Cascade transformation of 2-(diazoacetyl)-2H-azirines to 2-aroyl-3-hydroxy-1H-pyrroles via condensation with aromatic aldehydes

• Timur O. Zanakhov,
• Ekaterina E. Galenko,
• Mikhail S. Novikov and
• Alexander F. Khlebnikov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 897–904, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.70

• with aromatic aldehydes does not result in the formation of an azirinyl-substituted β-hydroxy-α-diazocarbonyl compound, but is accompanied by a tandem intramolecular cyclization involving the hydroxy group and the C=N bond of the azirine to form a bicyclic intermediate, a 4-diazo-2-oxa-7-azabicyclo

• reaction of 2-(diazoacetyl)-2H-azirines 1 with aromatic aldehydes 2, which does not terminate in condensation to form an azirinyl-substituted β-hydroxy-α-diazocarbonyl compound 3, but is accompanied by a tandem intramolecular cyclization involving the hydroxy group and the azirine C=N bond to form a

Site-specific labelling of native peptides and proteins: chemical and enzymatic strategies

• Antonio Angelastro,
• Jonathan Bargh,
• Subhajit Guria,
• Victor Laserna and
• Louis Luk

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 857–881, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.67

• ) to site-specifically oxidise galactose to galactoaldehyde on the non-reducing end of a glycan represents a mild alternative, as showcased by its combination with Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons (HWE) chemistry in a one-pot oxidation olefination strategy [19], as well as its implementation with tandem

Dialkylaminoalkylation of β-ketosulfones via ring-opening of 3-sulfonylpyrrolidines

• Evgeny M. Buev,
• Alexander V. Pavlushin,
• Vladimir S. Moshkin and
• Vyacheslav Y. Sosnovskikh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 383–389, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.26

• domino-process consists in nucleophilic addition of the alcohol, mercaptan or water (in case the reaction was performed in CH3CN) at the benzoyl group (Scheme 3). The subsequent ring-opening of the pyrrolidine ring can proceed via two possible pathways. First path is the tandem Grob-type fragmentation

Electrosynthetic access to unsymmetrical oxaza[8]helicenes with high chiral stability and strong circularly polarized luminescence (CPL)

• Tin Zar Aye,
• Rubal Sharma,
• Muthu Karuppasamy,
• Daiya Suzuki,
• Haruka Nakajima,
• Yoshitane Imai,
• Mitsuhiro Arisawa,
• Mohamed S. H. Salem and
• Shinobu Takizawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 372–382, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.25

• -bromophenanthrene (1) via Buchwald–Hartwig amination with p-toluidine under Pd catalysis [55] – was subjected to phosphoric acid-mediated annulation with p-benzoquinone to give the hydroxycarbazole derivative 3 through a tandem Michael addition/ring-closure sequence. After rapid optimization of key parameters (see

Ring contraction and ring expansion reactions in terpenoid biosynthesis and their application to total synthesis

• Nicolas Kratena,
• Nicolas Heinzig and
• Peter Gärtner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 289–343, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.21

• , which can undergo tandem ring expansion/contraction from the 6,6 to the 7,5 system (35b). After elimination the precursor 36 to the large family of grayanotoxin natural products is reached (grayanotoxin II (37) is depicted exemplarily). Another well-studied example of a CYP450-catalysed oxidation

• was proposed, starting with oxidation at the C-12 position on the C ring. The oxidised species, epirubijervine 130a, can eliminate diphosphate to give a secondary cation 130b, which undergoes tandem ring expansion/contraction from a 6/5 to the 5/6 system. The resulting tertiary cation 130c is quenched

Highly electrophilic, gem- and spiro-activated trichloromethylnitrocyclopropanes: synthesis and structure

• Ilia A. Pilipenko,
• Mikhail V. Grigoriev,
• Olga Yu. Ozerova,
• Igor A. Litvinov,
• Darya V. Spiridonova,
• Aleksander V. Vasilyev and
• Sergey V. Makarenko

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 123–130, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.5

• a CF3-containing substrate and a nitromethylene component (the tandem reaction of trifluoromethyl-substituted alkenes with nitromethane [34] or bromonitromethane derivatives [35][36]) (Scheme 1). At the same time, one of the methods of synthesis of vicinally substituted nitrocyclopropanes is the

• Michael-initiated ring closure (MIRC) reaction of gem-halonitroalkenes and CH-acids [37][38]. Thus, 2-nitrocyclopropanecarboxylates were obtained based on the tandem reactions of cyclic CH-acids with alkyl 3-bromo-3-nitroacrylates [39]. Despite the structural proximity and high activity of 1-bromo-1-nitro

• -3,3,3-trichloropropene (1) [40] in reactions with nucleophiles, including those following the formation of cyclic products in tandem transformations [41][42][43][44], methods for obtaining cyclopropane structures based on it are not known. In this way, it seemed desirable to synthesize vicinal

Synthesis and applications of alkenyl chlorides (vinyl chlorides): a review

• Daniel S. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 1–63, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.1

• similar procedure, employing K2S2O8 as the oxidant, was recently reported by Wang and Yu (Scheme 35B) [136]. In their approach, the enamine substrate neutralizes the generated HCl, therefore eliminating the need for an external base such as NEt₃. Similar products can also be accessed via a tandem

Tandem hydrothiocyanation/cyclization of CF₃-iminopropargyl alcohols with NaSCN in the presence of AcOH

• Ruslan S. Shulgin,
• Ol’ga G. Volostnykh,
• Anton V. Stepanov,
• Igor’ A. Ushakov,
• Alexander V. Vashchenko and
• Olesya A. Shemyakina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2694–2702, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.207

• trifluoromethylated isothiazolium thiocyanates and 4-thiocyano-2,5-dihydrofurans via the reaction of CF₃-iminopropargyl alcohols with NaSCN/AcOH. The tandem process includes hydrothiocyanation of the triple bond followed by cyclization of the intermediates with the participation of the SCN group and an intramolecular

Recent advancements in the synthesis of Veratrum alkaloids

• Morwenna Mögel,
• David Berger and
• Philipp Heretsch

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2657–2693, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.206

• formation and reductive coupling with an aldehyde made accessible β-amino alcohol 60 over two steps. A cascade reaction occurred upon treatment with HCl in acetone followed by treatment with KOH. Indeed, a tandem 5-exo-trig cyclization, sulfinyl removal, and lactamization occurred in one-pot. Finally

• reductive coupling lead to β-amino alcohol 71, which was then transformed through similar conditions (see cyclopamine paragraph) via a tandem sulfinyl removal/lactamization, and subsequent lactam reduction, to veratramine (13). In particular, this semisynthesis furnishes veratramine in 13 steps in the

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

• ]. Scheidt and co-workers used a tandem annulation strategy, merging NHC and organic photoredox catalysis for the convergent novel synthesis of α,β-disubstituted cyclohexyl ketone scaffolds 30. This cascade process rapidly forms two contiguous C–C bonds via a formal [5 + 1] cycloaddition. It represents a

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

• substructure hidden inside the natural product’s cage-like ring system, Kalesse’s group chose to construct this architecture first using a tandem Nazarov/ene cyclization [36]. The cis-pentalene was subsequently assembled via a Ti(III)-mediated epoxide–ketone coupling reaction. Starting from the known

• deprotection and oxidation of the secondary alcohol, yielded the cyclization precursor 35. A B(C6F5)3-catalyzed tandem Nazarov/ene cyclization of 35 provided the key spirocyclic intermediate 37. The tertiary alcohol was protected in situ with TESOTf to suppress retro-aldol side reactions. Notably, prior TES

• Suzuki and co-workers in 2021 [44]. Their work proposed that this core structure could be generated from a highly oxidized allo-cedrane moiety through a tandem retro-Claisen/aldol reaction. Beginning with compound 100, a 6-step sequence afforded ortho-quinone 101 (Scheme 10). Heating 101 promoted an

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

• successfully accomplished via an epoxide ring-opening/tandem lactonization/olefin hydration sequence. In total, 12 consecutive redox manipulations (7 oxidations and 5 reductions) established all stereocenters, with subsequent functional group transformations completing the total synthesis of garajonone (8

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

• Abstract The total synthesis of bioactive (+)-aglacin B was achieved. The key steps include an asymmetric conjugate addition reaction induced by a chiral auxiliary and a nickel-promoted reductive tandem cyclization of the elaborated β-bromo acetal, which led to the efficient construction of the

• relies on a non-photocatalysis approach. Results and Discussion Retrosynthetic analysis of (+)-aglacin B Based on the retrosynthetic analysis shown in Scheme 1, both C8′–C8 and C7–C1 bonds in (+)-aglacin B (2) could be constructed in one-step from the β-bromo acetal 5 by a Ni-promoted tandem radical

• 2,4,4,6-tetrabromo-2,5-cyclohexadienone (TBCD) in CH2Cl2 followed by reaction with allyl alcohol, provided β-bromo acetal 5 in 30% overall yield starting from alcohol 6. With a successful preparation of the cyclization precursor 5, the designed nickel-promoted reductive tandem cyclization was pursued

Pentacyclic aromatic heterocycles from Pd-catalyzed annulation of 1,5-diaryl-1,2,3-triazoles

• Kaylen D. Lathrum,
• Emily M. Hanneken,
• Katelyn R. Grzelak and
• James T. Fletcher

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2524–2534, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.194

• tandem deprotection/click chemistry followed by Pd-catalyzed annulation is summarized in Table 1. The alkyne-substituted analogs 1–6 [48][49][50][51][52] used in this study were prepared from commercially available aryl halides using microwave-promoted Sonogashira coupling (Table S1, Supporting

• modification of the base-catalyzed conditions reported by Kwok [53], where a stoichiometric plus additional catalytic amount of tetraethylammonium hydroxide base in DMSO solvent was used to promote tandem trimethylsilyl deprotection and cycloaddition in one preparation (Figure 3). Isolated yields of this

• tandem approach preparing 7–12 ranged from 43–85%, which were similar to running the deprotection and cycloaddition reactions sequentially. Pd-catalyzed annulation using a modification of previously reported reaction conditions [46] under microwave irradiation instead of thermal heating converted 1,5

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

• construction of the tetracyclic core of Aspidosperma alkaloids. Our method involves an Ir-catalyzed PET reaction of K for the stereoselective formation of the cis-configured BC bicyclic core with an all-carbon quaternary center [25][26]. Computational studies suggest that the observed tandem PET reaction of K

• proceeds via an unusual 1,3-C shift to afford M, i.e. through an interrupted [2 + 2] cyclization/retro-Mannich reaction. Results and Discussion Conditions optimization Our study commenced with the evaluation of the proposed PET-based tandem [2 + 2] cyclization/retro-Mannich reaction. We selected compound

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

• formation of a mixture of ketone 194 and cyclic diene 195. Regio- and stereoselectivity was observed in the case of the epoxide 189. The cyclopentane derivative 194 was obtained stereoselectively and in high yield during the reaction with BF3·Et2O. An alternative example of the tandem epoxide rearrangement

• promotes tandem transformations with the Lewis acid, resulting in oxygen-containing bicyclic compounds 198 and 199 through the formation of oxonium intermediates E and F. In the work of Kulciţki et al. [89], a very attractive acid-induced rearrangement of homodrimanic epoxide 200 was described. This

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

• Scheme 5, the Dai synthesis starts with compound 58 which can be prepared from (+)-pulegone in three steps or via an organocatalyzed tandem sequence in one step. The terminal olefin of 58 was then converted to a primary azide via an anti-Markovnikov hydroazidation reaction with a combination of 59 and

• Paal–Knorr pyrrole synthesis delivered 63, which was unstable and spontaneously cyclized to provide 64. Compound 64 was then advanced to tetracyclic intermediate 67 in a one-pot tandem process, which initiated with Staudinger azide reduction with PPh3 to form a primary amine. After reversible

• 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

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

• , employing a late-stage biomimetic Norrish−Yang cyclization to construct the highly compact cyclobutanone motif [21]. The task commenced with epoxide 2 (Scheme 2), which was accessible via a known five-step protocol from geranyl acetate (1). Compound 2 was advanced to 3 using a tandem cyclization developed

• synthesis of 49–57 via a bioinspired strategy, incorporating a Norrish–Yang cyclization/α-hydroxyketone rearrangement tandem reaction and late-stage biomimetic photooxidation as key steps. The synthetic endeavour began with the total synthesis of 49, which served as both the envisioned precursor for Norrish

• E/I (53/57), respectively. In this work, inspired by the biosynthetic pathway of natural products, the authors employed a tandem Norrish–Yang photocyclization and α-hydroxy ketone rearrangement as the key step to construct the unique bicyclo[3.2.0]heptane skeleton of gracilisoids. This strategy

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

• [22][23]. In these studies, alkyl radicals underwent conjugate addition to N-enoyloxazolidinones. Sibi later described enantioselective tandem radical conjugate addition–trapping reactions that formed two carbon–carbon bonds and created two vicinal stereocenters in a single transformation (Scheme 1

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

• , the Liu group developed a gold-catalyzed tandem cycloisomerization, offering controllable synthesis of either indolo[2,3-a]quinolizine or indolizino[8,7-b]indole derivatives (Scheme 10) [17]. When the indole nitrogen of the substrate was substituted with electron-donating groups (EDGs) and the alkyne

• of propiolamide was equipped with a bulky substituent, the 6-exo-dig cyclization was initially triggered under gold(I)-catalysis, leading to intermediate 43. Then the indolizino[8,7-b]indole skeleton 44 ultimately was constructed via a tandem 5-exo-dig cyclization (Scheme 10, path a). When the indole

• nitrogen was strategically functionalized with an electron-withdrawing groups (EWGs) and the alkyne of propiolamide was modified with a less bulky substituent. A 6-exo-dig cyclization yielded intermediate 45. Finally, a tandem 6-endo-dig cyclization enabled the successful assembly of the indolo[2,3-a

Thiadiazino-indole, thiadiazino-carbazole and benzothiadiazino-carbazole dioxides: synthesis, physicochemical and early ADME characterization of representatives of new tri-, tetra- and pentacyclic ring systems and their intermediates

• Gyöngyvér Pusztai,
• László Poszávácz,
• Anna Vincze,
• András Marton,
• Ahmed Qasim Abdulhussein,
• Judit Halász,
• András Dancsó,
• Gyula Simig,
• György Tibor Balogh and
• Balázs Volk

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2220–2233, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.169

• transferred to LC vials and stored at −20 °C until LC–MS/MS analysis. The concentration of the parent compound remaining in each sample was determined using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). The percentage of the remaining substrate was calculated relative to the time

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

• benzamides with terminal alkynes, 5-exo-dig aza-cyclization of 2-alkynylbenzamides as well as reductive cascade annulation of o-alkynylbenzamides. Pyrroles and imidazoles were formed efficiently via electrochemical annulation of alkynes with enamides and tandem Michael addition/azidation/cyclization of

• , oxidant, and base-free conditions. An electrochemical enantioselective tandem C–H indolization of 2-alkynylanilines with 3-functionalized indoles towards 2,3′-biindolyl atropisomers was achieved by Zeng in 2025 (Scheme 7) [204]. After screening the reaction carefully, the optimal conditions were gained as

• electricity as a sustainable and green oxidant, noble metal catalyst (Rh) was required to achieve reasonable yields. An electrochemical synthesis of imidazoles through tandem Michael addition/azidation/intramolecular cyclization of alkynes, amines and azides was realized by Chen in 2022 (Scheme 17) [267

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

• [188]. Conversion of furfural to pyrrole and proline: Zhou and Yan reported a route bridging commercial biomass feedstock with high-value N-containing chemicals through pyrrole as a hub molecule. Furfural was converted into pyrrole in 75% yield via tandem decarbonylation–amination reactions over tailor

Further elaboration of the stereodivergent approach to chaetominine-type alkaloids: synthesis of the reported structures of aspera chaetominines A and B and revised structure of aspera chaetominine B

• Jin-Fang Lü,
• Jiang-Feng Wu,
• Jian-Liang Ye and
• Pei-Qiang Huang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2072–2081, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.162

• aspera chaetominine B. Keywords: epoxidation; selective epimerization; stereodivergent synthesis; structural revision; tandem reaction; Introduction In contemporary organic chemistry, due to the widespread application of modern separation and analytical techniques, the structural elucidation and

α-Ketoglutaric acid in Ugi reactions and Ugi/aza-Wittig tandem reactions

• Vladyslav O. Honcharov,
• Yana I. Sakhno,
• Olena H. Shvets,
• Vyacheslav E. Saraev,
• Svitlana V. Shishkina,
• Tetyana V. Shcherbakova and
• Valentyn A. Chebanov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2021–2029, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.157

• substituted 3-(3-oxo-3,4-dihydroquinoxalin-2-yl)propanoic acids containing a pharmacophore quinoxalinone moiety. The tandem Ugi/aza-Wittig combination was also carried out in a one-pot procedure without isolation of the intermediate. Keywords: α-ketoglutaric acid; aza-Wittig reaction; multicomponent reaction

• for the preparation of benzodiazepinone derivatives, which showed promising psychotropic effects [20][21][22][23][24], using a tandem combination of Ugi/azide–alkyne cycloaddition reactions. From this point of view, azido amines are promising reagents for use in the Ugi reaction, opening up the

• an additional reaction center for post-cyclizations, is scarcely reported in the literature [25][30][31]. Among the numerous tandem synthetic approaches, the combination of Ugi/aza-Wittig reactions is of particular interest. In recent years, several works have been dedicated to the synthesis of