Ni-promoted reductive cyclization cascade enables a total synthesis of (+)-aglacin B

• Si-Chen Yao,
• Jing-Si Cao,
• Jian Xiao,
• Ya-Wen Wang and
• Yu Peng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2548–2552, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.197

• asymmetric conjugate addition was carried out [20][21]. The in situ generated aryl–copper(I) species was obtained under the action of CuBr·Me2S with Grignard reagent 8, and then added to a THF solution of the α,β-unsaturated acyl oxazolidinone 7 at −48 °C. This reaction demonstrated an excellent

Palladium-catalyzed regioselective C1-selective nitration of carbazoles

• Vikash Kumar,
• Jyothis Dharaniyedath,
• Aiswarya T P,
• Sk Ariyan,
• Chitrothu Venkatesh and
• Parthasarathy Gandeepan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2479–2488, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.190

• and copper salts were examined as an oxidant to enhance the yield. Surprisingly, none of the tested silver salts afforded the desired product, while copper salts resulted in either trace amounts or a lower yield of 2a (Table 1, entries 4 and 5). We also evaluated inorganic oxidants, but these oxidants

An Fe(II)-catalyzed synthesis of spiro[indoline-3,2'-pyrrolidine] derivatives

• Elizaveta V. Gradova,
• Nikita A. Ozhegov,
• Roman O. Shcherbakov,
• Alexander G. Tkachenko,
• Larisa Y. Nesterova,
• Elena Y. Mendogralo and
• Maxim G. Uchuskin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2383–2388, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.183

• under heating furnished chiral spiroindolylpyrroles in excellent yields and enantioselectivity (Scheme 1, path d) [11]. Moreover, a copper-catalyzed reaction of oxindole-derived alkenes with acetophenone O-acetyl oxime has also been employed to construct the spiroindolylpyrrole scaffold (Scheme 1, path

Comparative analysis of complanadine A total syntheses

• Reem Al-Ahmad and
• Mingji Dai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2334–2344, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.178

• , followed by acetylation of the resulting propargylic alcohol afforded 17 which was further advanced to 18 via copper-catalyzed selective displacement of the propargyl acetate with benzylamine and hydrolysis of the primary acetate. The primary alcohol of 18 was activated with PPh3/CCl4, triggering an

Halogenated butyrolactones from the biomass-derived synthon levoglucosenone

• Johannes Puschnig,
• Martyn Jevric and
• Ben W. Greatrex

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2297–2301, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.175

• using CF3 donors in copper-catalyzed [34], base- and Lewis acid-mediated reactions [35][36][37]. The reaction of enamine 9a with Togni’s reagent (18) and subsequent hydrolysis gave the substituted derivative 19 in 35% yield (qNMR) (Scheme 4). The yield was improved using the N-methylpiperazine-derived

Enantioselective radical chemistry: a bright future ahead

• Anna C. Renner,
• Sagar S. Thorat,
• Hariharaputhiran Subramanian and
• Mukund P. Sibi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2283–2296, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.174

• -photocatalysts [10][11][12] have been successfully incorporated into enantioselective radical reactions. The use of transition metals to catalyze enantioselective radical reactions can be considered a major advancement in the field of asymmetric catalysis. Several metals such as cobalt, nickel, copper, and

• titanium have been employed successfully to catalyze enantioselective radical reactions. Two earth abundant transition metals that have found extensive application in enantioselective radical reactions are copper and nickel. These metals, particularly Ni, can be used in radical–radical coupling reactions

• occurred in an anti fashion. Products were obtained with up to 97% ee via catalysis by complexes of magnesium or copper(II) with ligand L1. The absolute stereochemistry of the product could be controlled by a simple change from copper(II) to magnesium Lewis acids while using the same chiral ligand, thus

Pathway economy in cyclization of 1,n-enynes

• Hezhen Han,
• Wenjie Mao,
• Bin Lin,
• Maosheng Cheng,
• Lu Yang and
• Yongxiang Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2260–2282, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.173

• 133 (Scheme 27, path b). Through precise acid catalyst selection, the reaction pathways were strategically modulated to afford efficient construction of both 1H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]carbazole derivatives and spiro[indoline-3,3'-pyrrolidin]-2-one derivatives. In 2019, the Ye group reported a copper-catalyzed

• stereospecific tandem cyclization of indolyl homopropargyl amides for the construction of bridged aza[n.2.1] frameworks (Scheme 28) [40]. The copper catalyst, acting as a σ,π-dual activator, induced a 5-endo-dig cyclization to form a vinylcopper intermediate 135. Subsequently, a protodemetalation process first

• copper-catalyzed tandem process initiated by endo-cyclization of indolyl homopropargyl amides, enabling atom-economical synthesis of therapeutically significant bridged aza[n.2.1] skeletons. Angle strain and configuration-controlled cyclization of 1,n-enynes In cyclization reactions, angle strain and

Pd-catalyzed dehydrogenative arylation of arylhydrazines to access non-symmetric azobenzenes, including tetra-ortho derivatives

• Loris Geminiani,
• Kathrin Junge,
• Matthias Beller and
• Jean-François Soulé

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2234–2242, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.170

• and co-workers developed a Chan–Evans–Lam-type oxidative cross-coupling reaction between N-arylphthalic hydrazides and arylboronic acids using copper catalysis [41]. Similarly, in 2003, Lee and co-workers introduced a desymmetrization approach employing simpler N=N precursors, specifically N-protected

Synthesis of triazolo- and tetrazolo-fused 1,4-benzodiazepines via one-pot Ugi–azide and Cu-free click reactions

• Xiaoming Ma,
• Zijie Gao,
• Jiawei Niu,
• Wentao Shao,
• Shenghu Yan,
• Sai Zhang and
• Wei Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2202–2210, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.167

• advantages over traditional copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reactions, including operational simplicity and the absence of metal contaminants, which is crucial for pharmaceutical applications. After having identified suitable reaction conditions of the Ugi–azide and click reactions for

Electrochemical cyclization of alkynes to construct five-membered nitrogen-heterocyclic rings

• Lifen Peng,
• Ting Wang,
• Zhiwen Yuan,
• Bin Li,
• Zilong Tang,
• Xirong Liu,
• Hui Li,
• Guofang Jiang,
• Chunling Zeng,
• Henry N. C. Wong and
• Xiao-Shui Peng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2173–2201, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.166

• , this protocol was an efficient and sustainable approach to synthesize 2,3′-biindolyl atropisomers and could be potentially applied in manufacture of functional materials, bioactive molecules and chiral ligands. Construction of isoindolinones and indolizines An electrochemical and copper-catalyzed

• of 22 with Cu(OPiv)2 and the following anodic copper(II) oxidation provided copper(III) carboxylate intermediate B. Facile carboxylate-promoted C–H activation and ligand exchange with 23 formed the copper(III) species D, which underwent metalation/reductive elimination to generate intermediate E

• along with the formation of Cu(OPiv) which was transformed to Cu(OPiv)2 by oxidation at the anode. Finally, the cyclization of E afforded target isoindolone 24. Notably, this reaction was the first example of electrochemical copper-catalyzed oxidative cyclization of alkyne which was enabled by C–H

C2 to C6 biobased carbonyl platforms for fine chemistry

• Jingjing Jiang,
• Muhammad Noman Haider Tariq,
• Florence Popowycz,
• Yanlong Gu and
• Yves Queneau

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2103–2172, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.165

• promising strategy for sustainable energy development involves the electrochemical oxidation of biomass-derived feedstocks. Recent work by Shen et al. demonstrates that glycolic acid (GA), also referred to as hydroxyacetic acid, can be synthesized from glycerol (GLY) using a copper single-atom

• trans-4,5-diamino-cyclopent-2-enones and 2,4-diaminocyclopent-2-enones [186]. In 2021, Coelho and Afonso prepared a silica-supported copper catalyst (Cu/SiO2-N2) by impregnation with copper nitrate, and used it for the reaction of furfural with secondary amines (alkyl, cyclic and aromatic) to produce

• trans-4,5-diaminocyclopent-2-enones in hexane/isopropanol solvent mixture under continuous flow conditions (Scheme 56). The scope could be extended to 2-substituted trans-4,5-diaminocyclopent-2-enones by using 3-substituted furfurals [187]. A copper triflate-based analogous strategy was also reported

Aryl iodane-induced cascade arylation–1,2-silyl shift–heterocyclization of propargylsilanes under copper catalysis

• Rasma Kroņkalne,
• Rūdolfs Beļaunieks,
• Armands Sebris,
• Anatoly Mishnev and
• Māris Turks

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1984–1994, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.154

• , LV-1006, Riga, Latvia 10.3762/bjoc.21.154 Abstract A novel copper-catalyzed arylation strategy for propargylsilanes utilizing diaryl-λ3-iodanes has been developed, enabling a cascade sequence involving 1,2-silyl migration and heterocyclization. The β-silicon effect facilitates the formation of

• synthetic potential of iodane-mediated carbofunctionalization under copper catalysis. Keywords: arylation reactions; copper-catalysis; iodanes; propargylsilanes; 1,2-silyl shift; Introduction Highly electrophilic hypervalent iodine(III) reagents are considered as arene electrophilic synthons, making them

• have been induced by addition of external halogen or selenium electrophiles and Brønsted acids. This encouraged us to develop a methodology involving a copper-catalyzed terminal alkyne arylation of propargylsilanes by diaryl-λ3-iodanes, followed by 1,2-silyl shift and terminated by nucleophile addition

Enantioselective desymmetrization strategy of prochiral 1,3-diols in natural product synthesis

• Lihua Wei,
• Rui Yang,
• Zhifeng Shi and
• Zhiqiang Ma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1932–1963, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.151

• enantioselective desymmetrization of prochiral 1,3-diols within complex structures can be realized using organometallic catalysts composed of copper or zinc salts and different types of chiral ligands. In general, the ability to control the stereoselectivity of the product by using the enantiomer of the ligand in

Preparation of a furfural-derived enantioenriched vinyloxazoline building block and exploring its reactivity

• Madara Darzina,
• Anna Lielpetere and
• Aigars Jirgensons

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1737–1741, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.136

• of products in copper-catalyzed 1,4-addition of phenylmagnesium bromide, Giese reaction with 2-iodopropane, Simmons‒Smith or Johnson–Corey–Chaykovsky cyclopropanation, hydroboration reaction with 9-BBN, and Diels–Alders reaction with Danishevsky diene. Gratifyingly, it was found that vinyloxazoline S

3-Aryl-2H-azirines as annulation reagents in the Ni(II)-catalyzed synthesis of 1H-benzo[4,5]thieno[3,2-b]pyrroles

• Julia I. Pavlenko,
• Pavel A. Sakharov,
• Anastasiya V. Agafonova,
• Derenik A. Isadzhanyan,
• Alexander F. Khlebnikov and
• Mikhail S. Novikov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1595–1602, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.123

• -catalyzed reaction proceeds with low diastereoselectivity. The significant difference in selectivity can be explained by the fact that, in contrast to the Ni(II)-catalyzed reaction depicted in Scheme 3, the copper(I) catalysis involves the coordination by the metal of both reaction partners, and the

Azide–alkyne cycloaddition (click) reaction in biomass-derived solvent Cyrene^TM under one-pot conditions

• Zoltán Medgyesi and
• László T. Mika

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1544–1551, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.117

• CyreneTM, as a biomass-originated polar aprotic solvent, could be utilized as an alternative reaction medium for one-pot copper(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (click or CuAAC) reactions, for the synthesis of various 1,2,3-triazoles under mild conditions. Nineteen products involving N-substituted-4

• methods, the copper(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction, the so-called click reaction [7], has received substantial attention for the selective synthesis of various 1,2,3-triazoles that are of utmost importance in the synthesis of biologically active compounds such as active

• -triazoles in a less toxic and recyclable medium could further control and reduce the environmental impacts of this synthetically very important transformation. Herein, we report a study on the copper(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction in CyreneTM under mild conditions. Results and

Copper catalysis: a constantly evolving field

• Elena Fernández and
• Jaesook Yun

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1477–1479, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.109

• Elena Fernandez Jaesook Yun Departament de Química Física i Inorgànica, University Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona, Spain Department of Chemistry, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon 16419, Republic of Korea 10.3762/bjoc.21.109 Keywords: copper; copper catalysis; Copper catalysis continues to thrive as

• one of the most dynamic and versatile areas of contemporary chemical research. Once viewed primarily as a cost-effective alternative to noble metals, copper has emerged as a powerful and versatile catalyst, capable of mediating a wide array of chemical transformations through both two-electron and

• single-electron pathways. This duality has enabled access to previously elusive molecular transformations, positioning copper at the center of modern synthetic strategy. This thematic issue captures the dynamic nature of the field, featuring five insightful Review articles and five original research

Microwave-enhanced additive-free C–H amination of benzoxazoles catalysed by supported copper

• Andrei Paraschiv,
• Valentina Maruzzo,
• Filippo Pettazzi,
• Stefano Magliocco,
• Paolo Inaudi,
• Daria Brambilla,
• Gloria Berlier,
• Giancarlo Cravotto and
• Katia Martina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1462–1476, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.108

• completed in 1.5–2 h. A solid Cu(I) catalyst supported on aminated silica made the process cost-effective and heterogeneous, thus simplifying work-up and minimising free copper in solution. The catalyst was found to be regeneratable and reusable for up to eight cycles. The optimised method facilitated the

• synthesis of various benzoxazole derivatives, demonstrating its versatility and practical applicability. Keywords: aerobic oxidation; copper; grafted silica; heterogeneous catalysis; microwave; Introduction 2-Aminoazoles are nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds of high relevance due to their biological and

• environmental abundance, low cost and low overall toxicity. A wide range of aminating reagents have been utilised, including nitrogen electrophiles and amines in the presence of external or internal oxidants [27], in many types of copper-catalysed synthetic protocols. The direct copper-catalysed C–H amination

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

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

• either a 1,5-hydride shift to give D or a direct cyclization with the aryl ring via intermediate E, which upon deprotonation lead to the final products 16 and 17. In a 2016 study by Van der Eycken’s group (Scheme 9), an innovative copper-catalyzed alkylarylation of activated alkenes using isocyanides as

• -determining step. Based on these results, a detailed mechanism was proposed (Scheme 10) in which a copper-assisted homolysis of DCP generates a cumyloxyl radical A, which initiates the formation of an imidoyl radical B from the isocyanide. This radical then undergoes homolytic cleavage to yield an alkyl

Synthesis of β-ketophosphonates through aerobic copper(II)-mediated phosphorylation of enol acetates

• Alexander S. Budnikov,
• Igor B. Krylov,
• Fedor K. Monin,
• Valentina M. Merkulova,
• Alexey I. Ilovaisky,
• Liu Yan,
• Bing Yu and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1192–1200, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.96

• .21.96 Abstract Aerobic copper(II)-mediated phosphorylation of enol acetates with H-phosphonates leading to the formation of β-ketophosphonates was discovered. The proposed method is applicable to a wide range of H-phosphonates or phosphine oxides as PH-reagents and enol acetates. Unlike previous reports

• , which generally employed stoichiometric amounts of oxidants or more expensive transition metal catalysts, the present protocol employs only cheap copper sulfate pentahydrate as a catalyst under mild reaction conditions. The achieved phosphorylation proceeds via the formation of P-centered radicals

• produced by the oxidation of PH-reagents by copper(II)-containing species. Employing anhydrous CuSO4 instead of the pentahydrate led to a dramatic phosphorylation yield drop from 70 to <5%. It seems that the ligand environment of copper is very important for the effective reaction: other Cu(II) and Cu(I

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

• the significant role of asymmetric catalysis in their strategy, utilizing a copper-catalyzed asymmetric 1,4-addition and a ruthenium-catalyzed asymmetric ketone hydrogenation. Fragment 61 was synthesized in 15% overall yield across 19 steps, while fragment 62b was achieved in 32% yield over 11 steps

• . Herber and Breit’s strategy for constructing Theodorakis’ C3–C11 fragment In 2006, Herber and Breit utilized an iterative deoxypropionate synthesis to construct the Theodorakis’ C3–C11 fragment of borrelidin. This approach was based on a copper-mediated directed allylic substitution previously developed

• ]. Synthesis of Ōmura’s C1–C11 fragment 61 by Minnaard and Madduri [37]. Synthesis of fragment 62b of borrelidin as proposed by Minnaard and Madduri [37]. Iterative directed allylation for the synthesis of deoxypropionates by Herber and Breit [33]. Iterative copper-mediated directed allyl substitution for the

Recent advances in synthetic approaches for bioactive cinnamic acid derivatives

• Betty A. Kustiana,
• Galuh Widiyarti and
• Teni Ernawati

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1031–1086, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.85

• affording cinnamamide (99) in excellent yield. The reaction proceeds via the decarboxylated amide–copper complex 359 (Scheme 79B) [134] and could be scaled-up to a gram scale reaction. Cinnamic acid derivatives could also be accessed via multicomponent reactions. For example, Jana and Ghosh (2019) utilized

On the photoluminescence in triarylmethyl-centered mono-, di-, and multiradicals

• Daniel Straub,
• Markus Gross,
• Mona E. Arnold,
• Julia Zolg and
• Alexander J. C. Kuehne

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 964–998, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.80

Recent advances in controllable/divergent synthesis

• Jilei Cao,
• Leiyang Bai and
• Xuefeng Jiang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 890–914, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.73

• hydrogen atom transfer (HAT)/chiral copper dual catalytic system that achieved regiodivergent and enantioselective C(sp3)–C(sp3) and C(sp3)–N oxidative cross-couplings between N-arylglycine ester/amide derivatives and abundant hydrocarbon C(sp3)–H feedstocks (Scheme 6) [24]. This methodology also

• represents a highly challenging direct C(sp3)–H asymmetric amination. Mechanistic insights: When using a bulky, electron-rich chiral bisphosphine ligand L6, the glycine ester substrate coordinates with the copper catalyst to form a key intermediate complex Int-26. The sterically hindered and electron-rich

• environment around the copper center disfavors a direct interaction with nucleophilic alkyl radicals. Instead, the reaction proceeds via an outer-sphere mechanism, where the alkyl radical reacts with the copper-activated C=N unsaturated bond, enabling stereocontrolled C(sp3)–C(sp3) coupling. In contrast, with