The Groebke–Blackburn–Bienaymé reaction in its maturity: innovation and improvements since its 21st birthday (2019–2023)

• Cristina Martini,
• Muhammad Idham Darussalam Mardjan and
• Andrea Basso

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1839–1879, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.162

• /domino reaction, one-pot stepwise synthesis and multicomponent reaction. In the one-pot cascade reaction, the complexity of heterocycles was achieved due to the presence of functional groups formed in the GBB reaction which allow further reactions to occur. In the case of one-pot stepwise synthesis, the

• into pentacycles 67. The same products were obtained when CoBr2 was used as external oxidant in the one-pot cascade reaction (Scheme 24, conditions b). No substantial improvement in the yields of 67 and 69 was observed when the synthesis was carried out in two steps, performing the GBB reaction under

• provide the ammonium 77. The intermediate 77 underwent Steven rearrangement to give a bridged polyheterocycle 78 in 28% yield. Unlike the previous examples, Jeong et al. [60] developed a cascade reaction by installing the additional ring prior to the GBB reaction (Scheme 26). The bifunctional 2-(2

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

• reported the formation of an α,α-dicyanoalkene from dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its efficient transformation to dienamides 15 in a single step via a cascade reaction [15][16]. The construction of the β-lactam ring involved a cascade 4-endo N-cyclization/aerobic oxidation sequence in presence of

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

• tylactone (4), the combination of two large PKS modules with synthetic substrate mimics facilitated the multistep cascade reaction including carbon chain extension, installation of chiral centers, and macrolactonization in one pot (Scheme 7 and Scheme 8). Moreover, the "site- and stereoselective late-stage

Catalytic multi-step domino and one-pot reactions

• Svetlana B. Tsogoeva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 254–256, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.25

• in the Full Research Paper by Nath and co-workers. The newly synthesized porphyrin derivatives displayed significant red-shifted absorption and emission compared to simple meso-tetraarylporphyrins [14]. The Carlone group reports an Enders-type triple cascade reaction toward cyclohexenals, using

Copper-catalyzed multicomponent reaction of β-trifluoromethyl β-diazo esters enabling the synthesis of β-trifluoromethyl N,N-diacyl-β-amino esters

• Youlong Du,
• Haibo Mei,
• Ata Makarem,
• Ramin Javahershenas,
• Vadim A. Soloshonok and
• Jianlin Han

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 212–219, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.21

• example, Wan and co-workers developed a cascade reaction of α-diazo esters, nitriles, and carboxylic acids via the generation of nitrile ylides and Mumm rearrangement affording unsymmetric diacyl α-amino acid esters as products (Scheme 1a) [39]. In 2017, Zhang, Hu, and co-workers developed a Cu-catalyzed

• . Conclusion In summary, a series of new β-trifluoromethyl β-diazo esters have been designed, which are applied for the first time in a cascade reaction through an interrupted esterification with nitrile ylides as the key intermediates under copper-catalysis conditions. Varieties of unsymmetric trifluoromethyl

Visible-light-induced radical cascade cyclization: a catalyst-free synthetic approach to trifluoromethylated heterocycles

• Chuan Yang,
• Wei Shi,
• Jian Tian,
• Lin Guo,
• Yating Zhao and
• Wujiong Xia

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 118–124, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.12

• enables a rapid access to heterocycles containing a trifluoromethyl group. Keywords: cascade reaction; indole derivatives; photocatalysis; radical chain process; trifluoromethylation; Introduction Dihydropyrido[1,2-a]indolone (DHPI) skeletons are commonly found in natural products and pharmaceutical

• usually occur under mild conditions, they typically require expensive metal-based photocatalysts or structurally complex organic dyes [18]. Therefore, the development of a photoinduced cascade reaction without the need of additional catalysts or additives remains highly desirable [19]. The introduction of

• derivatives. UV–vis spectra of substrates; [1a] 0.33 M, [2a] 0.11 M. Selected works for the construction of dihydropyrido[1,2-a]indolones and current methodology. Substrate scope of the cascade reaction. Radical trapping experiment. Plausible reaction mechanism. Optimization of reaction conditions.a

Cycloaddition reactions of heterocyclic azides with 2-cyanoacetamidines as a new route to C,N-diheteroarylcarbamidines

• Pavel S. Silaichev,
• Tetyana V. Beryozkina,
• Vsevolod V. Melekhin,
• Valeriy O. Filimonov,
• Andrey N. Maslivets,
• Vladimir G. Ilkin,
• Wim Dehaen and
• Vasiliy A. Bakulev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 17–24, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.3

• , entries 2‒7) showed that the use of 100 mol % of DBU is optimal for the selective synthesis of triazole 3a in high yield (Table 1, entries 4 and 5). A study of the reaction medium revealed that common organic solvents are highly efficient for this cascade reaction (Table 1, entries 1‒11). Among the

Functional characterisation of twelve terpene synthases from actinobacteria

• Anuj K. Chhalodia,
• Houchao Xu,
• Georges B. Tabekoueng,
• Binbin Gu,
• Kizerbo A. Taizoumbe,
• Lukas Lauterbach and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1386–1398, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.100

• either through diphosphate abstraction (for type I terpene synthases) or protonation of the substrate (type II terpene synthases). The resulting cationic species can then react in a cascade reaction via a series of cationic intermediates involving cyclisations, hydride or proton shifts, and skeletal

Acetaldehyde in the Enders triple cascade reaction via acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal

• Alessandro Brusa,
• Debora Iapadre,
• Maria Edith Casacchia,
• Alessio Carioscia,
• Giuliana Giorgianni,
• Giandomenico Magagnano,
• Fabio Pesciaioli and
• Armando Carlone

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1243–1250, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.92

• organic synthesis to build complex scaffolds starting from simple starting materials. The Enders three-component cascade reaction was a cornerstone in the field and a plethora of organocatalyzed cascade reactions followed. However, acetaldehyde was not shown as a successful reaction partner, probably

• because of its high reactivity. Herein, we report the Enders-type cascade reaction using acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal, as a masked form of acetaldehyde. This strategy directly converts acetaldehyde, nitroalkenes and enals into stereochemically dense cyclohexenals in good yield and excellent

• enantioselectivity. Keywords: acetaldehyde; acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal; cascade reaction; multicomponent reaction; organocatalysis; Introduction Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) are chemical processes that involve three or more compounds, in which the product contains all the atoms of the reagents, except for

Selective construction of dispiro[indoline-3,2'-quinoline-3',3''-indoline] and dispiro[indoline-3,2'-pyrrole-3',3''-indoline] via three-component reaction

• Ziying Xiao,
• Fengshun Xu,
• Jing Sun and
• Chao-Guo Yan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1234–1242, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.91

• substituent. A plausible reaction mechanism is proposed to explain the formation of the different spirooxindoles. Keywords: cascade reaction; dimedone; isatin; 3-methyleneoxindole; multicomponent reaction; spirooxindole; Introduction Spirooxindole is one important privileged structural skeleton and is found

Photoredox catalysis harvesting multiple photon or electrochemical energies

• Mattia Lepori,
• Simon Schmid and
• Joshua P. Barham

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1055–1145, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.81

• partners. The scope of the protocol was further expanded to a radical cyclization/aminocarbonylation cascade reaction yielding the bis-carbonylated α-keto amide 26h in 31% yield. 2.1.2 C(sp3)–X activation: The generation of alkyl radicals using alkyl halides as precursors proves very challenging due their

Aromatic C–H bond functionalization through organocatalyzed asymmetric intermolecular aza-Friedel–Crafts reaction: a recent update

• Anup Biswas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 956–981, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.72

• . The products 16 were achieved with excellent enantioselectivites which were attributed to an attractive interaction between the indole ring and the anthracene substituent of the catalyst’s framework (Scheme 5) [29]. In 2018, Piersanti and co-workers developed a phosphoric acid-catalyzed cascade

• reaction proceeding through aza-Friedel–Crafts reaction and lactonization steps. Main focus of this article was to demonstrate a racemic process between α-naphthol or phenol derivatives and in situ-generated N-acetyl ketimine from methyl 2-acetamidoacrylate (18) in the course of preparing 3-NHAc

Photoredox catalysis enabling decarboxylative radical cyclization of γ,γ-dimethylallyltryptophan (DMAT) derivatives: formal synthesis of 6,7-secoagroclavine

• Alessio Regni,
• Francesca Bartoccini and
• Giovanni Piersanti

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 918–927, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.70

• Alessio Regni Francesca Bartoccini Giovanni Piersanti Department of Biomolecular Sciences, University of Urbino, Carlo Bo Piazza Rinascimento 6, 61029 Urbino, PU, Italy 10.3762/bjoc.19.70 Abstract An unusual photoredox-catalyzed radical decarboxylative cyclization cascade reaction of γ,γ

• different classes of ergot alkaloids. (b) and (c) Strategies for the photoredox-catalyzed radical decarboxylative cyclization cascade reaction of DMAT derivatives (this work). Proposed reaction mechanism for photoredox-catalyzed radical decarboxylative cyclization. Proposed reaction mechanism for photoredox

Enolates ambushed – asymmetric tandem conjugate addition and subsequent enolate trapping with conventional and less traditional electrophiles

• Péter Kisszékelyi and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 593–634, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.44

• structurally different Michael acceptors were successfully applied. Their work also included a 3 mmol scale-up (62%, 87% ee, dr >20:1) and various derivatizations of the Mannich products. Furthermore, they have also attempted a multi-electrophile cascade reaction, which harnesses the nucleophilic nature of the

Synthesis and reactivity of azole-based iodazinium salts

• Thomas J. Kuczmera,
• Annalena Dietz,
• Andreas Boelke and
• Boris J. Nachtsheim

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 317–324, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.27

• both C–I bonds giving the iodinated N-arylbenzimidazoles 6a and 6b as a mixture with 54% and 25% yield [37]. A ring opening/closing cascade reaction with elemental sulfur resulted in the formation of the imidazo[4,5,1-kl]phenothiazine (7a) in 47% yield. The corresponding phenoselenazine 7b and the

Strategies to access the [5-8] bicyclic core encountered in the sesquiterpene, diterpene and sesterterpene series

• Cécile Alleman,
• Charlène Gadais,
• Laurent Legentil and
• François-Hugues Porée

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 245–281, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.23

• ), where the eight-membered ring was accessed through a SmI2-mediated cyclization cascade reaction of a dialdehyde [69]. In this approach, an original way was proposed to form in a single step the tricyclic core of pleuromutilin (1) with a stereocontrol at the four contiguous stereocenters [69][70]. The

• dialdehyde was obtained from trans-dihydrocarvone (141) and treated early in the sequence (step 13/34) by SmI2. The authors assumed that the cascade reaction was initiated with the left-hand aldehyde ketyl formation 146 which further attacked the alkene and oriented the anti-5-exo-trig-cyclization toward (Z

1,4-Dithianes: attractive C2-building blocks for the synthesis of complex molecular architectures

• Bram Ryckaert,
• Ellen Demeyere,
• Frederick Degroote,
• Hilde Janssens and
• Johan M. Winne

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 115–132, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.12

• dependence [95]. On the other hand, simple benzyl cations can undergo more controlled (3 + 2) annulations, as is illustrated by the long-known Friedel–Crafts-type acid-catalyzed cascade reaction of styrene leading to the cyclic styrene dimer 86 (Scheme 13c) [96][97]. This (3 + 2) cycloaddition reactivity of

Practical synthesis of isocoumarins via Rh(III)-catalyzed C–H activation/annulation cascade

• Qian-Ci Gao,
• Yi-Fei Li,
• Jun Xuan and
• Xiao-Qiang Hu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 100–106, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.10

• to couple iodonium ylides with enaminones in a Rh(III)-catalyzed C–H activation/annulation cascade reaction for the rapid construction of isocoumarins (Scheme 1c). Results and Discussion Our initial experiment was performed with enaminone 1a and iodonium ylide 1b in the presence of [Cp*RhCl2]2 (5 mol

• obtained by using [{Ru(p-cymene)Cl2}]2 as a catalyst (Table 1, entry 10). With the optimal conditions in hand, we then investigated the scope of this Rh-catalyzed C–H activation/annulation cascade reaction. As shown in Scheme 2, a range of functionalized enaminones were compatible with this Rh-catalytic

Combining the best of both worlds: radical-based divergent total synthesis

• Kyriaki Gennaiou,
• Antonios Kelesidis,
• Maria Kourgiantaki and
• Alexandros L. Zografos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1–26, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.1

• a semipinacol rearrangement leading to 95, followed by subsequent cyclization to natural products guignardone A (96) and C (97). This process involved 1,2-allyl migration and C–O bond formation through a semipinacol rearrangement and a cyclodehydration cascade reaction (Scheme 8). Following the same

Navigating and expanding the roadmap of natural product genome mining tools

• Friederike Biermann,
• Sebastian L. Wenski and
• Eric J. N. Helfrich

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1656–1671, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.178

• , terpene cyclases generate the oftentimes multicyclic, hydrocarbon scaffold via a carbocation-mediated cascade reaction [30]. Terpene cyclases are obligatory components of canonical terpene pathways and are used to identify terpene BGCs (Figure 3B) [30][31]. RiPPs, on the other hand, lack genes that are

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

• acids. Keywords: alkaloid; amino acid; aza-Prins reaction; cascade reaction; natural product; Introduction Marine sponges produce a large number of structurally diverse natural products, including many that exhibit biological activity [1][2][3]. In 2019, Tsukamoto and co-workers isolated the

Synthetic study toward the diterpenoid aberrarone

• Liang Shi,
• Zhiyu Gao,
• Yiqing Li,
• Yuanhao Dai,
• Yu Liu,
• Lili Shi and
• Hong-Dong Hao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1625–1628, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.173

• were reported [30][31] and more recently, Carreira and co-workers reported [32] the first total synthesis of aberrarone through an impressive cascade reaction including a gold-catalyzed Nazarov cyclization, a cyclopropanation followed by intramolecular aldol reaction to forge the A, B and D rings

One-pot double annulations to confer diastereoselective spirooxindolepyrrolothiazoles

• Juan Lu,
• Bin Yao,
• Desheng Zhan,
• Zhuo Sun,
• Yun Ji and
• Xiaofeng Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1607–1616, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.171

• equiv) with 86% of isolated yield and 1.1:1.0 of 1a/4a through decarboxylative [3 + 2] cycloaddition (Table 1, entry 6), which afforded compound 5a with 73% isolated yield at 90 °C for 9 h. Notably, we conferred cascade reaction process to synthesize compound 5a with 70% isolated yield as one-step four

Oxa-Michael-initiated cascade reactions of levoglucosenone

• Julian Klepp,
• Thomas Bousfield,
• Hugh Cummins,
• Sarah V. A.-M. Legendre,
• Jason E. Camp and
• Ben W. Greatrex

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1457–1462, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.151

• bridged α,β-unsaturated ketones; however, these reactions do not involve initiation by an oxa-Michael addition [23][24]. The reaction between 1 and aromatic ketones under basic conditions is analogous to the well-known aldol/Michael cascade reaction observed between aldehydes and enolates giving di- and

Asymmetric organocatalytic Michael addition of cyclopentane-1,2-dione to alkylidene oxindole

• Estelle Silm,
• Ivar Järving and
• Tõnis Kanger

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 167–173, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.18

• molecular complexity. There are many examples of the organocatalytic synthesis of fused cycles starting from the cyclohexane-1,3-dione. For example, Rueping et al. demonstrated that the cyclohexane-1,3-dione undergoes a cascade reaction with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes [4] and they later employed the method