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

• 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

Synthetic study toward vibralactone

• Liang Shi,
• Jiayi Song,
• Yiqing Li,
• Jia-Chen Li,
• Shuqi Li,
• Li Ren,
• Zhi-Yun Liu and
• Hong-Dong Hao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2376–2382, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.182

• ketal moiety was removed and the resulting intermediate underwent Wittig olefination to yield vinyl chloride 20. Subsequent hydrolysis and intramolecular esterification furnished intermediate 21, which was then subjected to C–H insertion [42][43][44]. To our disappointment, this ring closure still did

• developed an approach to assemble the bicyclic skeleton of vibralactone (6) utilizing an intramolecular alkylidene carbene C–H insertion as key step. The insights gained from this study illustrate how diverse reactivity patterns and electrophilic characteristics of alkylidene carbenes influence ring closure

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

• configuration exert pronounced effects on reaction pathways. These substrate-specific geometric parameters directly dictate transition state formation during ring closure. Recent advances demonstrated that deliberate manipulation of angle strain and configuration enabled divergent skeletal outcomes under

• intermediate 167. Subsequent treatment with triethylamine/pinacol induced ring closure, affording the phenanthreno[1,3-b]cyclobutane borate ester 168. In contrast, when the temperature was elevated to 60 °C, the reaction underwent a BCl3-driven skeletal rearrangement involving methyl migration and alkyne

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

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

• , the synthesis can be directed towards the desired target with the use of protecting groups [41]. For the synthesis of azothiazoles 25, the addition of phenylhydrazine (22) to ammonium thiocyanate followed by ring closure and oxidation was recently proposed (Scheme 6A) [42]. Heteroarylazo-1,2,3

• destabilizing the E-isomer 124-I due to the ring strain (Scheme 40). According to the Woodward–Hoffmann rule [120], the excited state electrocyclisation of a 4n + 2 conjugated system proceeds in a conrotatory fashion. For steric reasons, the excited state ring closure is only possible when o-125 is in

• the bridge results in an increased stabilisation upon ring closure, and the electron-withdrawing nature makes it more resistant to fatigue. Synthesis The synthetic procedures for diarylethenes are various, and they strongly

Synthesis of an aza[5]helicene-incorporated macrocyclic heteroarene via oxidation of an o-phenylene-pyrrole-thiophene icosamer

• Yusuke Matsuo,
• Aoi Nakagawa,
• Shu Seki and
• Takayuki Tanaka

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1561–1567, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.119

• , respectively [19][20]. Recently, our group established an efficient synthetic strategy for strained macrocyclic polyarenes, such as compound C, in which o-phenylene units preorganize adjacent heteroaromatics into close proximity, thereby facilitating oxidative ring-closure reactions [21]. Among these, the

Ambident reactivity of enolizable 5-mercapto-1H-tetrazoles in trapping reactions with in situ-generated thiocarbonyl S-methanides derived from sterically crowded cycloaliphatic thioketones

• Grzegorz Mlostoń,
• Małgorzata Celeda,
• Marcin Palusiak,
• Heinz Heimgartner,
• Marta Denel-Bobrowska and
• Agnieszka B. Olejniczak

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1508–1519, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.113

• crowded thioketones 7b [28], as well as 7c,d derived from cyclobutanedione. The in situ generation of sterically crowded thiocarbonyl S-methanides 1c,d (via a 1,3-dipolar cycloreversion) in absence of any trapping reagent and their electrocyclization (ring closure) leading to thiiranes 8a,b. Reactions of

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

• : aliphatic > allylic > benzylic. In case of trisubstituted C=C bonds, the cyclisation proceeded with retention of configuration, however, higher reaction temperatures were required due to the increased steric hindrance. Competition experiments revealed a preference for 4-exo ring closure over 5-exo, 6-exo

Recent advances and future challenges in the bottom-up synthesis of azulene-embedded nanographenes

• Bartłomiej Pigulski

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1272–1305, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.99

• and co-workers (Scheme 24) [112]. The reaction of precursor 188 at 290 °C on Au(111) surface produced a series of isomeric products 189–194, which contains azulene and/or Stone–Wales type of defects. The main product, nanographene 189, is formed via oxidative ring-closure of the four methyl

• substituents of precursor 188 after annealing. In contrast, all the other observed PAHs 189–194 result from oxidative ring-closure and skeletal ring-rearrangement reactions. Theoretical calculations revealed that nanographene 188 possesses an antiferromagnetic open-shell singlet ground state, whereas the other

Cryptophycin unit B analogues

• Thomas Schachtsiek,
• Jona Voss,
• Maren Hamsen,
• Beate Neumann,
• Hans-Georg Stammler and
• Norbert Sewald

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 526–532, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.40

• ] to obtain free acid 11. Exchange of the Boc protecting group of dimethylaniline 8 to an acryloyl substituent and subsequent saponification furnished dimethylamine building block 13. For the macrocycle assembly, especially the ring closure, we decided on two different routes. While the cryptophycin

• containing a dimethylamino motif did not require an additional protecting group, ring closure was performed through alkene cross metathesis, which has been accomplished reliably and with good yields for other cryptophycins [11][26][27]. However, for the synthesis of a cryptophycin with a monomethylated amino

• group in unit B a suitable protecting group, i.e., allyloxycarbonyl (Alloc), must be used. Since the presence of this allylic double bond would most likely interfere with a clean reaction outcome after alkene cross metathesis, we decided for a more classical ring-closure strategy through

Molecular diversity of the reactions of MBH carbonates of isatins and various nucleophiles

• Zi-Ying Xiao,
• Jing Sun and
• Chao-Guo Yan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 286–295, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.21

• have been obtained by DABCO-catalyzed dimerization of MBH carbonates of isatin in ODCB at high temperature (150 °C), which could be converted to bisspirooxindole derivatives via the isomerization of the double bond and a sequential thermal 6π-electrocyclic ring-closure process [30]. Here, the novel

Recent advances in organocatalytic atroposelective reactions

• Henrich Szabados and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 55–121, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.6

• [27]. This transformation led to a series of axially chiral cycl[3.2.2]azines 24 in good yields and high enantiomeric purities (Scheme 8). The proposed mechanism comprises enamine activation, condensation with nitroolefin 23, ring closure, and catalyst elimination to provide the axially chiral product

Multicomponent reactions driving the discovery and optimization of agents targeting central nervous system pathologies

• Lucía Campos-Prieto,
• Aitor García-Rey,
• Eddy Sotelo and
• Ana Mallo-Abreu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3151–3173, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.261

• , isocyanide, and TMSN3, after which the Ugi adduct is treated with an excess of different isocyanates resulting in the corresponding hydantoin derivatives. Finally, under microwave irradiation, the Boc group is removed under acid conditions and the benzodiazepine core is formed after ring closure (Scheme 18

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

• increased yields of cyclised product. Both 5- and 6-membered bromolactone products 69 and 70 were formed with 5-exo ring closure preferred. In addition to the synthesis of 5-chloromethyl-2-oxazolines 49, Li and co-workers reported the preparation of 5-bromomethyl-2-oxazolines 71 (Scheme 37) [48]. Treatment

Synthesis of the 1,5-disubstituted tetrazole-methanesulfonylindole hybrid system via high-order multicomponent reaction

• Cesia M. Aguilar-Morales,
• América A. Frías-López,
• Nadia V. Emilio-Velázquez,
• Alejandro Islas-Jácome,
• Angelica Judith Granados-López,
• Jorge Gustavo Araujo-Huitrado,
• Yamilé López-Hernández,
• Hiram Hernández-López,
• Luis Chacón-García,
• Jesús Adrián López and
• Carlos J. Cortés-García

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3077–3084, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.256

• described (Scheme 1a–c). In 2021, Dömling’s research group synthesized a series of 1,5-disubstituted tetrazole-indoles 6 in good to excellent yields via an Ugi-azide/acidic ring-closure sequence [20]. Balalaie described an efficient method in 2018 for the synthesis of a new 1,5-disubstituted tetrazole

Synthesis of tricarbonylated propargylamine and conversion to 2,5-disubstituted oxazole-4-carboxylates

• Kento Iwai,
• Akari Hikasa,
• Kotaro Yoshioka,
• Shinki Tani,
• Kazuto Umezu and
• Nagatoshi Nishiwaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2827–2833, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.238

• reacts with butyllithium, ring closure occurs between the ethynyl and carbamoyl groups, yielding 2,5-disubstituted oxazole-4-carboxylates. This cyclization also occurs when the propargylamine is heated with ammonium acetate, resulting in double activation. Keywords: acid amide; diethyl mesoxalate; N

• the N-acyl group, achieved by altering the acid amide during the reaction with DEMO [23][24][25]. Specifically, aliphatic amide 1b can be used, which reacts with lithium acetylide (3a) to yield 4e (Table 2, entry 4). Subsequently, ring closure utilizing the multifunctionality of 4 was examined (Table

• -butoxide was observed, suggesting that lithium ions activate for the ring closure. Under the conditions in Table 3, entry 3, adduct 4 underwent ring formation. This reaction was not influenced by the bulkiness of the substituent on the alkynyl group, yielding the corresponding oxazoles 5b–d (Table 3

Anion-dependent ion-pairing assemblies of triazatriangulenium cation that interferes with stacking structures

• Yohei Haketa,
• Takuma Matsuda and
• Hiromitsu Maeda

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2567–2576, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.215

• investigating the ion-pairing assemblies. Results and Discussion The N-(2,6-dimethylphenyl)-substituted triazatriangulenium cation 2+ was synthesized as a BF4− ion pair 2+-BF4− in 19% yield using a modified synthetic procedure for 2+-Cl− [30] (Figure 2). It should be noticed that the SNAr reaction for ring

• closure with aniline requires a base as reported by Laursen et al. [26], whereas 2,6-dimethylaniline in this study was reacted without the use of a base. This can be explained by the high nucleophilicity of 2,6-dimethylaniline, though it is sterically hindered. As counteranions affect ion-pairing

Facile preparation of fluorine-containing 2,3-epoxypropanoates and their epoxy ring-opening reactions with various nucleophiles

• Yutaro Miyashita,
• Sae Someya,
• Tomoko Kawasaki-Takasuka,
• Tomohiro Agou and
• Takashi Yamazaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2421–2433, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.206

• nonfluorinated Rf groups which sometimes suffered from the contamination of the regioisomers as a consequence of the regiorandom attack of nucleophiles [22][23][24][25][26]. Despite such significant advantage, compound 2a was previously prepared only by 1) the LDA-mediated iodination-intramolecular ring closure

Evaluating the halogen bonding strength of a iodoloisoxazolium(III) salt

• Dominik L. Reinhard,
• Anna Schmidt,
• Marc Sons,
• Julian Wolf,
• Elric Engelage and
• Stefan M. Huber

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2401–2407, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.204

• is produced in situ from the imidoyl chloride 9 [21]. The one-pot oxidation and ring-closure reaction [22][23] to iodoloisoxazolium(III) salt 7OTf and the salt metathesis with sodium tetrakis(3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)borate (NaBArF24) were then realized with 85% and 72% yield, respectively

Hydrogen-bond activation enables aziridination of unactivated olefins with simple iminoiodinanes

• Phong Thai,
• Lauv Patel,
• Diyasha Manna and
• David C. Powers

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2305–2312, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.197

• iminoiodinane reacts directly with the olefin to generate a short-lived alkyl-bound iodinane 7 or iodonium species 8 (Scheme 4f). Ligand coupling from 7 or extrusion of iodobenzene from 8 would furnish a carbocation intermediate 9 which could undergo C–C bond rotation prior to ring closure to form the aziridine

Harnessing the versatility of hydrazones through electrosynthetic oxidative transformations

• Aurélie Claraz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1988–2004, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.175

• perchlorate as electrolyte. It is interesting to notice that the isomerization of the product and subsequent ring closure discussed above (see Scheme 17) did not occur under these conditions (Scheme 24) [73]. In 2023, Hajra et al. provided an electrochemical method for the C(sp2)–H sulfonylation of aromatic

• generation of electrophilic thiocyanogen as the initial step. Further reaction with the hydrazone 95 and deprotonation led to hydrazonoyl thiocyanate intermediate 99, which isomerized to the thermodynamically more stable isothiocyanate derivatives 100 through 1,3-shift. The latter underwent spontaneous ring

• closure to furnish the 1,2,4-triazolium 97 (Scheme 18) [65]. In the last example of this section, only one nitrogen atom of the hydrazone takes part in the cycloaddition reaction. In 2018, Zhang et al. realized the electrochemical (3 + 2)-cycloaddition of trimethylsilyl azide (102) with aldehyde-derived N

Novel oxidative routes to N-arylpyridoindazolium salts

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

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1906–1913, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.166

• -stage functionalization; easily available ortho-pyridyl-substituted diarylamines are used as the precursors. Keywords: anodic oxidation; diarylamines; electrochemical cyclization; pyridoindazolium salts; reversible ring closure; Introduction Aromatic polyfused N-heterocycles are of interest as a

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

• conducted via catalytic hydrogenolysis, resulting in the formation of enaminoketones 32. Finally, enaminoketones were subjected to acid hydrolysis conditions facilitating ring closure and producing the spiro-2H-furan-3-ones 33 in moderate yield (Scheme 10). This procedure was also applied to norethisterone

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

• and subsequent oxidation yielded aldehyde 18, a precursor for the intramolecular ring closure of the eight-membered ring. Upon treatment of 18 with BF3·Et2O, diastereoselective Prins cyclization of 18 proceeded to generate secondary alcohol 19. Subsequent one-pot treatment with (n-Bu)4NF·HF resulted

Ring opening of photogenerated azetidinols as a strategy for the synthesis of aminodioxolanes

• Henning Maag,
• Daniel J. Lemcke and
• Johannes M. Wahl

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1671–1676, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.148

• that target a combination of photochemical ring closure and subsequent functionalization are still underdeveloped [4][5][6][7]. Within this work, we describe our endeavours in identifying a suitable substrate to meet the photochemical requirements of the Norrish–Yang cyclization and allow for

• synthesis of azetidinols. Mechanistically, the Norrish–Yang cyclization involves a 1,5-hydrogen abstraction (HAT) step followed by ring closure to forge the azetidine scaffold (Scheme 2a, 1 → 3, via 1,4-biradical 2) [26]. The respective α-aminoacetophenones 1 were synthesized using a modular approach