Recent developments in enantioselective photocatalysis

• Callum Prentice,
• James Morrisson,
• Andrew D. Smith and
• Eli Zysman-Colman

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2363–2441, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.197

Synthetic approaches to bowl-shaped π-conjugated sumanene and its congeners

• Shakeel Alvi and
• Rashid Ali

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2212–2259, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.186

Regioselective cobalt(II)-catalyzed [2 + 3] cycloaddition reaction of fluoroalkylated alkynes with 2-formylphenylboronic acids: easy access to 2-fluoroalkylated indenols

• Tatsuya Kumon,
• Miroku Shimada,
• Jianyan Wu,
• Shigeyuki Yamada and
• Tsutomu Konno

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2193–2200, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.184

• -fluoroalkylated indanones are shown in Scheme 5 [28][38]. Thus, the reaction presumably proceeds as follows: (1) transmetalation of the cobalt catalyst with 2-formylphenylboronic acids (2) gives the arylcobalt species Int-1, (2) insertion of the alkyne 1 into the [Co]–Ar bond (see Int-2a) [39], (3) migration

• insertion into the formyl moiety to afford the corresponding cobalt alkoxide Int-3a, (4) protonation of Int-3a with HX (X = acac, OiPr, or OH), giving rise to the desired 2-fluoroalkylated indenol 3. The formation of the 3-fluoroalkylated indanones as a side product may be explained based on the previous

Naphthalene diimide–amino acid conjugates as novel fluorimetric and CD probes for differentiation between ds-DNA and ds-RNA

• Annike Weißenstein,
• Myroslav O. Vysotsky,
• Ivo Piantanida and
• Frank Würthner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2032–2045, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.170

• both, the minor and major groove of the polynucleotide. Such bulky groups positioning requires the DNA double helix to shortly open at a binding site and close upon threading intercalator insertion. Also, the chosen NDI chromophore is characterised by easily tuneable emission wavelengths [23], and

Three new O-isocrotonyl-3-hydroxybutyric acid congeners produced by a sea anemone-derived marine bacterium of the genus Vibrio

• Dandan Li,
• Enjuro Harunari,
• Tao Zhou,
• Naoya Oku and
• Yasuhiro Igarashi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1869–1874, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.154

• (Figure 3a). Note that the sign distribution of the Δδ(S − R) values in β,β-substituted carboxylic acids is inverted from that observed in the α,α-substituted counterparts (Figure 3b) because the PGME anisotropy group is flipped upside down due to the insertion of an extra methylene group between the

When metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization meets visible-light photocatalysis

• Lucas Guillemard and
• Joanna Wencel-Delord

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1754–1804, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.147

• electron transfer to complete the catalytic cycle and regenerate the active catalytic species. The classical Fujiwara–Moritani reaction promoting the addition of arenes to olefins illustrates a general mechanism for such traditional C–H functionalization (Figure 4, left) [70][71][72]. The insertion of a

• metal catalyst X2M into an aromatic C–H bond of a substrate (generally facilitated by the presence of a directing group (DG)), delivers a metal–aryl complex. Coordination and subsequent insertion of an alkene into the M–aryl bond then provides the desired coupling product after β-hydride elimination

• , isolated in moderate to good yields. A possible gram scale-up synthesis was also accomplished. Within the mechanistic cycle, after initial vinylic C–H bond activation and insertion of CO into the C–Pd bond, the acylpalladium intermediate is converted into its conjugated analog under DABCO assistance

Et₃N/DMSO-supported one-pot synthesis of highly fluorescent β-carboline-linked benzothiophenones via sulfur insertion and estimation of the photophysical properties

• Dharmender Singh,
• Vipin Kumar and
• Virender Singh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1740–1753, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.146

• excellent light-emitting properties with quantum yields (ΦF) up to 47%. Keywords: benzothiophene; β-carboline; metal-free; photophysical properties; sulfur insertion; Introduction The pyrido[3,4-b]indole moiety, commonly referred as β-carboline, is the core unit of about one quarter of all natural

Pauson–Khand reaction of fluorinated compounds

• Jorge Escorihuela,
• Daniel M. Sedgwick,
• Alberto Llobat,
• Mercedes Medio-Simón,
• Pablo Barrio and
• Santos Fustero

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1662–1682, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.138

• stereochemical outcome of the overall process. A carbon monoxide ligand then undergoes migratory insertion into one of the Co–C bonds in cobaltacycle V, followed by reductive elimination to release the final product (Scheme 3). As mentioned above, the regiochemistry of this transformation is, in most cases

• , predictable for unsymmetrical alkynes (things are more complex regarding the olefin). Generally, the most sterically encumbered substituent of the alkyne occupies the proximal position in the enone system. This is dictated by the migratory insertion of the olefin into the most accessible Co–C bond (Scheme 3

• groups of comparable steric demand at both ends of the alkyne, electronic effects come into play. Here, the more electron-rich substituent occupies the α position, and the more electron-poor the β position (Scheme 4). This selectivity could be rationalized by the insertion of the olefin into the weakest

Synthesis of new dihydroberberine and tetrahydroberberine analogues and evaluation of their antiproliferative activity on NCI-H1975 cells

• Giacomo Mari,
• Lucia De Crescentini,
• Serena Benedetti,
• Francesco Palma,
• Stefania Santeusanio and
• Fabio Mantellini

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1606–1616, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.133

• constitute a severe limitation in the employ of BER [2][3][4]. To minimize these drawbacks, its isoquinoline portion was derivatized in positions 9 and 13 that are critical for topoisomerase inhibition and quadruplex structure binding [5][6][7][8]. The insertion of a phenyl group or a benzhydryl group linked

• insertion in the original molecule of different functions with their own peculiar features. Often, the biological properties of the resultant derivatives are not simply attributable to the sum of the characteristics shown by the individual moieties, but synergistic effects can increase their effectiveness

Photocatalyzed syntheses of phenanthrenes and their aza-analogues. A review

• Alessandra Del Tito,
• Havall Othman Abdulla,
• Davide Ravelli,
• Stefano Protti and
• Maurizio Fagnoni

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1476–1488, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.123

• biaryls 5.1a–d in up to excellent yields at room temperature by using α-bromoesters as radical precursors and [fac-Ir(ppy)3] as the photoredox catalyst [49]. A similar photocatalyzed tandem insertion/cyclization approach based on isocyanides and amino acid/peptide-derived Katritzky salts as precursors of

Disposable cartridge concept for the on-demand synthesis of turbo Grignards, Knochel–Hauser amides, and magnesium alkoxides

• Mateo Berton,
• Kevin Sheehan,
• Andrea Adamo and
• D. Tyler McQuade

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1343–1356, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.115

• conversion because the neutralization can alter the aggregation states, producing a significant batch-to-batch variability. The direct insertion of magnesium metal into organic halides is the most common method used to prepare Grignard reagents but present difficulties: (1) sluggish reactions with ordinary

• often lower than of the corresponding zincates. The low solubility can clog the column or may reduce the insertion rate by forming a passivating layer over the metal particle surface. Few examples describe the production of organomagnesium species under flow conditions [36][37][38][39], and only three

• oxidative addition reactions is R–I > R–Br > R–Cl. To achieve the direct insertion of 2-chloropropane, the temperature was increased, and the best result was obtained at 80 °C, yielding iPrMgCl (0.78 M, 87%, Table S4, entry 7, Supporting Information File 1). Since iPrMgCl is more soluble in THF than the

Synthesis of pyrrolidinedione-fused hexahydropyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinolines via three-component [3 + 2] cycloaddition followed by one-pot N-allylation and intramolecular Heck reactions

• Xiaoming Ma,
• Suzhi Meng,
• Xiaofeng Zhang,
• Qiang Zhang,
• Shenghu Yan,
• Yue Zhang and
• Wei Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1225–1233, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.106

• oxidative addition of the Pd(0) species to alkene intermediate 8a leads to Pd-complex I. Intramolecular coordination of Pd-complex I with the C–C double bond forms complex II which is followed by the syn insertion of alkene to give complex III [50][51]. Subsequent β-hydride elimination of III gives complex

Palladium-catalyzed regio- and stereoselective synthesis of aryl and 3-indolyl-substituted 4-methylene-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-ones

• Valeria Nori,
• Antonio Arcadi,
• Armando Carlone,
• Fabio Marinelli and
• Marco Chiarini

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1084–1091, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.95

• mentioned (E)-vinylpalladium intermediate A (generated in situ from the insertion of a carbon–carbon triple bond in the initially formed arylpalladium complex) could also be involved in the aminopalladations with the alkynyltrifluoroacetanilides 5 through the formation of the π-complex B, followed by base

• process has been significantly extended to include σ-vinyl Pd(II) intermediates B obtained through oxidative addition/insertion of substrates 2 with Pd(0). This reaction efficiently led to challenging indoloquinolinones 6 through a sequential double cyclization. It is worth noting that, in both cases, the

• intramolecular alkyne insertion in the initially formed arylpalladium iodide A (leading to B) occured faster than the direct reaction of A with arylboronic acids or with 2-alkynyltrifluoroacetanilides. Experimental General methods Melting points are uncorrected. IR spectra were recorded with a Perkin Elmer

Copper catalysis with redox-active ligands

• Agnideep Das,
• Yufeng Ren,
• Cheriehan Hessin and
• Marine Desage-El Murr

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 858–870, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.77

• in equilibrium with a spectator bis-nitrene species 19 and proceeded through styrene 20 insertion, followed by ring closure and release of the aziridine. Interestingly, this otherwise classical mechanism is enabled by the accessibility of doublet and quadruplet states close in energy and this

• reminiscent of the entatic state model. The proposed mechanism (Scheme 12) involves the insertion of a nitrene or carbene group to the copper complex 22 to form intermediate 23. Subsequent alkene insertion yields species 25 and the group-transfer product (21a,h–j,n,o, 26a–g and 27a–o) is released upon ring

Aldehydes as powerful initiators for photochemical transformations

• Maria A. Theodoropoulou,
• Nikolaos F. Nikitas and
• Christoforos G. Kokotos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 833–857, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.76

• presence of the nickel catalyst and a base via a typical oxidative addition, insertion, and reductive elimination sequence to afford the desired product (Scheme 29). In the absence of K2HPO4, only traces of the desired product were detected. Other known photosensitizers, such as acetone (4), acetophenone

Recent advances in Cu-catalyzed C(sp³)–Si and C(sp³)–B bond formation

• Balaram S. Takale,
• Ruchita R. Thakore,
• Elham Etemadi-Davan and
• Bruce H. Lipshutz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 691–737, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.67

• ). This species serves as an active catalyst, nucleophilic at boron, via coordination with an alkene (307) which undergoes insertion to deliver the B–C bonded species via an intermediate that either undergoes elimination or reacts with an electrophile to form the product (e.g., 308, 309, Scheme 49) [92

• arylborylation of α-alkylstyrenes 387 has been investigated, delivering 1,1-adducts 389, 390 in the presence of palladacycle PCy3Pd G3, while 1,2-adducts 391–393 result using APhosPd G3. The former reaction proceeds through a second-stage β-hydride elimination/re-insertion pathway, although for the latter set of

• diborylated products 449–451; Scheme 71, top) [134]. The insertion of an in situ-formed Cu–B species into the aldehyde carbonyl was proposed, leading to the formation of a C–B bond. 1H NMR studies, however, did not confirm the formation of this Cu–O–C–B linkage 452. Instead, solely the Cu–C–O–B species 453

Rhodium-catalyzed reductive carbonylation of aryl iodides to arylaldehydes with syngas

• Zhenghui Liu,
• Peng Wang,
• Zhenzhong Yan,
• Suqing Chen,
• Dongkun Yu,
• Xinhui Zhao and
• Tiancheng Mu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 645–656, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.61

• reacts with PPh3 to form RhCl(PPh3)3, which is able to activate C–I bonds in aryl iodides realizing the insertion of CO and hydrogenolysis with H2. The final trapping of HI by the base Et3N regenerates the catalyst to complete the reaction cycle. As far as we know, this is the first time that

• ]. First, RhCl3·3H2O reacted with PPh3 to form Rh(PPh3)3Cl (A), followed by an oxidative addition of Rh(PPh3)3Cl (A) to the aryl iodide, producing the corresponding arylrhodium complex (B). Then, the coordination and insertion of CO led to the formation of benzoylrhodium complex (C). Next, metathesis with

• reacted via a redox reaction to form Rh(PPh3)3Cl, which is the active catalytic species able to activate C–I bonds in the aryl iodides for the insertion of CO in the next step. The base Et3N neutralized the proton in the intermediate rhodium hydroiodide (D) complex and regenerated the active Rh species

Preparation and in situ use of unstable N-alkyl α-diazo-γ-butyrolactams in Rh^II-catalyzed X–H insertion reactions

• Maria Eremeyeva,
• Daniil Zhukovsky,
• Dmitry Dar’in and
• Mikhail Krasavin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 607–610, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.55

• found to be unstable and to undergo unproductive dimerization to bishydrazones, were successfully converted immediately to various X–H insertion products with alcohols, aromatic amines and thiols via an in situ RhII-catalyzed reaction. With aliphatic amines or unreactive, sterically hindered anilines

• , the reactions tended to yield enamine adducts. Keywords: in situ reactions; N-alkyl 2-pyrrolidones; RhII-catalyzed insertion reactions; stability of diazo compounds; Introduction Recently, we described the first synthesis and subsequent transformations of a rare type of cyclic α-diazocarbonyl

• compounds, namely, α-diazo-γ-butyrolactams [1]. In particular, N-aryl-α-diazo-γ-butyrolactams 1 were efficiently transformed into pyrrolinones 2 upon the treatment with AgOTf (1 mol %) and into α-alkoxy derivatives 3 via Rh2(OAc)4-catalyzed O–H insertion reactions with various alcohols. In contrast, N-alkyl

A combinatorial approach to improving the performance of azoarene photoswitches

• Joaquin Calbo,
• Aditya R. Thawani,
• Rosina S. L. Gibson,
• Andrew J. P. White and
• Matthew J. Fuchter

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2753–2764, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.266

• scaffold, the theoretical calculations at the PBE0-D3/6-31G** level indicate that an insertion of electron-poor fluorine atoms in the ortho-position of the aryl ring (4pzH-F1 and 4pzH-F2) leads to an increase in the half-life from ca. 1000 days in 4pzH to 2000 days in 4pzH-F1 and to 4000 days in 4pzH-F2

• above, theoretical calculations indicate that the addition of ortho-fluoro atoms leads to higher Z-isomer stability, whereas the opposite effect is found upon chlorine ortho-substitution (Table 1). The insertion of one and two electron-donating OMe and Pyr groups systematically improve the Z-isomer

• -lives upon ortho-F substitution. In sharp contrast, the insertion of bulkier chlorine atoms at the ortho position(s) induces destabilizing steric clashes, as well as negligible electrostatic forces (chlorine atomic charge of +0.04e; Figure S8 in Supporting Information File 1). Somewhat similar to the

Combining the Ugi-azide multicomponent reaction and rhodium(III)-catalyzed annulation for the synthesis of tetrazole-isoquinolone/pyridone hybrids

• Gerardo M. Ojeda,
• Prabhat Ranjan,
• Pavel Fedoseev,
• Lisandra Amable,
• Upendra K. Sharma,
• Daniel G. Rivera and
• Erik V. Van der Eycken

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2447–2457, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.237

• subsequent migratory insertion furnishes the seven-membered metallacycle D. Finally, reductive elimination leads to compounds 4a and the concomitant reoxidation of Rh(I) to Rh(III) by the Cu(II) salt completes the catalytic cycle. Conclusion In conclusion, we have developed a versatile method for the

Recent advances in transition-metal-catalyzed incorporation of fluorine-containing groups

• Xiaowei Li,
• Xiaolin Shi,
• Xiangqian Li and
• Dayong Shi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2213–2270, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.218

• substrates was reported by Yu and co-workers (Scheme 13) [50]. Enantioenriched benzyl fluorides were obtained by aid of a chiral α-amino amide transient directing group (TDG). Notably, the condensation of this bulky amino amide with the aldehyde led to control of the stereochemistry of the C–H insertion step

Cyclopropanation–ring expansion of 3-chloroindoles with α-halodiazoacetates: novel synthesis of 4-quinolone-3-carboxylic acid and norfloxacin

• Sara Peeters,
• Linn Neerbye Berntsen,
• Pål Rongved and
• Tore Bonge-Hansen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2156–2160, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.212

• decomposition of diazo compounds, are particularly versatile intermediates in organic synthesis, as they partake in cyclopropanation and C–H insertion reactions with high levels of selectivity [2]. This transition-metal-catalyzed carbene transfer has emerged as a mild and attractive route to indole

• carbene transfer reaction typically give N–H, C–H (at C3) and double N–H/C–H insertion products. The presence of electron-withdrawing groups on the indole nitrogen makes it possible to cyclopropanate the indole C2–C3 double bond and isolate indoline cyclopropanes. We recently discovered that Rh carbenes

• . These halo-acceptor carbenoids undergo cyclopropanation of N–H indoles with high selectivity, and only traces of C–H or N–H insertion products were observed. The yield of ethyl quinoline-3-carboxylate is dependent on the halogen in X-EDA (Cl: 90%, Br: 84%, I: 70%). The reaction works well for

Recent advances on the transition-metal-catalyzed synthesis of imidazopyridines: an updated coverage

• Gagandeep Kour Reen,
• Ashok Kumar and
• Pratibha Sharma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1612–1704, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.165

• 2-AP to Cu(OTf)2, forming an intermediate 7, that was followed by migratory insertion by haloalkyne (Scheme 4). The organocopper species 8 thus formed would undergo deprotonation/oxidation and finally reductive elimination to give the cyclized product 6 (Scheme 4). Along with the unprecedented

• Suzuki, Sonogashira and Heck coupling reactions (Scheme 48). The reaction proceeded by the formation of 1-iodoalkyne 142 which was characterized by mass and 1H NMR spetra. This iodoalkyne then formed a complex of Cu(I) with 2-AP. This was followed by migratory insertion of haloalkyne to form reactive Cu

Introduction of an isoxazoline unit to the β-position of porphyrin via regioselective 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction

• Xiujun Liu,
• Xiang Ma and
• Yaqing Feng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1434–1440, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.143

• Vilsmeier reaction was carried out after insertion of Cu2+ into the cavity of TPP. In the presence of concentrated H2SO4 the Cu2+ was removed to give the 2-formyl derivative TPP-CHO. Subsequently, the formyl group was reduced by NaBH4, accompanied with chlorination by SOCl2, to afford the chloromethyl

• the β-position, a Wittig reaction was performed, in which the porphyrin phosphonium salt 1 reacted with 4-MeCO2-benzaldehyde in the presence of DBU to furnish the double bond, followed by insertion of Zn ions into the porphyrin cavity to give compound 2. Nitrile oxides [45] as one of the most reactive

Synthesis of non-racemic 4-nitro-2-sulfonylbutan-1-ones via Ni(II)-catalyzed asymmetric Michael reaction of β-ketosulfones

• Alexander N. Reznikov,
• Anastasiya E. Sibiryakova,
• Marat R. Baimuratov,
• Eugene V. Golovin,
• Victor B. Rybakov and
• Yuri N. Klimochkin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1289–1297, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.127

• , which allows to obtain chiral cyclic sulfones with high enantioselectivity [10][11][12]. Also non-racemic cyclic sulfones can be obtained by the Diels–Alder reaction, catalyzed by chiral Lewis acids or organocatalysts. Rh- and Cu-catalyzed CH-insertion reactions occurring at moderate or high