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate as suitable solvent for BF₃: the case of alkyne hydration. Chemistry vs electrochemistry

• Marta David,
• Elisa Galli,
• Richard C. D. Brown,
• Marta Feroci,
• Fabrizio Vetica and
• Martina Bortolami

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1966–1981, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.147

• well-known and useful reaction in organic chemistry, affording carbonyl compounds based on an atom-economical approach. Indeed, the addition of water to the triple bond of a terminal alkyne leads to the formation of the corresponding methyl ketone or aldehyde, in the case of Markovnikov or anti

Aldiminium and 1,2,3-triazolium dithiocarboxylate zwitterions derived from cyclic (alkyl)(amino) and mesoionic carbenes

• Nedra Touj,
• François Mazars,
• Guillermo Zaragoza and
• Lionel Delaude

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1947–1956, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.145

• -disubstituted-1,2,3-triazole derivatives is readily achieved via the copper(I)-catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition of an azide and a terminal alkyne (CuAAC) [63][64][65]. A further alkylation of the N3 position with an alkyl halide is an equally straightforward procedure that ultimately affords a large assortment

Lewis acid-promoted direct synthesis of isoxazole derivatives

• Dengxu Qiu,
• Chenhui Jiang,
• Pan Gao and
• Yu Yuan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1562–1567, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.113

• , which is an internal alkyne instead of a terminal alkyne, but no desired product was obtained. Next, we explored the substrate scope of 2-methylquinolines under the standard conditions. 2-Methylquinoline bearing different substituents at various positions gave the corresponding products with moderate to

Application of N-heterocyclic carbene–Cu(I) complexes as catalysts in organic synthesis: a review

• Nosheen Beig,
• Varsha Goyal and
• Raj K. Bansal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1408–1442, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.102

• , generated from the tetranuclear complex, as the catalytically active species. 2.4 A3 reactions In recent years, the three component reaction of an aldehyde, a secondary amine and a terminal alkyne, known as A3 reaction to afford chiral propargylamines 140 has received much attention. The latter compounds

Non-noble metal-catalyzed cross-dehydrogenation coupling (CDC) involving ether α-C(sp³)–H to construct C–C bonds

• Hui Yu and
• Feng Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1259–1288, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.94

• transition metals such as Cu, Pd, and Ag are also suitable to catalyze the reaction. In 2012, Xiang et al. reported the CDC of aryl ethers with C(sp3)–H bonds adjacent to the ether oxygen with terminal alkyne C(sp)–H bonds, which provides a new approach for the construction of the C(sp3)–C(sp) bonds (Scheme

CuAAC-inspired synthesis of 1,2,3-triazole-bridged porphyrin conjugates: an overview

• Dileep Kumar Singh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 349–379, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.29

• -dipolar cycloaddition reaction between an azide and a terminal alkyne, also popular as "click reaction" or CuAAC reaction. Moreover, the 1,2,3-triazole ring also serves as a spacer and an electron transfer bridge between the porphyrin and the attached chromophores. In order to provide a critical overview

• -doped graphene hybrid 96 through the CuAAC reaction. For the click reaction synthesis of hybrid 96, azide-functionalized N-doped graphene 94 and TMS-protected porphyrin 95 bearing an alkyne group were first prepared, as shown in Scheme 19. Subsequently, deprotected porphyrin bearing a terminal alkyne

Strategies to access the [5-8] bicyclic core encountered in the sesquiterpene, diterpene and sesterterpene series

• Cécile Alleman,
• Charlène Gadais,
• Laurent Legentil and
• François-Hugues Porée

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 245–281, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.23

• and 107, respectively (Scheme 19). With these compounds in hand, terminal alkyne 106 provided the desired product 108 as previously observed with 102, while the protected alkyne 107 furnished a 1:1.7 mixture of monocyclized 109 and the expected product 110 in overall good yield. This study highlighted

NaI/PPh₃-catalyzed visible-light-mediated decarboxylative radical cascade cyclization of N-arylacrylamides for the efficient synthesis of quaternary oxindoles

• Dan Liu,
• Yue Zhao and
• Frederic W. Patureau

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 57–65, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.5

• terminal alkyne in 3an, and an alkyl chloride in 3ao proved compatible, associated with encouraging yields. In order to further demonstrate the utility of our protocol, a complex scaffold derived from lithocholic acid was tested, and was found to smoothly undergo the decarboxylative cyclization towards

Formal total synthesis of macarpine via a Au(I)-catalyzed 6-endo-dig cycloisomerization strategy

• Jiayue Fu,
• Bingbing Li,
• Zefang Zhou,
• Maosheng Cheng,
• Lu Yang and
• Yongxiang Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1589–1595, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.169

• deprotection of the silyl group was accomplished in the presence of potassium carbonate (K2CO3) and methanol to provide the terminal alkyne 5 in 96% yield in two steps. The iodoarene 8 [12][16] was facilely synthesized from sesamol (6) via methylation and iodination in an overall yield of 67%. With the

Preparation of an advanced intermediate for the synthesis of leustroducsins and phoslactomycins by heterocycloaddition

• Anaïs Rousseau,
• Guillaume Vincent and
• Cyrille Kouklovsky

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1385–1395, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.143

• (Scheme 6); iodination with NIS, as previously described [29], gave lower yields. We first attempted the coupling with the terminal alkyne 19, anticipating the possibility of reducing the triple bond after coupling reaction. In agreement with literature precedents, we chose LiHMDS for deprotonation of 19

Synthesis of novel alkynyl imidazopyridinyl selenides: copper-catalyzed tandem selenation of selenium with 2-arylimidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and terminal alkynes

• Mio Matsumura,
• Kaho Tsukada,
• Kiwa Sugimoto,
• Yuki Murata and
• Shuji Yasuike

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 863–871, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.87

• reagents and 1,3-dipolar azide–alkyne cycloaddition based on the alkyne moiety. Keywords: alkynyl imidazopyridinyl selenide; copper catalyst; imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine; selenium; tandem reaction; terminal alkyne; Introduction Imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines are important heterocycles that serve as key functional

• ]. Based on this report and the above control experiments, a plausible selenation reaction mechanism is shown in Figure 3. The first step of the reaction involves the generation of intermediate A by the oxidative addition of the Cu(I) catalyst to the diselenide 2. The terminal alkyne coordinates with

Inductive heating and flow chemistry – a perfect synergy of emerging enabling technologies

• Conrad Kuhwald,
• Sibel Türkhan and
• Andreas Kirschning

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 688–706, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.70

• an aldehyde 5, a secondary amine 6, and a terminal alkyne 7, afforded arylpropargylamines 8 in up to 84% yield under flow conditions (Scheme 7, reaction 2). Microwave irradiation interacted with a thin foil of Cu or Au that served as catalyst inside the glass capillary. The work must be highlighted

Recent developments and trends in the iron- and cobalt-catalyzed Sonogashira reactions

• Surendran Amrutha,
• Sankaran Radhika and
• Gopinathan Anilkumar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 262–285, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.31

• reaction between an aryl/vinyl halide (Cl, Br, I, OTf) and a terminal alkyne in the presence of a Cu(I) co-catalyst under basic conditions to form a Csp2–Csp bond generating an arylalkyne is known as the Sonogashira (Sonogashira–Hagihara) coupling [1] and has become an important C–C bond-forming reaction

• with XPhoS provided only 12% of the product. Both, Fe and Pd are essentially required for the successive coupling in nanocomposites, and hence iron composition plays a major role in the activity of the nanoparticles. Selective reaction between an aryl iodide/bromide with the terminal alkyne was facile