Recent advances in Norrish–Yang cyclization and dicarbonyl photoredox reactions for natural product synthesis

• Peng-Xi Luo,
• Jin-Xuan Yang,
• Shao-Min Fu and
• Bo Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2315–2333, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.177

• , characterized by a [5,6]-bisbenzannulated spiroketal moiety as its central structural motif. This key feature is critical to its potent biological activities, including strong inhibition of human telomerase [52], as well as its established roles as an effective antibiotic and HIV-1 reverse transcriptase

Understanding the origin of stereoselectivity in the photochemical denitrogenation of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.1]heptene and its derivatives with non-adiabatic molecular dynamics

• Leticia A. Gomes and
• Steven A. Lopez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2007–2020, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.156

• ). Housane derivatives were also used in an atom-economical synthesis of the antibiotic [42][43][44] and potentially anti-obesity drug [45][46][47][48][49], (±)-vibralactone [42] (Scheme 1d). The thermolysis [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60] and photolysis [57][58][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67

Synthesis, biological and electrochemical evaluation of glycidyl esters of phosphorus acids as potential anticancer drugs

• Almaz A. Zagidullin,
• Emil R. Bulatov,
• Mikhail N. Khrizanforov,
• Damir R. Davletshin,
• Elvina M. Gilyazova,
• Ivan A. Strelkov and
• Vasily A. Miluykov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1909–1916, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.148

• , synthetic chemistry, and medicine. This surge in interest has led to the development of innovative synthetic routes aimed at producing new members of these compounds [22]. For instance, fosfomycin [23] stands out as a broad-spectrum antibiotic currently employed in clinical settings, while thiotepa has been

Research progress on calixarene/pillararene-based controlled drug release systems

• Liu-Huan Yi,
• Jian Qin,
• Si-Ran Lu,
• Liu-Pan Yang,
• Li-Li Wang and
• Huan Yao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1757–1785, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.139

• balance is disrupted, leading to the dissociation of the complex and the release of the drug. This pH-sensitive "charge switch" mechanism enables CA8 to precisely control the release behavior of CPF, providing new insights for the development of environmentally responsive antibiotic delivery systems

• (Figure 3) [101]. This pH-sensitive "charge switch" mechanism enables CA8 to precisely control the release behavior of CPF, providing new insights for the development of environmentally responsive antibiotic delivery systems. Water-soluble aromatic macrocycles are commonly utilized in drug delivery

• hydrogel. Upon exposure to 365 nm UV light, Azo-SMX transitions from the trans to the cis state, prompting its release from the complex. Research on antibacterial efficacy has confirmed that the modified Azo-SMX antibiotic is effective against a range of microorganisms, including both Gram-positive and

Approaches to stereoselective 1,1'-glycosylation

• Daniele Zucchetta and
• Alla Zamyatina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1700–1718, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.133

• ][12][13][14] and the nucleoside antibiotic tunicamycin [15][16][17], etc. These molecules play essential roles in cell signaling, host–pathogen interactions, and pathogenesis and, being the constituent of pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs), can function as critical virulence factor [7][18

• synthesis of neotrehalosamines related to the sugar moiety of the nucleoside antibiotic tunicamycin was performed using benzoylated 2-(benzoyloxyimino)-protected GlcN bromide donor 5, which enabled 1,2-cis stereochemical control through the non-participating C-2 benzoyloxyimino group, leading to the

• groups, as in the imidate donor 29, instead of benzyl ethers, was fully compatible and resulted in the exclusive formation of β-mannosyl-α-glucoside 30 [57]. This approach was successfully applied to the synthesis of a nonreducing disaccharide moiety of evernimicin, an octasaccharide antibiotic that

General method for the synthesis of enaminones via photocatalysis

• Paula Pérez-Ramos,
• Raquel G. Soengas and
• Humberto Rodríguez-Solla

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1535–1543, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.116

• acyclic compounds [19][20][21][22][23]. Furthermore, the enaminone structural moiety represents the key framework of many drug classes, including antibiotic (1) [24], anti-inflammatory (2) [25], antinociceptive (3) [26], anticonvulsant (4) [27], antitubercular (5) [28], and antitumor (6) [29] agents

Oxetanes: formation, reactivity and total syntheses of natural products

• Peter Gabko,
• Martin Kalník and
• Maroš Bella

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1324–1373, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.101

Synthetic approach to borrelidin fragments: focus on key intermediates

• Yudhi Dwi Kurniawan,
• Zetryana Puteri Tachrim,
• Teni Ernawati,
• Faris Hermawan,
• Ima Nurasiyah and
• Muhammad Alfin Sulmantara

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1135–1160, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.91

• Chemistry, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Universitas Negeri Semarang, Semarang, Central Java 50229, Indonesia 10.3762/bjoc.21.91 Abstract Borrelidin, a naturally occurring antibiotic, has attracted considerable interest due to its diverse biological activities and complex molecular

• Borrelidin (Figure 1), a distinctive 18-membered ring macrolide, was first isolated from Streptomyces rochei by Berger et al. in 1949 [1]. This antibiotic, also known for its anti-Borrelia activity and ability to enhance penicillin’s effects, was structurally elucidated in 1967 by Keller-Schierlein [2

Salen–scandium(III) complex-catalyzed asymmetric (3 + 2) annulation of aziridines and aldehydes

• Linqiang Wang and
• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1087–1094, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.86

• [5] and the FDA-approved antibiotic linezolid [6] (Figure 1). Both chiral oxazolidines [7][8] and oxazolidinones [9][10] have been utilized as chiral auxiliary groups in many asymmetric organic transformations. Oxazolidine derivatives have been prepared mainly from condensation of vicinal amino

Synthesis of pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidine-2,4(3H)-diones by domino C–N coupling/hydroamination reactions

• Ruben Manuel Figueira de Abreu,
• Robin Tiedemann,
• Peter Ehlers and
• Peter Langer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1010–1017, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.82

• instance, deazapurines represent heterocyclic fused pyrimidine bases which have found special attention, due to their widespread occurrence in natural alkaloids exhibiting various biological properties. For example, cadeguomycin (A), tubercidin (B), and toyocamycin (C) show antibiotic properties, while

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

• anesthesia [14]. The imidazo[4,5-d][1,3]diazepine core is present in pentostatin and coformycin, which are naturally occurring N-nucleoside inhibitors of adenosine deaminase, known for their antibiotic and anticancer properties [15][16][17]. These examples highlight the importance of developing novel

Synthesis of electrophile-tethered preQ₁ analogs for covalent attachment to preQ₁ RNA

• Laurin Flemmich and
• Ronald Micura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 483–489, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.35

• antibiotic properties, others expand the chemical diversity and thus the functional sophistication of ribonucleic acids, as in the case of Q [3]. In most bacteria, Q biosynthesis is tightly regulated by riboswitches, which are highly structured RNA elements located mostly in the 5’-leader of messenger RNA

Synthesis, characterization, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and carbonic anhydrase inhibition activities of multifunctional pyrazolo-1,2-benzothiazine acetamides

• Ayesha Saeed,
• Shahana Ehsan,
• Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman,
• Erin M. Marshall,
• Sandra Loesgen,
• Abdus Saleem,
• Simone Giovannuzzi and
• Claudiu T. Supuran

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 348–357, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.25

• 10.3762/bjoc.21.25 Abstract The advent of antibiotic resistance in microorganisms requires the discovery and synthesis of novel antibiotics. At the same time, human pathogens are contributing to chronic and persistent inflammation. Motivated by these two concerning issues, new antibiotic drug candidates

• and 13C NMR spectroscopy. All compounds were tested against five human microbial strains including three different strains of Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC 25923, ATCC BAA-41, and ATCC BAA-44), Escherichia coli (ATCC 8739), and Candida albicans (ATCC 90027) to evaluate their antibiotic potential. The

• results showed that out of fourteen synthesized compounds, 7b (MIC90 = 16 μg/mL) and 7h (MIC90 = 8.0 μg/mL) exhibited potent antibiotic activity against different strains of S. aureus (susceptible, methicillin-resistant, and multidrug-resistant). Cytotoxic studies against the human colon cancer mammalian

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

• infections are associated with biofilm formation, respectively, including serious infections affecting mucosal membranes or on implants yielding serious threats in hospitalized patients [3][4]. Consequently, biofilm-based antibiotic resistance poses a major threat to human health and substantially

Discovery of ianthelliformisamines D–G from the sponge Suberea ianthelliformis and the total synthesis of ianthelliformisamine D

• Sasha Hayes,
• Yaoying Lu,
• Bernd H. A. Rehm and
• Rohan A. Davis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3205–3214, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.266

• aeruginosa biofilm inhibitors and antibiotic enhancers. Large-scale extraction and isolation studies resulted in the discovery of four new and minor natural products, ianthelliformisamines D–G (4–7) and the known steroid, aplysterol (8). Compounds 4–7 were fully characterised following 1D/2D NMR, MS and UV

• published with their antibiotic assessment against numerous bacterial species reported [8][9][10][11]. Our recent publication showed that of the naturally occurring metabolites, compound 3 inhibits the formation of P. aeruginosa PAO1 biofilms (MIC 53.1 µg/mL), whilst 1 and 2 enhanced the antibiotic effect

• of ciprofloxacin when used in combination [12]. In efforts to further examine the chemistry of S. ianthelliformis and potentially discover new antibiotic leads, we undertook a scaled-up chemical investigation on the original specimen from which ianthelliformisamines A–C were isolated. Herein, we

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

• 4 [9][10] (Figure 1). Halogenated cyclised structures have also been found to exhibit medicinal and pharmaceutical properties, including antibacterial [11], antibiotic [12], and enzyme inhibition [13] among others. The general mechanism for the HVI-mediated halocyclisation of alkenes proceeds

Chemical structure metagenomics of microbial natural products: surveying nonribosomal peptides and beyond

• Thomas Ma and
• John Chu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3050–3060, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.253

• the glycopeptide antibiotic family [62][63]. Their aromatic rings undergo oxidative coupling to form biaryl moieties that restrict atropisomerism; the resulting rigid structure is key to their high affinity binding to peptidoglycan intermediates [64][65]. Glycopeptide antibiotics include vancomycin

Synthesis of pyrrole-fused dibenzoxazepine/dibenzothiazepine/triazolobenzodiazepine derivatives via isocyanide-based multicomponent reactions

• Marzieh Norouzi,
• Mohammad Taghi Nazeri,
• Ahmad Shaabani and
• Behrouz Notash

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2870–2882, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.241

• compounds with antibiotic, antiviral, and anticancer properties that are found in many drugs and natural products [1][2][3][4][5][6]. Pyrroles' biological properties manifest when they are fused to other heterocycles [7][8][9][10][11][12]. Among them, seven-membered heterocycles of the benzodiazepine

Synthesis and antimycotic activity of new derivatives of imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidines

• Dmitriy Yu. Vandyshev,
• Daria A. Mangusheva,
• Khidmet S. Shikhaliev,
• Kirill A. Scherbakov,
• Oleg N. Burov,
• Alexander D. Zagrebaev,
• Tatiana N. Khmelevskaya,
• Alexey S. Trenin and
• Fedor I. Zubkov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2806–2817, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.236

• include the use of immunosuppressive and cytotoxic drugs, broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, pre-existing illnesses such as AIDS or diabetes, and the use of central venous catheters, urethral catheters, and implantable medical devices [42]. The mainstay of therapy for these infections is the use of broad

Efficient modification of peroxydisulfate oxidation reactions of nitrogen-containing heterocycles 6-methyluracil and pyridine

• Alfiya R. Gimadieva,
• Yuliya Z. Khazimullina,
• Aigiza A. Gilimkhanova and
• Akhat G. Mustafin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2599–2607, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.219

• , including drugs and alkaloids [8]. Several drugs are known to contain the 2-pyridone structure, such as the cardiotonic drugs milrinone (Figure 1c) and amrinone (Figure 1d) [9][10], as well as the antibiotic pilicide (Figure 1e) [11][12]. As described in [13] during preliminary experiments, it was

The Groebke–Blackburn–Bienaymé reaction in its maturity: innovation and improvements since its 21st birthday (2019–2023)

• Cristina Martini,
• Muhammad Idham Darussalam Mardjan and
• Andrea Basso

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1839–1879, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.162

Discovery of antimicrobial peptides clostrisin and cellulosin from Clostridium: insights into their structures, co-localized biosynthetic gene clusters, and antibiotic activity

• Moisés Alejandro Alejo Hernandez,
• Katia Pamela Villavicencio Sánchez,
• Rosendo Sánchez Morales,
• Karla Georgina Hernández-Magro Gil,
• David Silverio Moreno-Gutiérrez,
• Eddie Guillermo Sanchez-Rueda,
• Yanet Teresa-Cruz,
• Brian Choi,
• Armando Hernández Garcia,
• Alba Romero-Rodríguez,
• Oscar Juárez,
• Siseth Martínez-Caballero,
• Mario Figueroa and
• Corina-Diana Ceapă

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1800–1816, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.159

• lanthipeptide synthetases exhibit antimicrobial activity against various pathogens, including drug-resistant strains [23][24]. These molecules are relevant as they have strong antibiotic effects against pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus sp., Clostridioides difficile, and

• cellulolyticum, and clostrubin, a polyphenolic polyketide antibiotic and the first reported polyketide from anaerobic bacteria [35][36][37]. Therefore, the discovery of a lantibiotic with a Clostridium origin, reported in this study, has significant implications for developing novel antibiotics. The unique

• each bacterium at 10.5 µg/mL, where they showed no inhibition. The peptides exhibited no antibiotic activity against E. coli ATCC IM08B, C. difficile R20291, A. baumannii ATCC BAA 747, and MRSA at the concentrations employed. It was expected that the lack of effect on E. coli would occur, as the pre

Syntheses and medicinal chemistry of spiro heterocyclic steroids

• Laura L. Romero-Hernández,
• Ana Isabel Ahuja-Casarín,
• Penélope Merino-Montiel,
• Sara Montiel-Smith,
• José Luis Vega-Báez and
• Jesús Sandoval-Ramírez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1713–1745, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.152

• -thiazolidin-4-one moiety at the C-3 steroid position, employing the drugs sulfapyridine and sulfadiazine. The corresponding heterocycles were afforded in similar yields. The spiro products were evaluated for their antimicrobial and antifungal properties, demonstrating comparable activity to the antibiotic

Chemo-enzymatic total synthesis: current approaches toward the integration of chemical and enzymatic transformations

• Ryo Tanifuji and
• Hiroki Oguri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1693–1712, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.151

• macrolactonization catalyzed by two massive PKS modules exemplifies a refined and innovative method in chemo-enzymatic synthesis. Tylactone (4), a 16-membered macrolactone, was isolated from a Streptomyces fradiae mutant and characterized as the aglycone of the macrolide antibiotic tylosin (Scheme 7) [69]. Since the

Methyltransferases from RiPP pathways: shaping the landscape of natural product chemistry

• Maria-Paula Schröder,
• Isabel P.-M. Pfeiffer and
• Silja Mordhorst

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1652–1670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.147

• resulting natural products with a spectrum of chemical complexity, contributing to the broad range of biological activities exhibited by RiPPs. Bioactivities attributed to RiPPs include a wide range of effects, such as antibiotic, antifungal, antiviral, antiparasitic, antitumour, analgesic, anti

• a class I SAM-dependent MT. The closest structural homologues with defined biosynthetic pathways are CcbJ and KedS8. These enzymes N-methylate the antibiotic lincosamide celesticetin and the anticancer protein kedaricidin, respectively. Crocagin A is a potent inhibitor of the RNA binding protein

• -terminally methylated nisin retains its antibiotic activity, with MIC (minimal inhibitory concentration) values of 1 µM and 4 µM against Lactococcus lactis and Bacillus subtilis, respectively. Haloduracin is a two-component lanthibiotic that is methylated at both cyclised N-termini by CypM. These experiments