Total syntheses of highly oxidative Ryania diterpenoids facilitated by innovations in synthetic strategies

• Zhi-Qi Cao,
• Jin-Bao Qiao and
• Yu-Ming Zhao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2553–2570, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.198

• reported the first total synthesis of ryanodine from ryanodol [47] (Scheme 5). Their strategy utilized a novel boronate protecting group to mask the four syn-oriented hydroxy groups. A critical step was the in-situ generation of the pyrrole-2-carboxylate unit from a glycine ester and 1,3-bis(dimethylamino

Isoorotamide-based peptide nucleic acid nucleobases with extended linkers aimed at distal base recognition of adenosine in double helical RNA

• Grant D. Walby,
• Brandon R. Tessier,
• Tristan L. Mabee,
• Jennah M. Hoke,
• Hallie M. Bleam,
• Angelina Giglio-Tos,
• Emily E. Harding,
• Vladislavs Baskevics,
• Martins Katkevics,
• Eriks Rozners and
• James A. MacKay

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2513–2523, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.193

• oligonucleotides (TFOs) [8]. TFOs are utilized in both RNA and DNA recognition [9][10][11][12] and a particular type of TFO, peptide nucleic acid (PNA), has emerged as a promising probe for recognizing ncRNA [13][14][15][16]. The Nielsen lab first designed PNA with the N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine backbone for the

• PNA oligomer with the N-(2-aminoethyl)glycine backbone (in red); (b) Representative monocyclic synthetic nucleobase triples through Hoogsteen hydrogen bonding (blue dashed lines). Watson–Crick hydrogen bonds are in red (dashed lines). Representative extended nucleobase triples through Hoogsteen

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

• aldolase, a photoredox catalyst, and an oxidizing agent. With this catalytic system, they were able to accomplish the C–H functionalization of glycine and α-branched amino acids, obtaining α-tri- and tetrasubstituted amino acids with moderate to good yields, good diastereoselectivity, and high

Facile synthesis of hydantoin/1,2,4-oxadiazoline spiro-compounds via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to 5-iminohydantoins

• Juliana V. Petrova,
• Varvara T. Tkachenko,
• Victor A. Tafeenko,
• Anna S. Pestretsova,
• Vadim S. Pokrovsky,
• Maxim E. Kukushkin and
• Elena K. Beloglazkina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1552–1560, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.118

• precursors 4a–c were then prepared by the reaction of compounds 3a–c with N-chlorosuccinimide (NCS) in dimethylformamide (DMF). The ester group-containing chloro oxime 4d was obtained by the treatment of glycine ethyl ester hydrochloride with sodium nitrite and hydrochloric acid [25] and used thereafter as

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

• 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

• the anionic cyano-substituted bisoxazoline ligand L7, the glycine ester and copper catalyst form a distinct intermediate complex Int-28. The ligand’s reduced steric bulk and altered electronic properties facilitate direct interaction with alkyl radicals, forming a high-valent Cu(III) intermediate Int

Recent advances in the electrochemical synthesis of organophosphorus compounds

• Babak Kaboudin,
• Milad Behroozi,
• Sepideh Sadighi and
• Fatemeh Asgharzadeh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 770–797, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.61

• derivatives of glycine with diarylphosphine oxide (R2P(O)–H) for the synthesis of 1-aminoalkylphosphine oxides without the use of any transition metal catalyst or external oxidant. In this conversion, 1-aminoalkylphosphine oxides were formed in an undivided cell using a carbon electrode as the anode and

• phosphorus center. The reaction yield was higher when nickel was used as the cathode and graphite as the anode compared to the setup where nickel was replaced with graphite for the cathode and/or graphite was replaced with nickel for the anode (Scheme 2). This method is suitable for phosphorylating glycine

Origami with small molecules: exploiting the C–F bond as a conformational tool

• Patrick Ryan,
• Ramsha Iftikhar and
• Luke Hunter

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 680–716, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.54

Entry to 2-aminoprolines via electrochemical decarboxylative amidation of N‑acetylamino malonic acid monoesters

• Olesja Koleda,
• Janis Sadauskis,
• Darja Antonenko,
• Edvards Janis Treijs,
• Raivis Davis Steberis and
• Edgars Suna

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 630–638, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.50

• 13a,d,e in 71–83% yield (Scheme 4). Carboxylic acid 13a could be reacted with glycine benzyl ester in the presence of HATU and Et3N to form dipeptide 16 (66%). In contrast, N-unprotected 2-aminoprolines are unstable and could not be isolated. Thus, the cleavage of the N-Cbz protecting group in 6b

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

• remarkable example, when formaldehyde was used, the reaction did not provide the desired quinoline 6 as the main product but rather julolidines 7 (Scheme 7) [31]. However, the use of paraformaldehyde and glycine can produce the desired products with low yields, but very expensive catalysts and complex

Applications of microscopy and small angle scattering techniques for the characterisation of supramolecular gels

• Connor R. M. MacDonald and
• Emily R. Draper

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2608–2634, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.220

• was achieved by Firipis et al. where they used SAXS to quantify hydrogels formed from self-assembling bioactive peptides Fmoc-DIKVAV and Fmoc-FRGDF (D = aspartic acid, I = isoleucine, K = lysine, V = valine, A = alanine, F = phenylalanine, R = arginine, G = glycine) [88]. The physical characteristics

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

• , respectively. However, other amino acids such as glycine (Gly), histidine (His), and tyrosine (Try) resulted in much lower yields (Scheme 52). 2 LSF via cathodic

Negishi-coupling-enabled synthesis of α-heteroaryl-α-amino acid building blocks for DNA-encoded chemical library applications

• Matteo Gasparetto,
• Balázs Fődi and
• Gellért Sipos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1922–1932, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.168

• overall applicability. A different approach for the synthesis of α-amino acids involves the formation of dehydroamino acids and subsequent hydrogenation [13][14]. More recently, there have been reports of techniques that utilize phase transfer catalysts (PTCs) to alkylate glycine derivatives [15][16]. A

• acids with high enantiomeric purity [23]. The synthesis of formally glycine-derived tertiary α-aryl-amino acids is much less developed. The most common strategy for obtaining these substrates is by lithiation of an aromatic ring followed by coupling with a glycine derivative (Scheme 1a). For example

• , this approach was applied to the synthesis of N-substituted pyrazoles and poly-substituted isothiazoles [24][25]. Glycine derivatives can be reacted with indoles using copper catalysis or metallophotoredox catalysis [26]. Le et al. reported the use of the same approach for imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines [27

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

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

• the successive condensation of myristic acid, ʟ-alanine, and glycine to furnish thioester 87 on the peptidyl carrier protein (PCP) domain of SfmB [94][97]. The downstream NRPS module, SfmC, then catalyzes sequential reactions with 86 and 87 to assemble pentacyclic scaffold 93 in a single stroke [97

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

• with N-terminal alanine, serine, threonine, glycine, and methionine residues, as well as the antibiotics nisin and haloduracin with good efficiency. Nisin was methylated on its N-terminal isoleucine and on the side chain of Lys12, where two methylations occurred. It is important to note that N

Benzylic C(sp³)–H fluorination

• Alexander P. Atkins,
• Alice C. Dean and
• Alastair J. J. Lennox

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1527–1547, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.137

• benzylic fluorination method that employed unprotected amino acids as radical precursors, Figure 12 [50]. Oxidation of glycine by Ag(II) promotes decarboxylation and results in the α-amino radical, which performs a HAT on the benzylic substrate to furnish the benzylic radical. This subsequently undergoes

Towards an asymmetric β-selective addition of azlactones to allenoates

• Behzad Nasiri,
• Ghaffar Pasdar,
• Paul Zebrowski,
• Katharina Röser,
• David Naderer and
• Mario Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1504–1509, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.134

• thus wondering if we could extend this ammonium salt-catalyzed β-selective allenoate functionalization strategy to other amino acid classes. Azlactones 1 have previously been used for γ-selective additions to allenoates under chiral phosphine catalysis [28]. In addition, glycine Schiff base derivatives

Synthesis and characterization of water-soluble C₆₀–peptide conjugates

• Yue Ma,
• Lorenzo Persi and
• Yoko Yamakoshi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 777–786, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.71

• on resin, a GABA residue was attached to the N-terminus of the peptide in order to provide a less-hindered primary amine, enabling an efficient amide conjugation reaction with biscarboxylic acid-substituted C60 derivative 3. Compound 3 was prepared by Prato reaction of C60 and an N-glycine derivative

Synthesis and biological profile of 2,3-dihydro[1,3]thiazolo[4,5-b]pyridines, a novel class of acyl-ACP thioesterase inhibitors

• Jens Frackenpohl,
• David M. Barber,
• Guido Bojack,
• Birgit Bollenbach-Wahl,
• Ralf Braun,
• Rahel Getachew,
• Sabine Hohmann,
• Kwang-Yoon Ko,
• Karoline Kurowski,
• Bernd Laber,
• Rebecca L. Mattison,
• Thomas Müller,
• Anna M. Reingruber,
• Dirk Schmutzler and
• Andrea Svejda

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 540–551, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.46

• platyphylla (BRAPP), Bromus tectorum (BROTE), Echinochloa crus-galli (ECHCG), Digitaria sanguinalis (DIGSA), Eleusine indica (ELEIN), Glycine max (GLXMA), Lolium rigidum (LOLRI), Lolium sp. (LOLSS), resistant Lolium sp. (LOLSS_R, origin: France), Poa annua (POAAN), Setaria viridis (SETVI), Sorghum halepense

Decarboxylative 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of amino acids for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds

• Xiaofeng Zhang,
• Xiaoming Ma and
• Wei Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1677–1693, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.123

• : A1-type AMYs can be generated from the condensation of aldehydes with α- and N-dialkylglycine esters, A2-type AMYs are derived from α-alkylglycine esters, A3-type AMYs are derived from N-alkylglycine esters, and A4-type AMYs are derived from glycine esters. Stabilized zwitterions A1–A4 have the

• condensation of N-dialkylglycines [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]. The N–H-type semi-stabilized AMYs B3 are generated through decarboxylative condensation of arylaldehydes with α-alkylglycines, while B4-type AMYs are derived from the reaction of glycine [52][53][54][55

• ketones can result in a different kind of AMYs to address the issue. The reaction of trifluoromethyl ketones with glycine or α-substituted amino acids generated stabilized AMY 8 which underwent cycloaddition with maleimides to give 2-CF3-substituted pyrrolidines 9 in 50–76% yield (Scheme 5) [65]. Both the

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

• , and TBHP acting as both an oxidant and a radical initiator. In 2015, Wang et al. reported the synthesis of quinoline lactones by the double oxidative dehydrogenation (DOD) reaction between glycine derivatives and tetrahydrofuran using the FeCl2/HCl/TBHP system (Scheme 19) [80]. This practical coupling

• unique catalytic behavior [89]. However, there are only a few examples of cobalt catalysis in CDC reactions. Limited by the activity of Co catalysts, there are few examples of Co-catalyzed reactions involving ether C(sp3)–H bond activation. The Co-catalyzed C(sp3)–C(sp3) CDC of glycine and peptide

• derivatives with THF was developed by Correa et al. (Scheme 28) [90]. This study presents a cost-effective cobalt-catalyzed C(sp3)–H functionalization strategy for α-aminocarbonyl compounds. The method allows for the direct introduction of ethers into a diverse range of glycine derivatives. Importantly, the

A new oxidatively stable ligand for the chiral functionalization of amino acids in Ni(II)–Schiff base complexes

• Alena V. Dmitrieva,
• Oleg A. Levitskiy,
• Yuri K. Grishin and
• Tatiana V. Magdesieva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 566–574, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.41

• )-1-benzylpyrrolidine-2-carboxamide) and its Ni(II)–Schiff base complexes formed of glycine, serine, and dehydroalanine are reported. A bulky tert-butyl substituent in the phenylene fragment precludes unwanted oxidative dimerization of the Schiff base complex, making it suitable for targeted

• thermodynamically controlled stereoselectivity as compared to the parent Belokon complex. Additionally, functionalization with the tert-butyl group significantly enhances the reactivity of the deprotonated glycine complex towards electrophiles as compared to the anionic species formed from the original Belokon

• employing chiral auxiliaries [4][5] and asymmetric phase-transfer catalysis [6][7]. The former approach is commonly based on the application of chiral derivatives of glycine containing structurally diverse chiral auxiliaries, both cyclic [8][9][10][11] and acyclic [12][13]. Transition-metal complexes

Synthesis of (−)-halichonic acid and (−)-halichonic acid B

• Keith P. Reber and
• Emma L. Niner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1629–1635, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.174

• derived from a common biosynthetic pathway starting from farnesyl pyrophosphate and glycine [5]. This prompted us to investigate a biomimetic synthesis in which the halichonic acids could be prepared from a common imine intermediate via divergent intramolecular aza-Prins cyclizations [8]. Herein, we

Solid-phase total synthesis and structural confirmation of antimicrobial longicatenamide A

• Takumi Matsumoto,
• Takefumi Kuranaga,
• Yuto Taniguchi,
• Weicheng Wang and
• Hideaki Kakeya

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1560–1566, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.166

• ] and provides insights into the biosynthesis pathways of these peptides [14]. However, the biosynthetic gene clusters of compounds 1–4 remain unidentified. Therefore, the least sterically hindered amine, namely the amino group of glycine, was selected as a nucleophile of the cyclization reaction in

Reductive opening of a cyclopropane ring in the Ni(II) coordination environment: a route to functionalized dehydroalanine and cysteine derivatives

• Oleg A. Levitskiy,
• Olga I. Aglamazova,
• Yuri K. Grishin and
• Tatiana V. Magdesieva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1166–1176, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.121

• electrochemical three-membered ring opening, a voltammetric study was performed. As it has been shown in our previous publications [49][50][51], the electrochemical behavior and the orbitals location sites are dependent on the type of the amino acid involved in the Schiff base complex. The LUMOs of the glycine

• significant bathochromic shift as compared to the deprotonated glycine complex (λmax = 458 nm [9]) indicates an elongation of the conjugation chain and formation of the anionic complex which can be considered as a vinylog of the parent glycine derivative (Scheme 2) The anionic species formed in the