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

• envisioned for this carbocation (e.g., a nucleophilic attack of formic acid to give a formate ester), only alkene formation was observed in this system. Interestingly, the deprotonation step is completely regioselective, giving the more highly substituted endocyclic trisubstituted alkene found in 8 as

• the resulting tertiary carbocation to occupy equatorial positions (14), establishing the observed trans-relationship between these groups while simultaneously setting two new stereogenic centers. As before, one can envision several different fates for the tertiary carbocation present in 14. Although

• methyl group now occupies a pseudo-axial position, and the cyclohexenyl ring system occupies a pseudo-equatorial position. In this case, the aza-Prins reaction forms trans-fused lactone 10 via an analogous intramolecular nucleophilic attack of the ethyl ester on the intermediate tertiary carbocation 15

Characterization of a new fusicoccane-type diterpene synthase and an associated P450 enzyme

• Jia-Hua Huang,
• Jian-Ming Lv,
• Liang-Yan Xiao,
• Qian Xu,
• Fu-Long Lin,
• Gao-Qian Wang,
• Guo-Dong Chen,
• Sheng-Ying Qin,
• Dan Hu and
• Hao Gao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1396–1402, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.144

• stereogenic centers at C2, C6, C10, and C14 introduced during the two cyclization steps, FC-type diterpene synthases (DTSs) could be divided into 16 subtypes [20]. Furthermore, considering the modes of potential carbocation rearrangement and final carbocation quenching, there might be more FC-type DTSs in

• ], MgMS [20], CotB2 [19], and CpCS [21] have been deciphered. All these enzymes undergo a common C1,11–C10,14-bicyclization to form a C15 carbocation, but differ a lot at the following C2,6 cyclization (Scheme 1B). CotB2 and CpCS trigger the C2,6 cyclization via a distant hydride shift, whereas PaFS

Facile and diastereoselective arylation of the privileged 1,4-dihydroisoquinolin-3(2H)-one scaffold

• Dmitry Dar’in,
• Grigory Kantin,
• Alexander Bunev and
• Mikhail Krasavin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1070–1078, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.109

• 16 was obtained and its structure was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis. Presumably, the formation of ester 16 can be justified by the trapping of the carbocation intermediate 17 (vide infra) by the formamide carbonyl oxygen atom followed by hydrolysis of the iminium moiety (Scheme 4

• ). Mechanistically, the arylation of diazo substrates 10 likely proceeds via the protonation of the diazo moiety and elimination of a nitrogen molecule, whereby carbocation 17 is generated. The latter can either be deprotonated to give byproduct 15 or be intercepted by an arene molecule in SEAr fashion to give

• arylation product 9. The trans-diastereoselectivity in the latter process is reasonably justified by the approach of the arene molecule to carbocation 17 from the sterically less hindered side (Scheme 5). Compounds 9 have a pronounced three-dimensional character which makes this novel chemotype a promising

Understanding the competing pathways leading to hydropyrene and isoelisabethatriene

• Shani Zev,
• Marion Ringel,
• Ronja Driller,
• Bernhard Loll,
• Thomas Brück and
• Dan T. Major

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 972–978, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.97

• kinetic control; Introduction Terpenes constitute a ubiquitous class of natural molecules that are synthesized by terpene synthases (TPS). TPS generate a plethora of terpenes employing rich carbocation chemistry from a very limited number of substrates, known as geranyl pyrophosphate (GPP), farnesyl

• pyrophosphate (FPP), and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate (GGPP), to produce mono-, sesqui-, and diterpenes, respectively. The formation of terpenes relies on an assortment of carbocation steps like cyclization, methyl migrations, rearrangements, proton or hydride transfers, hydroxylations, and epoxidations. TPS

• ). We studied the inherent chemistry of the reaction leading to HP and IE using gas-phase calculations. This provided the free energy of distinct carbocation intermediates and transition states along the proposed reaction path leading to products in the gas phase. The gas phase is a natural choice as a

Anti-inflammatory aromadendrane- and cadinane-type sesquiterpenoids from the South China Sea sponge Acanthella cavernosa

• Shou-Mao Shen,
• Qing Yang,
• Yi Zang,
• Jia Li,
• Xueting Liu and
• Yue-Wei Guo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 916–925, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.91

• diphosphate (E,E-FPP) as their linear precursor (Scheme 1). The 6,7-bond formation was triggered by eliminating the pyrophosphate group of E,E-FPP yielding a monocyclic carbocation intermediate A, followed by the 6,11-closure via deprotonation to afford bicyclogermacrene (B) containing a gem

• -dimethylcyclopropyl unit [28]. Bicyclogermacrene (B) served as the branch point of aromadendrane cyclization and aristolane cyclization routes (Scheme 1, I). On one hand, the protonation on the double bond Δ1,10 of B initialized the aromadendrane cyclization, followed by 1,5-bond formation to yield carbocation

• intermediate C. Firstly, deprotonation occurred to form the double bond Δ1,10 and led to the formation of (−)-ledene (D) [29], on which the multiple-step oxidation happened at C-2 and C-9 to generate (+)-1. Secondly, the reaction is quenched by an H2O attach at carbocation C-10 to form (+)-globulol (E) [30

Efficient production of clerodane and ent-kaurane diterpenes through truncated artificial pathways in Escherichia coli

• Fang-Ru Li,
• Xiaoxu Lin,
• Qian Yang,
• Ning-Hua Tan and
• Liao-Bin Dong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 881–888, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.89

• cyclase) act on geranylgeranyl diphosphate (GGDP) to perform regio- and stereoselective cyclizations or skeleton rearrangement reactions via carbocation chemistry to form diverse and versatile carbon skeletons; and ii) multiple post-modification enzymes, most often cytochrome P450s, decorate the carbon

Structural basis for endoperoxide-forming oxygenases

• Takahiro Mori and
• Ikuro Abe

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 707–721, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.71

• the water addition occurs on the C3' carbocation, which is generated by one electron transfer to the ferric iron from the C3' radical intermediate (carbocation mechanism in Scheme 9). Notably, in this last step, the stereochemistry of the hydroxylation reaction is regulated by the enzyme to be the R

Synthesis of 3,4,5-trisubstituted isoxazoles in water via a [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of nitrile oxides and 1,3-diketones, β-ketoesters, or β-ketoamides

• Md Imran Hossain,
• Md Imdadul H. Khan,
• Seong Jong Kim and
• Hoang V. Le

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 446–458, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.47

• carbanion I that is solvated by the polar solvent. The carbanion I then adds to the carbon (carbocation) of the nitrile oxide, to give the intermediate II. Due to steric effects, the intermediate II undergoes bond rotation to the lowest-energy conformation II-D in which the methyl group is at a close

A resorcin[4]arene hexameric capsule as a supramolecular catalyst in elimination and isomerization reactions

• Tommaso Lorenzetto,
• Fabrizio Fabris and
• Alessandro Scarso

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 337–349, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.38

• subsequent water elimination leading to a stable tertiary, bis-benzyl carbocation that evolves forming the corresponding alkene by proton elimination (Scheme 3). The reaction was carried out at 60 °C with 10 mol % of 16 (Table 2, entry 1), monitoring the formation of the products by 1H NMR and GC–MS (see

• carbocation species. It has also to be considered that water elimination during the progress of the reaction changes the ratio between capsules A and B thus accelerating product formation. The intrinsic stability of the carbocation formed by water elimination from the corresponding alcohol is crucial to

Mechanistic studies of the solvolysis of alkanesulfonyl and arenesulfonyl halides

• Malcolm J. D’Souza and
• Dennis N. Kevill

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 120–132, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.13

• SO2Cl− ion or as SO2 + Cl−) (Equation 5). It would be of interest to extend this study to other RSO2Cl substrates, where the R forms a relatively stable carbocation, such as the 1-adamantanesulfonyl chloride and/or the diphenylmethanesulfonyl chloride [(C6H5)2CHSO2Cl], examples with intermediate cations

Efficient synthesis of ethyl 2-(oxazolin-2-yl)alkanoates via ethoxycarbonylketene-induced electrophilic ring expansion of aziridines

• Yelong Lei and
• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 70–76, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.6

• heating, diazo esters 1 undergo a Wolff rearrangement to generate ethoxycarbonylketenes A by loss of nitrogen. The nucleophilic attack of 2-arylaziridine 2 on the ketene moiety produces zwitterionic intermediates B, in which the aziridinium is opened to form the benzylic carbocation stabilized through the

Iron-catalyzed domino coupling reactions of π-systems

• Austin Pounder and
• William Tam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2848–2893, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.196

• oxidative addition, transmetallation, and reductive elimination processes. On the other hand, iron may act as a Lewis acid, activating carbon–carbon multiple bonds via π-binding or heteroatoms via σ-complexes. This can either generate the organoiron complex after nucleophilic attack or produce a carbocation

• alkyl cation 113. Nucleophilic trapping of the carbocation provides the final product. In 2018, the Li group continued to explore Fe-catalyzed silylation cascade chemistry. Their protocol investigated the silylperoxidation of activated alkenes in good yield [107]. In 2019, Yang and co-workers described

• radical across the alkene to afford the benzylic radical. Oxidation of the corresponding radical affords the benzylic carbocation which is attacked by the indole nucleophile. The authors applied the reaction methodology to pyrrole as a substrate; however, only one example was given in a 50% yield. Further

Recent advances in the asymmetric phosphoric acid-catalyzed synthesis of axially chiral compounds

• Alemayehu Gashaw Woldegiorgis and
• Xufeng Lin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2729–2764, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.185

• -naphthol (88) and allene-iminium intermediate I-24 to form axially chiral I-25, followed by rearomatization of the naphthol ring of I-25 and isomerization to I-26. Thereafter, CPA forms two hydrogen bonds with the two OH groups of I-26 to generate a carbocation and facilitates an intramolecular

α-Ketol and α-iminol rearrangements in synthetic organic and biosynthetic reactions

• Scott Benz and
• Andrew S. Murkin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2570–2584, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.172

• and pinacol/semipinacol rearrangements, the 1,2-shift does not require a leaving group or carbocation intermediate, as the neighboring π system is capable of accepting the migrating group. While the reaction is generally reversible, the product can be favored through four common strategies: (1) the

Targeting active site residues and structural anchoring positions in terpene synthases

• Anwei Hou and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2441–2449, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.161

• (GFPP, C25) for sesterterpene biosynthesis. Type I terpene synthases (TPSs) activate these acyclic molecules by the abstraction of diphosphate to produce a reactive allyl cation that can initiate a cascade reaction through typical carbocation chemistry, including cyclisation reactions by intramolecular

Advances in mercury(II)-salt-mediated cyclization reactions of unsaturated bonds

• Sumana Mandal,
• Raju D. Chaudhari and
• Goutam Biswas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2348–2376, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.153

• Hg(TFA)2 then five- and six-membered rings 64 and 65 were formed with a 1:4 ratio (Scheme 22) [70]. The greater yield of the six-membered product was primarily due to the electron-withdrawing effect of ethereal oxygen which in turn destabilizes the carbocation at the β-carbon and hence the

A novel methodology for the efficient synthesis of 3-monohalooxindoles by acidolysis of 3-phosphate-substituted oxindoles with haloid acids

• Li Liu,
• Yue Li,
• Tiao Huang,
• Dulin Kong and
• Mingshu Wu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2321–2328, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.150

• -3-yl) phosphate 2 is activated by protonation with a haloid acid. Subsequently the phosphate leaving group is eliminated to generate the carbocation intermediate III, which is then followed by rapid combination with a nucleophilic halide ion to form a 3-monohalooxindoles 3 or 4. Conclusion In

Transition-metal-free intramolecular Friedel–Crafts reaction by alkene activation: A method for the synthesis of some novel xanthene derivatives

• Tülay Yıldız,
• İrem Baştaş and
• Hatice Başpınar Küçük

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2203–2208, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.142

• synthesis is based on the o-quinone methide intermediate [54][55][56][57][58]. The carbocation formed by the activation of an alkene with acid turns into an intermediate o-quinone methide, resulting in a successful cyclization. As seen in the mechanism, the acid catalyst adds to the vinyl group, allowing

• the formation of a tertiary carbocation. The carbocation is then transformed into the o-quinone methide intermediate, which undergoes cyclization to yield 9-methyl-9-arylxanthene by aromatization. When the yields of the synthesized compounds are examined, it is seen that the yields are high when there

• is no substituent at the ring to which the carbocation is attached or when there is an electron-donating group, such as a methoxy or methyl group (Figure 1). When there are electron-withdrawing groups, such as chlorine or cyano groups, in the ring, the yield is slightly reduced because they

Methodologies for the synthesis of quaternary carbon centers via hydroalkylation of unactivated olefins: twenty years of advances

• Thiago S. Silva and
• Fernando Coelho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1565–1590, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.112

• C, which undergoes an oxidation process to generate carbocation D. A proton abstraction from D then affords the observed product. Cross-coupling reaction between unactivated olefins and alkyl halides under nickel catalysis The use of alkyl halides in transition-metal-catalyzed cross-couplings to

Breaking paracyclophane: the unexpected formation of non-symmetric disubstituted nitro[2.2]metaparacyclophanes

• Suraj Patel,
• Tyson N. Dais,
• Paul G. Plieger and
• Gareth J. Rowlands

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1518–1526, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.109

• intermediate or arenium ion 7 (Scheme 2). This occurs at the bridge as this offers greatest release of strain energy. Rearrangement to 8, as described by Cram and Hefelfinger, further lowers the strain energy of the cyclophane [36]. The carbocation could be trapped by a nitrate anion to give intermediate 9

• , which would collapse to the dienone 10. Tautomerization results in regeneration of the aromatic ring in 11. Such a route might explain the unique ability of nitration conditions to deliver the substituted [2.2]metaparacyclophane. Alternatively, carbocation 8 might be trapped with water and, under the

Cascade intramolecular Prins/Friedel–Crafts cyclization for the synthesis of 4-aryltetralin-2-ols and 5-aryltetrahydro-5H-benzo[7]annulen-7-ols

• Jie Zheng,
• Shuyu Meng and
• Quanrui Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1481–1489, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.104

• -promoted condensation of a homoallylic alcohol and an aldehyde to give an oxocarbenium ion, which is then reacted with an olefinic/alkynic bond generating a carbocation that undergoes a Friedel–Crafts reaction. Given the potential value of tetralin-2-ol scaffolds to drug research programs, we decided to

• intermediate 6 then would undergo a Prins-type intramolecular cyclization with the olefinic bond to produce a stable benzyl carbocation 7, that may be trapped through a Friedel–Crafts alkylation with an aromatic substrate or through the reaction with an external nucleophile to afford the target product 8

A comprehensive review of flow chemistry techniques tailored to the flavours and fragrances industries

• Guido Gambacorta,
• James S. Sharley and
• Ian R. Baxendale

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1181–1312, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.90

Metal-free glycosylation with glycosyl fluorides in liquid SO₂

• Krista Gulbe,
• Jevgeņija Lugiņina,
• Edijs Jansons,
• Artis Kinens and
• Māris Turks

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 964–976, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.78

• carbocation species [52]. Thus, in contrast to the other primary alcohols, an excess of 3.0 equiv was required to provide a moderate 62% yield of mannoside 3g when benzyl alcohol (2g) was used as an acceptor. Next, the formation of tertiary carbenium ion from 3-methyl-butan-2-ol (2i) via 1,2-hydrogen shift in

• an initial formed secondary carbocation [52] explains the relatively low yield of mannoside 3i. The same problem was observed when 1-adamantanol (S5) was used as a glycosyl acceptor and the desired mannoside was formed in only 6% NMR yield (Figure S1, Supporting Information File 1). Finally, a

• mixture of mannosides α-3r and α-3s was obtained when cyclopropylmethanol (2r) was applied. The cyclopropylmethyl carbocation (C4H7+), which is generated in liquid SO2 medium, can undergo a rearrangement to form a cyclobutyl carbocation [68]. The latter can be trapped by a water molecule forming

Prins cyclization-mediated stereoselective synthesis of tetrahydropyrans and dihydropyrans: an inspection of twenty years

• Asha Budakoti,
• Pradip Kumar Mondal,
• Prachi Verma and
• Jagadish Khamrai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 932–963, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.77

• and co-workers explained the formation of all-cis-2,4,6-trisubstituted THPs with the help of density functional theory (DFT) and stated that in the presence of an external nucleophile, the stabilization of the carbocation intermediate is favored through hyperconjugation [28]. The vacant p-orbital of

• alkoxycarbenium ion intermediate 282, which is followed by a sequential cyclization to form secondary carbocation 283, which in the presence of fluoride ions affords 284, as shown in Scheme 66. Banerjee et al. explored the reactivity of cyclopropane carbaldehydes 285 with 3-butyn-1-ol in the presence of TiX4 for

• subsequent trapping of the carbocation with the bromide ion led to all-cis-2,4,6-trisubstituted tetrahydropyran 297 (Scheme 69). Lalli and van de Weghe reported a chiral BINOL-derived bisphosphoric acid- and CuCl-catalyzed enantioselective tandem Prins–Friedel–Crafts cyclization between homoallylic alcohol

Unexpected rearrangements and a novel synthesis of 1,1-dichloro-1-alkenones from 1,1,1-trifluoroalkanones with aluminium trichloride

• Beatrice Lansbergen,
• Catherine S. Meister and
• Michael C. McLeod

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 404–409, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.36

• 5m compared to the longer chain substrates (e.g., 5c and 5l) could be explained mechanistically by the formation of a terminal carbocation upon the extraction of a fluorine atom by the aluminium species (Scheme 3). This carbocation could be stabilised to varying degrees by the ketone moiety

• mass spectrometry and so it was converted to carboxylic acids 14 and 15 by the treatment with silica gel and NaOH, respectively, in order to confirm its identity. A possible mechanism for the formation of 13 from 5n could involve the formation of a terminal carbocation from trichloroalkanone 8n

• suggests that the role of the ketone moiety is not only to stabilise the putative carbocation as discussed earlier, but also to deactivate the aromatic ring to Friedel–Craft-type alkylations. However, when the trifluoropentylbenzene 16 was prepared and subjected to the standard AlCl3 conditions (Scheme 6