Thiazolidinones: novel insights from microwave synthesis, computational studies, and potentially bioactive hybrids

• Luan A. Martinho,
• Victor H. J. G. Praciano,
• Guilherme D. R. Matos,
• Claudia C. Gatto and
• Carlos Kleber Z. Andrade

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2618–2636, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.203

• ], antioxidant [34], cytotoxic [35], and antiproliferative [36]. The structures of these compounds allow the synthesis of a large collection of bioactive molecules due to their nucleophilic and electrophilic properties [37]. One of the forms of modifications is at the methylene group, particularly in the 5

• disubstitution processes involving sulfur-to-nitrogen displacement, likely promoted by the nucleophilic character of the amine. These limitations are likely due to the reaction conditions employed, including the high temperature and acidic environment, which may favor side reactions over the desired

Visible-light-driven NHC and organophotoredox dual catalysis for the synthesis of carbonyl compounds

• Vasudevan Dhayalan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2584–2603, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.200

• -rich and electron-poor substituents. This reaction was carried out between arylcyclopropanes 5 and acyl fluoride 4 in the presence of NHC (10 mol %) and 4CzIPN (5 mol %). Mechanistic studies showed that the cascade proceeds via nucleophilic ring-opening of a cyclopropyl radical cation D with subsequent

• system involves the efficient nucleophilic addition of an imidazolyl anion B to radical cation species A, generated via single-electron oxidation of electron-donating arenes 31. The azolide anion B is released from acylimidazole 9 through an addition/elimination sequence in the presence of an NHC

Recent advances in total synthesis of illisimonin A

• Juan Huang and
• Ming Yang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2571–2583, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.199

• , deprotonation, and intramolecular addition to ketone. Treatment of the silacycle with MeMgCl cleaved the Si–O bond and subsequent intramolecular nucleophilic substitution of the chloride with the adjacent hydroxy group yielded TMS-epoxide 41. Protonic acid-mediated opening of the TMS-epoxide, accompanied by TES

Assembly strategy for thieno[3,2-b]thiophenes via a disulfide intermediate derived from 3-nitrothiophene-2,5-dicarboxylate

• Roman A. Irgashev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2489–2497, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.191

• . Nucleophilic substitution of the nitro group with sulfur nucleophiles, including thioacetate or disulfide anions as well as thioacetamide, yielded bis(thiophen-3-yl)disulfide and sulfide derivatives. The disulfide served as a suitable precursor for the preparation of 3-alkylthio-substituted thiophene-2,5

• functionalized thieno[3,2-b]thiophenes with potential applications in pharmaceutical and materials chemistry. Keywords: aromatic nucleophilic substitution; disulfide derivative; 3-nitrothiophene; organic disulfides; thieno[3,2-b]thiophene; thiophene ring closure; Introduction Thieno[3,2-b]thiophene (TT

• K2CO3 in DMSO to give the desired product [26]. Route III, previously elaborated in our group, utilizes the nucleophilic substitution of the Cl atom in 3-chlorothiophene-2-carboxylates by methyl thioglycolate in the presence of KOt-Bu, followed by KOt-Bu-mediated cyclization to the 3-hydroxy-TTs [27

Synthesis of the tetracyclic skeleton of Aspidosperma alkaloids via PET-initiated cationic radical-derived interrupted [2 + 2]/retro-Mannich reaction

• Ru-Dong Liu,
• Jian-Yu Long,
• Zhi-Lin Song,
• Zhen Yang and
• Zhong-Chao Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2470–2478, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.189

• leads to ketene D, which can undergo cycloaddition with an alkene to yield E. This fragmentation pathway dominates under various conditions (e.g., transition-metal catalysis, nucleophilic addition) and is driven by ring-strain release [11]. PET, an alternative to direct excitation and EnT, enables the

Catalytic enantioselective synthesis of selenium-containing atropisomers via C–Se bond formations

• Qi-Sen Gao,
• Zheng-Wei Wei and
• Zhi-Min Chen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2447–2455, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.186

• formation proceeded through an SN2-type nucleophilic substitution mechanism (Scheme 1). In 2025, Li and co-workers reported a highly efficient rhodium-catalyzed enantioselective C–H selenylation reaction of 1-arylisoquinolines with diselenides, employing 3,5-(CF3)2C6H3CO₂Ag and AgSbF6 as additives [19

• phenyl-substituted benzoisoquinoline derivatives. Two plausible reaction mechanisms were proposed in the study: one involving oxidative addition of Int 4, a five-membered rhodium cyclic intermediate, followed by reductive elimination and the other proceeding via a bimolecular nucleophilic substitution

• .1 initially engages substrate 7 through hydrogen bonding, forming intermediate Int 7. Subsequently, deprotonation of the naphthol group by quinuclidine yields intermediate Int 8. This intermediate then undergoes nucleophilic attack on the selenium atom in substrate 8, leading to the formation of the

Transformation of the cyclohexane ring to the cyclopentane fragment of biologically active compounds

• Natalya Akhmetdinova,
• Ilgiz Biktagirov and
• Liliya Kh. Faizullina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2416–2446, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.185

• converted by a series of synthetic transformations to (−)-spirochensilide A (228) with a total yield of 2.2% in 22 steps starting from acetylenic epoxide 229. 4.1 Wagner–Meerwein rearrangement The isomerization of terpenes via cleavage, addition or nucleophilic substitution reactions accompanied by a

Rotaxanes with integrated photoswitches: design principles, functional behavior, and emerging applications

• Jullyane Emi Matsushima,
• Khushbu,
• Zuliah Abdulsalam,
• Udyogi Navodya Kulathilaka Conthagamage and
• Víctor García-López

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2345–2366, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.179

• methoxide anion (Figure 2). The neutral acridane is restored through the thermal nucleophilic attack of the alkoxide on the acridinium ion. Abraham and co-workers exploited this dramatic change in the electronic nature and geometric shape of acridane to modulate the translation of cyclobis(paraquat-4,4

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

• hemiaminal opening and amine–ketone condensation, iminium ion 65 was produced for the next pyrrole nucleophilic addition to form a strategically important C–C bond and afford 66, which was protected as Boc carbamate in the same pot to give 67 in 96% yield from 64. In this tandem sequence, the nucleophilicity

• synthesis, they used an electron-rich and nucleophilic pyrrole as the precursor of the electron-deficient pyridine to enable a tandem sequence involving an intramolecular nucleophilic addition of the pyrrole to an iminium ion to form a key C–C bond. The pyrrole group was then converted to the desired

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

• ; and subsequent conversion of the ketone in 20 to the vinyl iodide in 21 – via hydrazone formation, lithium–halogen exchange, and final nucleophilic substitution – secured the Norrish–Yang cyclization precursor 22. Following systematic optimization of reaction conditions, irradiation of 22 with 100 W

• blue LEDs at room temperature constructed a single diastereoisomer 23 in 90% yield. From 23, the ABCDE pentacyclic skeleton of phainanoids (27) was ultimately established via a Mitsunobu reaction, intramolecular nucleophilic substitution with in situ-generated aryllithium, and protecting group

• (C6F5)3B triggered a Meinwald rearrangement, generating aldehyde 66. Nucleophilic addition, oxidation of the resulting alcohol, and base-promoted epimerization at C6 of 67' delivered 67. Subsequent dihydroxylation of the alkene in 67 and protection of the resulting 1,2-diol as a cyclic carbonate

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

• , initial examples of catalytic methodologies were based on chiral Lewis acid catalysis, with catalysts used in stoichiometric or sub-stoichiometric amounts [38][39]. Porter and Sibi disclosed the first enantioselective examples of conjugate additions to electron-deficient olefins by nucleophilic radicals

• ) [40]. The reactions were catalyzed by chiral Lewis acids and involved conjugate addition of a nucleophilic alkyl radical to an α,β-unsaturated substrate containing an oxazolidinone or pyrrolidinone template. The resulting α-radical was trapped with an allylstannane and the addition and trapping

• excess of radical precursor, (d) use of toxic H-atom sources such as tin hydride, and (e) limited variation in the nature of the radicals (mostly nucleophilic). Organocatalyzed radical reactions Chiral secondary amine-based catalytic systems have been used in several asymmetric transformations [41][42

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

• reaction proceeded via 5-endo-dig cyclization. This pathway involved enol ether attack on the gold-activated alkyne, leading to the formation of oxonium intermediate 2. Subsequently, nucleophilic addition of methanol culminated in the formation of indene motif 5 (Scheme 2, path a). When methanol served

• terminal alkyne proceeded via a gold(I)-catalyzed propargyl-Claisen rearrangement, generating a β-allenic intermediate 35. This intermediate underwent a Markovnikov-type nucleophilic addition followed by a 5-exo-trig cyclization to stereoselectively construct the furo[3,2-b]furan bicyclic framework 36

• nitrogen atom was substituted with strong electron-withdrawing groups, a nucleophilic attack to gold(I)-activated alkyne generated intermediate 38, with subsequent 6-endo-trig cyclization affording benzo[a]carbazole 39 (Scheme 9, path a). Conversely, the activated alkyne was attacked by enol ether to yield

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

• demonstrate that arylhydrazines can serve as practical amine partners in Pd-catalyzed C–N coupling reactions, with regioselectivity toward arylation of the less nucleophilic terminal nitrogen governed by the steric profile of the substrates and the choice of phosphine ligand. These conditions represent a

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

• formed H2 and HO−. The anti-nucleophilic attack of the N atom in A and the following HO− facilitated deprotonation and formed the corresponding 3-iodoindole 11a. Excessive-reduction (a minor side-reaction) of 11a took place as well in certain instances, resulting in the formation of 12a. And for the

• , A proceeded an intramolecular nucleophilic attack by N and deprotonation to finish 15a. The other possible pathway was radical route, in which PhSe• dimerized to reform 14a or added to C≡C bond in 13a to afford B. The subsequent anodic oxidation of B gave C, which underwent nucleophilic cyclization

• phenylselenium cation C and phenylselenium radical B through radical cation species A. Simultaneously, the cathodic reduction of 17a generated anion D and radical B. Then, addition of B with the alkyne portion in 16a gave a radical intermediate E, which proceeded a one-electron oxidation followed by nucleophilic

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

• biomass shows how renewable carbon sources can replace non-renewable chemicals in important industrial processes [18][19][20]. Many, if not most, biobased platform molecules contain carbonyl groups. Carbonyl compounds have unique electrophilic and nucleophilic reactivity which make them central players in

• , arising from a nucleophilic attack of a furan carbon atom of one furfural molecule onto the aldehyde of a second one, giving 2-(4-furfur-2-al)-4-hydroxy-2-cyloepenten-1-one (Scheme 64), resulting from a Piancatelli rearrangement. This latter can further evolve towards more complex humin precursors by

Discovery of cytotoxic indolo[1,2-c]quinazoline derivatives through scaffold-based design

• Daniil V. Khabarov,
• Valeria A. Litvinova,
• Lyubov G. Dezhenkova,
• Dmitry N. Kaluzhny,
• Alexander S. Tikhomirov and
• Andrey E. Shchekotikhin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2062–2071, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.161

• )-one scaffold 1 was synthesized according to the optimized protocol developed by Bergman et al. [9]. Position 12 of indolo[1,2-c]quinazolin-6(5H)-one (1) (Scheme 1) corresponded to of the indole C3 position, which is typically used as a nucleophilic center for functionalization via reactions with

• position 12 [23]. The most straightforward synthetic strategy for formation of an carboxamide group at position 12 of the indolo[1,2-c]quinazolin-6(5H)-one (1) scaffold involved a two-step sequence: (1) carboxylation of the nucleophilic C12 position, followed by coupling with appropriate amines. To

• NH proton in the urea moiety (position N5) of indolo[1,2-c]quinazolin-6(5H)-one (1) enables efficient N-alkylation. Accordingly, alkylation of 1 with 1-bromo-3-chloropropane afforded intermediate 11, bearing a reactive chloropropyl side chain suitable for further derivatization. Nucleophilic

Bioinspired total syntheses of natural products: a personal adventure

• Zhengyi Qin,
• Yuting Yang,
• Nuran Yan,
• Xinyu Liang,
• Zhiyu Zhang,
• Yaxuan Duan,
• Huilin Li and
• Xuegong She

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2048–2061, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.160

• , Wittig reaction with MOMPPh3Cl and LDA gave the putative methyl enol ether, which could be directly converted into 1,3-dithiane 12 with propane-1,3-dithiol. Nucleophilic addition to chiral epoxide 13 and oxidative hydrolysis of 1,3-dithiane to ketone delivered chiral β-hydroxyketone 14. Evans−Tishchenko

• analysis. The major one 48b was used for further study to install the pyrrolidine system. Thus, nucleophilic addition of an N,O-enolate, derived from precursor 49 with LDA, to the ketone functionality in 48b was implemented to generate a pair of inseparable regioisomers 50a and 50b, arose from C4 and C7

Measuring the stereogenic remoteness in non-central chirality: a stereocontrol connectivity index for asymmetric reactions

• Ivan Keng Wee On,
• Yu Kun Choo,
• Sambhav Baid and
• Ye Zhu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1995–2006, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.155

• coupling of biaryls is designated as [30 20]. In addition to biaryls, axially chiral allenes are popular targets for asymmetric synthesis. Three examples of asymmetric reactions that form axially chiral allenes are shown in Scheme 4. For example, the enantioselective nucleophilic substitution to yield

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

• alkynes undergo 1,2-carbofunctionalization, where the highly electrophilic Ar–M species adds to the alkyne, generating a vinyl cation intermediate [7], which typically reacts with an internal nucleophile to form five- [8][9] or six-membered rings [7][9][10] (Scheme 1A). Thus far the internal nucleophilic

• -catalyzed propargylsilane activation pathway [26]. Therefore, the presence of a base was imperative. The only applicable base was found to be the non-nucleophilic 2,6-di-tert-butylpyridine (B1, Table 1, entries 1–6, 9–18). We also considered the structurally similar, but less sterically hindered 2,6

• standard column chromatography techniques (30–50% DCM). Iodanes, containing electron-rich aryl groups (p-Tol, m-MeO-C6H4, Ph) or halogens (Br, F) gave the highest tetrahydrofuran 8 yields (70–83%). In contrast, electron-withdrawing group-containing iodanes, especially those holding nucleophilic heteroatoms

Photochemical reduction of acylimidazolium salts

• Michael Jakob,
• Nick Bechler,
• Hassan Abdelwahab,
• Fabian Weber,
• Janos Wasternack,
• Leonardo Kleebauer,
• Jan P. Götze and
• Matthew N. Hopkinson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1973–1983, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.153

• intermediate A (Figure 1a), in which the formerly electrophilic carbonyl carbon reacts as a nucleophilic center. In this way, the traditional reactivity profile of the carbonyl group is transiently inverted, and unconventional product classes are generated. Alternatively, addition/elimination of the NHC to a

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

• benzylic C11 position of 268 was first oxidized to generate intermediate 269, followed by intramolecular nucleophilic attack of the hydroxy group. This stereoselective cyclization constructed the tetrahydropyran ring of pentacyclic compound 270 in 92% yield and established the stereocenter at the C7

• , wherein one hydroxy group underwent nucleophilic attack on the C2 electrophilic center while the other remained unreacted, giving furoindoline 284 in 45% yield. A final two-step transformation completed the synthesis of (−)-ψ-akuammigine (285). In 2021, the Ding group reported the total synthesis of two

Rhodium-catalysed connective synthesis of diverse reactive probes bearing S(VI) electrophilic warheads

• Scott Rice,
• Julian Chesti,
• William R. T. Mosedale,
• Megan H. Wright,
• Stephen P. Marsden,
• Terry K. Smith and
• Adam Nelson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1924–1931, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.150

• ][3]. Established sets of reactive probes are typically armed with electrophilic warheads that have the potential to target nucleophilic amino acid side chains. Most reactive probe sets bear cysteine-directed warheads [3][4][5][6][7], although sets have also been designed to target a wider range of

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

• . When these agents alkylate the HSA amino acid residues (particularly reactive sites like lysine, cysteine, serine NH2, SH, OH-side chains, and possibly other nucleophilic groups), the resulting covalent modification can disrupt the electroactive centers responsible for the protein’s oxidation peaks

• , the significant suppression or disappearance of the HSA oxidation peak upon addition of glycidyl esters 1–3 can be interpreted as evidence of covalent modification (alkylating) of nucleophilic sites on HSA, rather than non-specific binding or merely non-reactive association [27][28][29]. The observed

• compounds 1–3 strongly indicates their ability to covalently modify nucleophilic sites in proteins. This finding underscores the potential of LSV as a rapid and effective tool for assessing alkylating reactivity, with implications for future drug development. Overall, this study offers meaningful insights

Photoswitches beyond azobenzene: a beginner’s guide

• Michela Marcon,
• Christoph Haag and
• Burkhard König

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1808–1853, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.143

• (37) followed by reduction with Zn/Ba(OH)2 and partial re-oxidation (Scheme 12A) [52]. They can also be obtained from o-halogenated benzyl bromides 40 by lithium–halogen exchange followed by nucleophilic substitution and a second lithium–halogen exchange with iodine (Scheme 12B) or by nickel-catalysed

• aldehyde and, if required, N-functionalisation via nucleophilic substitution (for aliphatic substituents) or palladium-catalysed cross-coupling (for aromatic substituents) (Scheme 25) [77]. Hemithioindigo can be synthesised by treating phenylthioacetic acid (83) with triflic acid. Then, the product is

Synthesis of chiral cyclohexane-linked bisimidazolines

• Changmeng Xi,
• Qingshan Sun and
• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1786–1790, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.140

• nucleophilically attacks the phosphonium in A to generate intermediate B by loss of triphenylphosphine oxide and triflic acid. The nucleophilic sulfonamide in B intramolecularily attacks the generated imine moiety in B to form intermediate C, in which triflic acid may protonate the imine moiety in B to assist the

• nucleophilic attack. Intermediate C further transforms to imidazoline product 5 by loss of triphenylphosphine oxide and triflic acid. Conclusion Both chiral bisoxazolines and bisimidazolines are efficient and widely applied chiral ligands in metal-catalyzed asymmetric organic reactions. Several chiral