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

• (CO)12, to catalyze the alkyne hydrocarbonylation using CO and ZrF4 as the co-catalyst. The reaction afforded the corresponding amides 133, 277, and 278 in good yields via acyl carbonyl iron intermediate 280, which was observed by NMR (Scheme 69) [118]. By applying less toxic and safer CO2 instead of

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

• h (Scheme 13). It should be noted that the reaction failed to give good results using Ni or Fe as the anode (<10%). However, using an iron/nickel alloy electrode with 64% iron and 36% nickel gave good results. This method can also be applied to heteroaromatic bromides, although it shows an increased

Copper-catalyzed domino cyclization of anilines and cyclobutanone oxime: a scalable and versatile route to spirotetrahydroquinoline derivatives

• Qingqing Jiang,
• Xinyi Lei,
• Pan Gao and
• Yu Yuan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 749–754, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.58

•  1, entry 3). When iron(II) sulfate (FeSO4) and iron trifluoromethanesulfonate (Fe(OTf)2) were used as the catalyst instead of copper(II) trifluoroacetate (Cu(TFA)2), the yields of the product were decreased (Table 1, entries 4 and 5). Using palladium(II) acetate (Pd(OAc)2) as the catalyst provided a

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

• , methyl aryl ketones, and DMSO under iron(III) catalysis and using K2S2O8 for its activation [39]. The proposed mechanism is very close to those described above, with the methyl aryl ketone taking part of the reaction in place of the styrene component in the Povarov cyclization. In this case, the imine

• , 5 mol %) [63], indium (as In2O3 nanoparticles, 5 mol %) [64], iron (as FeCl3, 20 mol %) [65], cobalt (as CoBr2, 10 mol %) [66], and nickel (as Ni(py)4Cl2, 15 mol %) [67] can act as metal catalyst for the 3CC reaction. In all these cases, the temperature was lower (usually between 60–80 °C) compared

• to the AAA coupling, except for iron, where the temperature must be increased to 100 °C. This can be explained in terms of the activation of both the C–H and C–X bonds by metal catalysis, which is not the case in AAA couplings, where only the C–H bond is activated, making the last step (nucleophilic

Photomechanochemistry: harnessing mechanical forces to enhance photochemical reactions

• Francesco Mele,
• Ana M. Constantin,
• Andrea Porcheddu,
• Raimondo Maggi,
• Giovanni Maestri,
• Nicola Della Ca’ and
• Luca Capaldo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 458–472, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.33

• -workers in 2022. They reported the photo-thermo-mechanochemical approach for the synthesis of quinolines from sulfoxonium ylides and 2-vinylanilines promoted by an iron(II) phthalocyanine (FeIIPc) photocatalyst (Scheme 3) [65]. First, a mixture of 2-(1-phenylvinyl)aniline (3.1), sulfoxonium ylide 3.2, and

Red light excitation: illuminating photocatalysis in a new spectrum

• Lucas Fortier,
• Corentin Lefebvre and
• Norbert Hoffmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 296–326, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.22

• band. These combined effects can be illustrated in the case of the [M(phen)3]2+ set with iron, ruthenium, and osmium (Figure 1). For a same phenanthroline ligand, these three complexes show an MLCT absorption band at different wavelengths, i.e., 522 nm for [Fe(phen)3]2+ [14], 449 nm for [Ru(phen)3]2

Synthesis of disulfides and 3-sulfenylchromones from sodium sulfinates catalyzed by TBAI

• Zhenlei Zhang,
• Ying Wang,
• Xingxing Pan,
• Manqi Zhang,
• Wei Zhao,
• Meng Li and
• Hao Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 253–261, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.17

• disulfides, it is typically necessary to introduce equivalent reducing agents, such as PPh3 [29], HI [30], HPO(OEt)2 [31] or iron powder [32] into the reaction mixture. Although there have been numerous studies on the synthesis of disulfides from sodium sulfinate, the development of a method to synthesize

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

• solutions [18]. Similarly, Burns and co-workers reported di- and tetra-urea picket porphyrins highlighting, the impact of buried solvent molecules, such as DMSO, on the selectivity, affinity, and stoichiometry of anion binding [19]. Iron complexes of tetra-urea picket porphyrins further demonstrate how

• functional versatility [44], and many of these resulting metal complexes are catalytically active [45][46][47]. These synthetic metalloporphyrins take inspiration from biological systems, such as hemes (iron complexes), chlorophylls (magnesium complexes), and vitamin B12 (cobalt complex). Contrary to

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

• , they serve as ligands for chelating iron in siderophores. Because ferric cations (Fe3+) mostly exist as insoluble solids in the Earth crust, most microorganisms produce and secrete siderophores to scavenge this scarce resource from their surroundings [67]. Whereas siderophores do not always contain

Advances in radical peroxidation with hydroperoxides

• Oleg V. Bityukov,
• Pavel Yu. Serdyuchenko,
• Andrey S. Kirillov,
• Gennady I. Nikishin,
• Vera A. Vil’ and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2959–3006, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.249

• ) [51]. The corresponding peroxides 30 are enough stable under the reaction conditions and were isolated in high yields (Scheme 12). Flow-modification of the 2-oxoindole peroxidation method using nanoparticles of iron oxide as the catalyst was proposed [52]. The summarized proposed reaction pathway is

• oxidation of cyclohexane 83 with TBHP using mononuclear [77][78][79] and dinuclear [80] non-porphyrin iron complexes (Scheme 30). Besides the oxygen atom transfer products, cyclohexanol (85) and cyclohexanone (15), the formation of peroxide 84 was observed. Oxidation of cyclohexane (83) was also carried out

• leads to the formation of the target product 139. Later, iron-catalyzed three-component reactions of α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds 140, aldehydes 141, and TBHP leading to α-ester-β-keto peroxides 142 have been developed (Scheme 45b) [106][107][108]. Radical coupling of arylaldehydes 144 with α,β

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

• method of controlling fungal infections. The mechanism of inhibition of azoles and their derivatives is based on the formation of a coordination bond between their heterocyclic nitrogen atom, which carries an unshared electron pair, and the haem iron atom. The formation of this bond leads to inhibition

• compounds 4a–e and 5a–e to CYP51 and to evaluate which of these molecules could act as inhibitors of the enzyme. As mentioned above, CYP51 inhibitors contain a heterocyclic nitrogen atom that forms a coordination bond with haem iron. Therefore, only those compounds that could form such a bond according to

• fingerprints (IFP) between the docking ligands and the protein shows that, similar to the reference ligand voriconazole, the compounds interact with the protein through hydrophobic interactions with hydrophobic residues of the protein and the formation of coordination bonds with the haem iron (Table 3). At the

C–C Coupling in sterically demanding porphyrin environments

• Liam Cribbin,
• Brendan Twamley,
• Nicolae Buga,
• John E. O’ Brien,
• Raphael Bühler,
• Roland A. Fischer and
• Mathias O. Senge

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2784–2798, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.234

• described as planar 18π aromatic macrocycles; however, molecular structure analysis frequently reveals nonplanar ring distortion [2][3]. In fact, porphyrins with nonplanar ring distortions are vital for many natural processes to occur, e.g., nonplanarity can alter oxygen affinity of the metal iron core [4

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

Multicomponent syntheses of pyrazoles via (3 + 2)-cyclocondensation and (3 + 2)-cycloaddition key steps

• Ignaz Betcke,
• Alissa C. Götzinger,
• Maryna M. Kornet and
• Thomas J. J. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2024–2077, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.178

• conducted without solvent. In a similar approach, Khan et al. succeeded in synthesizing pyrazole-4-carbodithioates 67. The products are prepared from phenylhydrazine, aldehydes, and alkyl-3-oxo-3-arylpropane dithioates 66 catalyzed by iron sulfate (Scheme 22) [100]. In this method, aliphatic aldehydes as

• )-cycloaddition of nitrile oxides 137, generated in situ from hydroxyiminoyl chloride 135 and terminal alkynes, was proposed by Kovacs and Novak. Copper supported on iron serves as a catalyst and as a reagent for the reductive ring opening and leads to β-aminoenones 139, which react in the consecutive one-pot

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

• ][28]. However, the selectivity of these photoredox reactions is driven by the structural properties of the heteroaromatic ring. During the preparation of this article, the Meggers group published an outstanding enantioselective iron-catalyzed α-amination pathway (Scheme 1b) [29]. The method is widely

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

• , introduce hydroxy groups at C8 and C16 to produce FD-8β,16-diol (7), and BscE-catalyzed O-methylation generates the putative intermediate 8. The subsequent oxidative allylic rearrangement (8→9), catalyzed by the nonheme iron(II) and 2-oxoglutarate (Fe(II)/2OG)-dependent dioxygenase BscD, was a key step

• toward developing a chemo-enzymatic synthetic process. Presumably, the reactive iron(IV)-oxo species in dioxygenase BscD abstracts an allylic hydrogen at C1 and generates intermediate A. Subsequent α-face-selective hydroxylation of the resulting allylic radical at the C3 position would yield brassicicene

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

• directing group strategies, this approach opens the door to fluorinating a wider range of benzylic substrates. Metal catalysed In 2013, Lectka and co-workers reported an iron(II)-catalysed benzylic fluorination with Selectfluor (Figure 11) [49]. The authors were able to use an inexpensive iron source to

• intramolecular fluorine-atom-transfer (FAT) from an N-fluorinated amide to a pendant carbon-based radical formed from an iron catalyst (Figure 15) [55][56]. This concept of fluorine transfer through a 6-membered transition state was shown to work efficiently from primary, as well as secondary, benzylic radicals

• the loadings of K2S2O8 and Selectfluor, selectivity for the mono- (conditions A) or difluorination (conditions B) products could be achieved. Building on their previous iron-catalysed work, Figure 11, Lectka and co-workers reported in 2014 the use of triethylborane as a radical chain initiator for C

Photoswitchable glycoligands targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa LecA

• Yu Fan,
• Ahmed El Rhaz,
• Stéphane Maisonneuve,
• Emilie Gillon,
• Maha Fatthalla,
• Franck Le Bideau,
• Guillaume Laurent,
• Samir Messaoudi,
• Anne Imberty and
• Juan Xie

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1486–1496, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.132

• increasingly limited for treatment of infections. PA has been classified as a priority 1 pathogen by the WHO [2][3]. Various approaches to treating PA, in addition to traditional antibiotics, have been developed including inhibition of quorum sensing, biofilm formation, iron chelation, and interfering with

Challenge N- versus O-six-membered annulation: FeCl₃-catalyzed synthesis of heterocyclic N,O-aminals

• Giacomo Mari,
• Lucia De Crescentini,
• Gianfranco Favi,
• Fabio Mantellini,
• Diego Olivieri and
• Stefania Santeusanio

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1412–1420, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.123

• (entries 1–7, Table 1). Similarly to what was observed by Yu and co-workers for the intramolecular cyclization of alkynyl aldehyde acetals [28][29], it was found that the use of FeCl3 provided the better result in terms of overall yield (entry 3, Table 1). Moreover, the choice of iron(III) seemed to have

• content of the reaction environment during the time. Then, to explain the related formation of 5 and 6, we hypothesized a plausible reaction mechanism in which iron is involved in two concomitant catalytic cycles (Scheme 4). Initially, FeCl3 forms an acid–base complex with one of the alkoxy groups of 4

• suitably N-3-functionalized (thio)hydantoins 4a–r. aDCM was utilized as solvent with isothiocyanates 3a–f, while bEtOH was utilized with isocyanates 3g,h. Substrate scope of the iron(III)-catalyzed synthesis of functionalized heterocyclic N,O-aminals 5a–r and hemiaminals 6a–p. Proposed mechanism for the

Synthetic applications of the Cannizzaro reaction

• Bhaskar Chatterjee,
• Dhananjoy Mondal and
• Smritilekha Bera

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1376–1395, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.120

• . developed an asymmetric iron catalyst with the aim of expanding the platform of metal catalysis. Catalysts 14 and 15 proved to be effective in the transformation of glyoxal monohydrates 1a and alcohol 2, to deliver mandelate esters 3a in good yields and enantioselectivities via an enantioselective

Rhodium-catalyzed homo-coupling reaction of aryl Grignard reagents and its application for the synthesis of an integrin inhibitor

• Kazuyuki Sato,
• Satoki Teranishi,
• Atsushi Sakaue,
• Yukiko Karuo,
• Atsushi Tarui,
• Kentaro Kawai,
• Hiroyuki Takeda,
• Tatsuo Kinashi and
• Masaaki Omote

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1341–1347, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.118

• . Therefore, alternative procedures for homo-coupling reactions using other transition-metal catalysts such as palladium, nickel, manganese, and iron have been developed [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. In recent years, transition-metal-free coupling reactions have also been developed for environmentally

Synthesis and physical properties of tunable aryl alkyl ionic liquids based on 1-aryl-4,5-dimethylimidazolium cations

• Stefan Fritsch and
• Thomas Strassner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1278–1285, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.110

• formation of N-oxides, which were then reduced using iron powder. The imidazoles were synthesized in a one-pot procedure on a scale of up to 400 mmol. Quaternization of the imidazoles using bromoalkanes with different chain lengths provided the bromide salts 10–36. Conversion to the NTf2 ionic liquids 37–63

Manganese-catalyzed C–C and C–N bond formation with alcohols via borrowing hydrogen or hydrogen auto-transfer

• Mohd Farhan Ansari,
• Atul Kumar Maurya,
• Abhishek Kumar and
• Saravanakumar Elangovan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1111–1166, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.98

• considerably inexpensive, eco-friendly and more abundant in the Earth’s crust. According to this viewpoint, manganese is biocompatible and less expensive than noble metals. Also, it is the third most abundant transition metal, behind titanium and iron. After the independent pioneering works of Beller [16] and

(Bio)isosteres of ortho- and meta-substituted benzenes

• H. Erik Diepers and
• Johannes C. L. Walker

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 859–890, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.78

• ester 136g. The latter could then be oxidised to the corresponding alcohols 137f–g. The bridgehead iodine substituent could also be harnessed in iron-catalysed Kumada coupling reactions to furnish a larger number of arene-substituted 1,5-BCHeps 138. Anderson and co-workers also reported access to

Activity assays of NnlA homologs suggest the natural product N-nitroglycine is degraded by diverse bacteria

• Kara A. Strickland,
• Brenda Martinez Rodriguez,
• Ashley A. Holland,
• Shelby Wagner,
• Michelle Luna-Alva,
• David E. Graham and
• Jonathan D. Caranto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 830–840, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.75

• experimental samples resulted from NNG degradation activity by the recombinantly expressed NnlA homologs. We conclude from these results that all five of the selected NnlA homologs exhibit NNG degradation activity. NnlA homologs exhibit similar heme and iron occupancy as Vs NnlA To better compare the NnlA

• nm/A280 nm ratio for each homolog was greater than 1.0, consistent with high occupancy of heme incorporation in the proteins. Iron analyses of each of the homologs were consistent with this conclusion; the heme iron concentrations per protein were consistent with stoichiometric or nearly

• , likely acting as its proximal ligand. As described above, the H73A Vs NnlA variant lacked NNG degradation activity and had reduced iron content [21]. The AlphaFold model also predicts a distal pocket composed of Tyr99, Ala101, Ile109, Val111, and Gln127. These amino acids are conserved in an alignment of