A review of recent advances in electrochemical and photoelectrochemical late-stage functionalization classified by anodic oxidation, cathodic reduction, and paired electrolysis

• Nian Li,
• Ruzal Sitdikov,
• Ajit Prabhakar Kale,
• Joost Steverlynck,
• Bo Li and
• Magnus Rueping

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2500–2566, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.214

• , 52074, Aachen, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.20.214 Abstract With the resurgence of electrosynthesis in organic chemistry, there is a significant increase in the number of routes available for late-stage functionalization (LSF) of drugs. Electrosynthetic methods, which obviate the need for hazardous chemical

• , these protocols are poised to become a vital component of the medicinal chemist's toolkit. In this review, we discuss electrochemical protocols that have been demonstrated to be applicable for the LSF of pharmaceutical drugs, their derivatives, and natural substrates. We present and analyze

• representative examples to illustrate the potential of electrochemistry or photoelectrochemistry for the LSF of valuable molecular scaffolds. Keywords: electrochemistry; late-stage functionalization; paired electrolysis; pharmaceutical drugs; photoelectrochemistry; Introduction Organic electrochemistry is

Phenylseleno trifluoromethoxylation of alkenes

• Clément Delobel,
• Armen Panossian,
• Gilles Hanquet,
• Frédéric R. Leroux,
• Fabien Toulgoat and
• Thierry Billard

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2434–2441, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.207

• ], electronic effects [17][18], and conformation [19][20][21]. Some trifluoromethoxylated molecules can be used as drugs in the treatment of various pathologies (Figure 1) [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. On the other hand, despite its toxicity at higher doses, selenium is also an essential trace element in

• by chromatography. Examples of trifluoromethoxylated drugs. Proposed mechanism of the reaction and 19F NMR of the DDPYOCF3/PhSeBr mixture. Phenylseleno trifluoromethoxylation of various alkenes. Yields determined by 19F NMR spectroscopy with PhCF3 as internal standard (in parentheses isolated yields

Synthesis, electrochemical properties, and antioxidant activity of sterically hindered catechols with 1,3,4-oxadiazole, 1,2,4-triazole, thiazole or pyridine fragments

• Daria A. Burmistrova,
• Andrey Galustyan,
• Nadezhda P. Pomortseva,
• Kristina D. Pashaeva,
• Maxim V. Arsenyev,
• Oleg P. Demidov,
• Mikhail A. Kiskin,
• Andrey I. Poddel’sky,
• Nadezhda T. Berberova and
• Ivan V. Smolyaninov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2378–2391, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.202

• heterocycles are classified as privileged medicinal scaffolds being components of many drugs [13][14]. Thiazole derivatives and their reduced forms exhibit antitumor (thiazofurin, ixabepilone), antibacterial (cefotaxime, ceftaroline, cefiderocol), antifungal (isavuconazole, fosravuconazole), antiviral

• (simeprevir, ritonavir, cobicistat), and other types of biological activities [15][16][17][18][19]. Besides, among the registered sulfur-containing drugs, 19% contain a thiazole ring, and 15% contain a thioether group [20]. Oxadiazole fragments are found in the structures of anticancer drugs (zibotentan

• ), antituberculosis agents [13], as well as in drugs against arrhythmia (nesapidil) or muscular dystrophy (ataluren) [21]. The 1,3,4- and 1,2,4-oxadiazoles are the most promising from the point of view of bioactivity among the four isomers of oxadiazole. The presence of a 1,3,4-oxadiazole ring in the structure of

Heterocycle-guided synthesis of m-hetarylanilines via three-component benzannulation

• Andrey R. Galeev,
• Maksim V. Dmitriev,
• Alexander S. Novikov and
• Andrey N. Maslivets

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2208–2216, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.188

• the possible substitution patterns, meta-substituted anilines hold a special place. These compounds are difficult to access due to the inherent ortho-/para-directional reactivity of the amino group, at the same time they are widely used in medicinal chemistry, resulting in several marketed drugs

O,S,Se-containing Biginelli products based on cyclic β-ketosulfone and their postfunctionalization

• Kateryna V. Dil and
• Vitalii A. Palchykov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2143–2151, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.184

• ). This reaction is believed to be one of the most famous MCRs with >2000 papers published in the last 20 years (according to Scopus database). These MCRs allow the direct synthesis of known DHMP drugs such as monastrol, piperastrol, enastron, fluorastrol etc. (Scheme 1B) and dozens of highly bioactive

• -1,1-dioxide motif is presented in a number of biologically active compounds including important market drugs as antiglaucoma agent dorzolamide [21], diuretic/anticancer meticrane [22] and antiherpesvirus agent amenamevir (ASP-2151) [23] which was recently synthesized by Ugi-4CR [24] (Scheme 1C

• reaction (A) and examples of DHMP (B) and thiopyran-1,1-dioxide (C) containing drugs. Scope of the obtained Biginelli products 2a–q. Synthesis of SO2-containing enastron analogue 2r. Postmodification of the Biginelli product 2a. Optimization of reaction. Supporting Information Supporting Information File

Computational toolbox for the analysis of protein–glycan interactions

• Ferran Nieto-Fabregat,
• Maria Pia Lenza,
• Angela Marseglia,
• Cristina Di Carluccio,
• Antonio Molinaro,
• Alba Silipo and
• Roberta Marchetti

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2084–2107, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.180

• docking software (unfortunately not free) designed to predict the conformations of small molecules in protein binding sites, thus facilitating the discovery of new drugs. Within SeeSAR, its functionality allows ligands to be placed in binding sites using an incremental construction algorithm that splits

Multicomponent syntheses of pyrazoles via (3 + 2)-cyclocondensation and (3 + 2)-cycloaddition key steps

• Ignaz Betcke,
• Alissa C. Götzinger,
• Maryna M. Kornet and
• Thomas J. J. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2024–2077, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.178

• ][5][6]. For instance, pyrazoles serve as monoamine oxidase A and B inhibitors [7] and as COX-II inhibitors [8], making them valuable analgesics [9]. Furthermore, several blockbuster drugs, such as VIAGRA® [10], Celecoxib® [11], and Rimonabant [12], contain pyrazole cores. In addition, extensive

Diastereoselective synthesis of highly substituted cyclohexanones and tetrahydrochromene-4-ones via conjugate addition of curcumins to arylidenemalonates

• Deepa Nair,
• Abhishek Tiwari,
• Banamali Laha and
• Irishi N. N. Namboothiri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2016–2023, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.177

• considerable interest in the stereoselective synthesis of the cyclohexanone skeleton as it constitutes the core structure in many natural products and pharmaceutical drugs [1][2]. Garsubellin A with a cyclohexanone skeleton is a potent inducer of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and could be used for the

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

• FDA-approved drugs in the United States contain at least one azacycle [33]. Therefore, the development of gentle and efficient methods for accessing these heterocycles is an ongoing pursuit for synthetic chemists. As mentioned above, with their two nitrogen atoms, hydrazones constitute unique synthons

Negishi-coupling-enabled synthesis of α-heteroaryl-α-amino acid building blocks for DNA-encoded chemical library applications

• Matteo Gasparetto,
• Balázs Fődi and
• Gellért Sipos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1922–1932, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.168

• of recently approved drugs by the FDA [31]. Fezolinetant (an NK3 receptor antagonist) and quizartinib (FLT3 inhibitor) are just a couple of examples among the drugs reaching the market in the last year. As shown in Scheme 2, ethyl (bromozinc)acetate (1a) was synthesized in flow by pumping a solution

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

• compounds. Dömling et al. [50] also reported the synthesis of N-edited guanine derivatives. Different drugs display the guanine motif, fundamental for its biological activity is a triad HBA–HBD–HBD (HBA = hydrogen bond acceptor, HBD = hydrogen bond donor) included in its structure. The authors propose a one

Discovery of antimicrobial peptides clostrisin and cellulosin from Clostridium: insights into their structures, co-localized biosynthetic gene clusters, and antibiotic activity

• Moisés Alejandro Alejo Hernandez,
• Katia Pamela Villavicencio Sánchez,
• Rosendo Sánchez Morales,
• Karla Georgina Hernández-Magro Gil,
• David Silverio Moreno-Gutiérrez,
• Eddie Guillermo Sanchez-Rueda,
• Yanet Teresa-Cruz,
• Brian Choi,
• Armando Hernández Garcia,
• Alba Romero-Rodríguez,
• Oscar Juárez,
• Siseth Martínez-Caballero,
• Mario Figueroa and
• Corina-Diana Ceapă

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1800–1816, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.159

• ], a number expected to increase exponentially. One fundamental objective of the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance by the World Health Organization (WHO) is the investment in developing new drugs, diagnostic tools, vaccines, and other interventions [2]. In this context, many antibiotics

Oxidative fluorination with Selectfluor: A convenient procedure for preparing hypervalent iodine(V) fluorides

• Samuel M. G. Dearman,
• Xiang Li,
• Yang Li,
• Kuldip Singh and
• Alison M. Stuart

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1785–1793, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.157

• -molecule drugs contain at least one fluorine atom [2]. Hypervalent iodine(III) fluorides, such as difluoroiodotoluene 1 and fluoroiodane 2, have been key to the development of numerous, new synthetic procedures for C–F bond formation over the last decade. Since difluoroiodotoluene 1 has low chemical

Ugi bisamides based on pyrrolyl-β-chlorovinylaldehyde and their unusual transformations

• Alexander V. Tsygankov,
• Vladyslav O. Vereshchak,
• Tetiana O. Savluk,
• Serhiy M. Desenko,
• Valeriia V. Ananieva,
• Oleksandr V. Buravov,
• Yana I. Sakhno,
• Svitlana V. Shishkina and
• Valentyn A. Chebanov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1773–1784, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.156

• , azomethines based on aromatic amines and substituted pyrrolecarbaldehyde [40] or pyrrolyl-β-chlorovinylaldehyde [39], contain several frequently encountered motifs in drugs and drug candidates – a pyrrole heterocycle and an azomethine C=N fragment (Figure 1) – and exhibit some biological activity. Thus, Ugi

Harnessing unprotected deactivated amines and arylglyoxals in the Ugi reaction for the synthesis of fused complex nitrogen heterocycles

• Javier Gómez-Ayuso,
• Pablo Pertejo,
• Tomás Hermosilla,
• Israel Carreira-Barral,
• Roberto Quesada and
• María García-Valverde

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1758–1766, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.154

• drugs highlighting their importance in the discovery of novel bioactive compounds. However, their synthesis often faces challenges, including complex functionalization and lengthy reaction sequences. Multicomponent reactions, notably the Ugi reaction, have emerged as powerful tools to address these

• search of new bioactive compounds, as evidenced by the fact that they are present in many marketed drugs [1][2]. These substructures are found fused with other heterocycles in many cases, as illustrated by the antineoplastic dibromophakellstatin [3][4][5][6], the CDK inhibitor trilaciclib [7] or the

Synthesis of polycyclic aromatic quinones by continuous flow electrochemical oxidation: anodic methoxylation of polycyclic aromatic phenols (PAPs)

• Hiwot M. Tiruye,
• Solon Economopoulos and
• Kåre B. Jørgensen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1746–1757, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.153

• properties make them privileged structures in medicinal chemistry [2]. Benzoquinone and naphthoquinone can exist as ortho-quinone and para-quinone, with the latter considered more stable [5]. Additionally, p- and o-quinones are formed in metabolism of drugs [6] as well as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

• alternative to classical synthesis [25][26][27][28]. Electrochemical oxidation reactions are further used to emulate enzymatic oxidations of drugs and explore potential metabolites [29][30][31]. Electrochemical flow systems provide fast electrosynthesis with low cell resistance, large electrode area, and good

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

• the future design of more potent and selective drugs. Keywords: biological activity; drug development; heterocycle; spiro steroid; synthetic transformations; Introduction Small-ring heterocycles constitute valuable scaffolds in medicinal chemistry for generating biologically active derivatives

• progestogen activity, so it is employed in combination with ethinylestradiol in oral contraceptives [6]. Various steroidal spiro heterocycles serve as effective drugs for treating diverse pathologies. For example, cyclopamine (Figure 1) inhibits Hedgehog (HH) signaling by interacting with the 7-transmembrane

• 30 were obtained in moderate yields (ranging from 29% to 50%, Scheme 9) and were tested as anti-inflammatory drugs in RAW 264.7 cells and as inhibitors of rat ear edema. Unfortunately, the tested compounds exhibited weak activity in all assays. Khripach et al. reported a three-step sequence for the

Oxidation of benzylic alcohols to carbonyls using N-heterocyclic stabilized λ³-iodanes

• Thomas J. Kuczmera,
• Pim Puylaert and
• Boris J. Nachtsheim

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1677–1683, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.149

• established in several oxidative transformations including the synthesis of complex molecules and drugs [12][13]. The most prominent examples are the pentavalent derivatives 2-iodoxybenzoic acid (IBX) and Dess–Martin periodinane (DMP) [14][15]. Although mild and selective oxidants, these highly oxidized λ5

Methyltransferases from RiPP pathways: shaping the landscape of natural product chemistry

• Maria-Paula Schröder,
• Isabel P.-M. Pfeiffer and
• Silja Mordhorst

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1652–1670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.147

• genomes, exploration of these BGCs may lead to the discovery of further N-MTs [115][116]. C-Methyltransferases C-MTs are less prevalent than O- or N-directed MTs; they transfer a methyl group to a carbon atom [117]. C-Methylation of drugs can enhance their potency enormously [14]. Several C-MTs are

pKalculator: A pK_a predictor for C–H bonds

• Rasmus M. Borup,
• Nicolai Ree and
• Jan H. Jensen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1614–1622, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.144

• complex molecules by exchanging a C–H bond with different functional groups to modify the biological activity of drugs [2]. However, pinpointing which C–H bond is reacting can be challenging. Grzybowski and co-workers recently addressed this gap by predicting pKa values for C–H bonds in dimethyl sulfoxide

Generation of multimillion chemical space based on the parallel Groebke–Blackburn–Bienaymé reaction

• Evgen V. Govor,
• Vasyl Naumchyk,
• Ihor Nestorak,
• Dmytro S. Radchenko,
• Dmytro Dudenko,
• Yurii S. Moroz,
• Olexiy D. Kachkovsky and
• Oleksandr O. Grygorenko

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1604–1613, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.143

• space were found in the ChEMBL database, and some of them had high potency against various biological targets. Marketed drugs comprising imidazo[1,2-a]azine scaffolds. Yields of library members 4 synthesized using both Sc(OTf)3 and TsOH as the catalysts. Amino heterocycles 1{1–27} demonstrating poor

Primary amine-catalyzed enantioselective 1,4-Michael addition reaction of pyrazolin-5-ones to α,β-unsaturated ketones

• Pooja Goyal,
• Akhil K. Dubey,
• Raghunath Chowdhury and
• Amey Wadawale

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1518–1526, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.136

• ; organocatalysis; pyrazoles; Introduction N-Heterocycles are attractive molecules owing to their extensive applications in small-molecule drugs, natural products, and agrochemical products [1][2][3]. Among the N-heterocycles, pyrazole is an important structural scaffold, found in several marketed drugs and

• temperature. The crude reaction mixture was purified by silica gel (230–400 mesh) column chromatography (petroleum ether/EtOAc as the eluent) to give the product 3 or ent-3. Selected examples of drugs and bioactive molecules bearing a pyrazole core. Single crystal X-ray structure of ent-3ba (CCDC 2234286

Photoswitchable glycoligands targeting Pseudomonas aeruginosa LecA

• Yu Fan,
• Ahmed El Rhaz,
• Stéphane Maisonneuve,
• Emilie Gillon,
• Maha Fatthalla,
• Franck Le Bideau,
• Guillaume Laurent,
• Samir Messaoudi,
• Anne Imberty and
• Juan Xie

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1486–1496, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.132

• antibiotic-sparing anti-infective drugs. Building synthetic glycoconjugates for the inhibition and modulation of bacterial lectins have shown promising results. Light-sensitive lectin ligands could allow the modulation of lectins activity with precise spatiotemporal control. Despite the potential of

• the bacteria. Bacterial lectins are therefore attractive targets for the development of new antibiotic-sparing anti-infective drugs. For example, some Escherichia coli fimbrial lectin FimH inhibitors are currently in clinical development to treat and prevent urinary tract infections [9][10]. A large

Bioinformatic prediction of the stereoselectivity of modular polyketide synthase: an update of the sequence motifs in ketoreductase domain

• Changjun Xiang,
• Shunyu Yao,
• Ruoyu Wang and
• Lihan Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1476–1485, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.131

• : bioinformatics; conserved motifs; ketoreductase; polyketide synthase; stereocontrol; Introduction Type I modular polyketide synthases (PKSs) are large enzyme complexes that play a crucial role in the biosynthesis of bacterial polyketides, including many important clinical drugs such as erythromycin (antibiotic

Selectfluor and alcohol-mediated synthesis of bicyclic oxyfluorination compounds by Wagner–Meerwein rearrangement

• Ziya Dağalan,
• Muhammed Hanifi Çelikoğlu,
• Saffet Çelik,
• Ramazan Koçak and
• Bilal Nişancı

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1462–1467, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.129

• compounds by changing their metabolic stability, hydrogen bonding ability, lipophilicity, solubility, bioavailability, conformation and general structure [1][2][3][4]. About 20% of commercially available drugs contain fluorine, and this ratio is estimated to increase further [5][6]. Among organofluorines

• , oxyfluorines are an important subclass used as an active ingredient in many different drugs such as fludrocortisone (the first fluorine-containing commercial drug) [7][8], sofosbuvir (antihepatitis C) [9], dexamethasone (to treat ashma, severe allergies) [10], difluprednate (ocular anti-inflammatory) [11][12

• parameters. We hope that these potentially biologically active bicyclic fluoroalkoxy compounds will find a place in various application areas in biological systems. Organofluorine derived drugs. Oxyfluorination of benzonorbornadien (1a) with Selectfluor and alcohols. All reactions were carried out using 0.5