Silica gel and microwave-promoted synthesis of dihydropyrrolizines and tetrahydroindolizines from enaminones

• Robin Klintworth,
• Garreth L. Morgans,
• Stefania M. Scalzullo,
• Charles B. de Koning,
• Willem A. L. van Otterlo and
• Joseph P. Michael

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2543–2552, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.170

• , Stellenbosch University, Matieland 7602, Stellenbosch, South Africa 10.3762/bjoc.17.170 Abstract A wide range of N-(ethoxycarbonylmethyl)enaminones, prepared by the Eschenmoser sulfide contraction between N-(ethoxycarbonylmethyl)pyrrolidine-2-thione and various bromomethyl aryl and heteroaryl ketones

• well as tert-butyl as precursors for the silica gel-mediated cyclization reaction to form pyrrolizine products. The bromomethyl ketones required for the initial sulfide contraction were either purchased from commercial suppliers or prepared from the corresponding methyl ketones by reported procedures

Recent advances in the tandem annulation of 1,3-enynes to functionalized pyridine and pyrrole derivatives

• Yi Liu,
• Puying Luo,
• Yang Fu,
• Tianxin Hao,
• Xuan Liu,
• Qiuping Ding and
• Yiyuan Peng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2462–2476, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.163

• necessary for this transformation. Recently, copper hydride (CuH) catalysis has been a wonderful procedure for olefin hydrofunctionalization via the formation of nucleophilic alkylcopper intermediate. In 2016, Buchwald and co-workers described a CuH-catalyzed asymmetric addition of olefin to ketones [65

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

• had also performed experiments with different isoprenoid derivatives (carboxylic acid, ketones alcohols, and keto esters) to form different bicyclic products (Scheme 19). A Hg(II)-salt-promoted cyclization of amidal 56 was performed to synthesize optically active cyclic alanine derivatives 57 as 1:1

Photoredox catalysis in nickel-catalyzed C–H functionalization

• Lusina Mantry,
• Rajaram Maayuri,
• Vikash Kumar and
• Parthasarathy Gandeepan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2209–2259, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.143

• radical source via a nickel/photoredox-catalyzed HAT processes (Scheme 28) [92]. The method was also compatible with other chlorine-containing electrophiles such as acyl chlorides 45 to afford methyl ketones 47 in moderate yields. Based on the detailed mechanistic studies, the authors proposed a catalytic

•  41) [124]. Here, dimethyl dicarbonate (DMDC) was the choice of activator to convert the carboxylic acid to a mixed anhydride in situ. In this protocol, the bisoxazoline-based chiral ligand 83 enabled the synthesis of α-amino ketones in high enantioselectivities under mild reaction conditions. Good

• photoredox nickel catalysis was demonstrated by Rueping in 2020 (Scheme 43) [126]. Using substituted benzophenone 4-benzoylphenyl acetate as the photocatalyst, a variety of substituted methylbenzenes 25 were transformed into unsymmetrical ketones 79 under visible light irradiation. Both aromatic and

Recent advances in the syntheses of anthracene derivatives

• Giovanni S. Baviera and
• Paulo M. Donate

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2028–2050, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.131

• prepared substituted anthracenes 77, bearing phenyl, methyl, chloro, or methoxy groups, such as 77a–c in excellent yields (94–96%) by treating the corresponding 2-benzylic aromatic aldehydes/ketones 76 with a catalytic amount of In(OTf)3 (Scheme 18) [51]. In addition, the authors explored this methodology

• aromatic ketones (Scheme 27) [61]. The authors coupled acetophenone derivatives 116 and 1,4-benzenediboronates 117 at a 2:1 ratio, to obtain p-terphenyl derivatives 118. In the second step, the conversion of the acetyl group of compounds 118 to an ethynyl group afforded diethynylterphenyls 119. In the last

• agent. One-pot procedure to synthesize substituted 9,10-dicyanoanthracenes. Reduction of bromoanthraquinones with NaBH4 in alkaline medium. In(III)-catalyzed reductive-dehydration intramolecular cycloaromatization of 2-benzylic aromatic aldehydes/ketones. Acid-catalyzed cyclization of new O-protected

Asymmetric organocatalyzed synthesis of coumarin derivatives

• Natália M. Moreira,
• Lorena S. R. Martelli and
• Arlene G. Corrêa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1952–1980, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.128

• enantioselective Michael addition of ketones 20 to 3-aroylcoumarins 19 [38]. For this transformation, the authors used a cinchona alkaloid-derived primary amine catalyst 22 (Scheme 6a). The study was performed with cyclic and acyclic ketones 20 and various 3-aroylcoumarins 19 and the desired products 21 were

• was synthesized by Kumagai et al. and applied in the Michael addition of 4-hydroxycoumarin 1 with α,β-unsaturated ketones 2 [42]. This chiral primary amino amide organocatalyst 32 afforded the desired products 3, including warfarin (3a) in 86% yield, although in moderate enantioselectivity (up to 56

• % ee) (Scheme 10). A catalytic asymmetric β-C−H functionalization of ketones 33 with 4-hydroxycoumarins 1 was developed by Zhu et al. [43]. The enamine, formed via reaction of the aminocatalyst 35 with the ketone, is oxidased by IBX resulting in the electrophilic imine, which in turn undergoes a

On the application of 3d metals for C–H activation toward bioactive compounds: The key step for the synthesis of silver bullets

• Renato L. Carvalho,
• Amanda S. de Miranda,
• Mateus P. Nunes,
• Roberto S. Gomes,
• Guilherme A. M. Jardim and
• Eufrânio N. da Silva Júnior

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1849–1938, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.126

• numbers. The V(II) and V(V) species are reducing and oxidizing agents, respectively, whereas V(IV) is often encountered, mainly in the form of dioxovanadium ion VO2+ center [76]. Vanadium-based compounds have been reported to mediate the oxidation of alkanes to alcohols and ketones [76]. The reactions are

• heterogeneous vanadium-based catalysts have been employed to obtain alcohols and carbonyl compounds through oxidation, including VOSO4, Na(VO3), VO(acac)2, VOX3, among others. Obtaining ketones and aldehydes from hydrocarbon compounds through vanadium-mediated activation of C(sp3)–H bonds in a benzylic position

• derivatives. Using H2O2 as an oxidant agent, ketones and aldehydes were obtained from hydrocarbons with high yields (85–99%, Scheme 9B and 9C). Although the authors did not explore the biological effects of the obtained products, this class of molecules resembles the basic structure of several important

Development of N-F fluorinating agents and their fluorinations: Historical perspective

• Teruo Umemoto,
• Yuhao Yang and
• Gerald B. Hammond

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1752–1813, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.123

• malonates and Grignard reagents were largely improved to up to 81% and 50%, respectively. The carbanions of aromatics, ketones, nitroalkanes, amides, etc. could also be reasonably well fluorinated and this study showed great progress. However, although these fluorinating agents were stable and easy-to

•  30). NFSI is a stable and non-hygroscopic crystalline solid with a mp of 114–116 °C. NFSI was shown to fluorinate a variety of nucleophiles. As seen in Scheme 31, trimethylsilyl enol ethers, enolate anions of ketones and esters, and aryl- and vinyllithiums were fluorinated with NFSI in moderate to

• preparation of NFTh, a white solid that decomposes at 125 °C. The fluorination scope of NFTh is shown in Scheme 43 [79][80]. NFTh reacted with aromatics, enols, ketones, activated olefins, and substrates with active methylene groups to produce the corresponding fluorinated products in good to high yields

Cerium-photocatalyzed aerobic oxidation of benzylic alcohols to aldehydes and ketones

• Girish Suresh Yedase,
• Sumit Kumar,
• Jessica Stahl,
• Burkhard König and
• Veera Reddy Yatham

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1727–1732, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.121

• , Universitätstraße 31, D-93053 Regensburg, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.17.121 Abstract We have developed a cerium-photocatalyzed aerobic oxidation of primary and secondary benzylic alcohols to aldehydes and ketones using inexpensive CeCl3·7H2O as photocatalyst and air oxygen as the terminal oxidant. Keywords: alcohol

• ; aldehydes; cerium; oxidation; ketones; visible light; Introduction The selective oxidation of alcohols to carbonyl compounds [1][2] is an important process for producing a wide range of value-added fine chemicals [3][4][5][6]. In the traditional oxidation process stoichiometric amounts of oxidants such as

• herein report a mild aerobic photocatalytic oxidation of benzylic alcohols to aldehydes and ketones using 10 mol % CeCl3·7H2O (Scheme 1). Results and Discussion A variety of reaction parameters was tested during the optimization of the reaction with 4-iodobenzyl alcohol (1a) as the model substrate and

Volatile emission and biosynthesis in endophytic fungi colonizing black poplar leaves

• Christin Walther,
• Pamela Baumann,
• Katrin Luck,
• Beate Rothe,
• Peter H. W. Biedermann,
• Jonathan Gershenzon,
• Tobias G. Köllner and
• Sybille B. Unsicker

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1698–1711, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.118

• blends of these endophytes grown on agar medium consist of typical fungal compounds, including aliphatic alcohols, ketones and esters, the aromatic alcohol 2-phenylethanol and various sesquiterpenes. Some of the compounds were previously reported as constituents of the poplar volatile blend. For one

• ]. Endophytic fungi themselves can produce VOCs. Currently, around 300 fungal VOCs have been characterized, including aliphatic alcohols, ketones, aldehydes, acids and esters, terpenoids, benzenoids, naphthalene derivatives, and cycloalkanes [25][26][27]. Endophytic fungal VOCs are frequently described to

A recent overview on the synthesis of 1,4,5-trisubstituted 1,2,3-triazoles

• Pezhman Shiri,
• Ali Mohammad Amani and
• Thomas Mayer-Gall

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1600–1628, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.114

• -containing 1,2,3-triazole derivatives 30 from the reaction of glycosyl azides 28 with enolates of active ketones and esters 29 in the presence of DBU in DMF at 70 °C (Scheme 12) [43]. Diverse monosaccharide and disaccharide azides were successfully reacted with a variety of enolates of active ketones and

• via intramolecular cyclization reaction of ketones 31, p-nitrophenyl azide (PNA, 32) and amino esters 33 has been described by Dehaen et al. The products were often obtained in good yield and in all cases with the retention of the configuration of the stereocenter. The reaction was carried out by

• employing a variety of amino esters and a wide range of (hetero)aromatic and alkyl ketones. Natural products, such as 5α-cholestan-3-one and dihydrotestosterone, were also tolerated, affording a new strategy to modify biologically active compounds. Amino acids, such as tyrosine, ʟ-Phe-ʟ-Phe, glutamic acid

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

• nucleophilic attack on the metal-complexed olefin (see Scheme 3, intermediate A). Taking advantage of HCl as an additive (or generated in situ by silyl chloride hydrolysis), Widenhoefer described the intramolecular hydroalkylation of even less reactive alkenyl ketones 4 under Pd(II) catalysis, with minor

• ), and notably, hydroalkylation products were produced from α-aryl ketones, from more acidic substrates like 4a, and from α-alkyl ketones, including the less activated methyl ketone 4c. Examples of intermolecular hydroalkylations of olefins using Pd were much scarcer than their intramolecular

• promote the enolization of carbonyl compounds [43] allowed the use of simple ketones as substrates in the intramolecular hydroalkylation of olefins. As discussed before, these are problematic substrates because of the low equilibrium constant between the keto and enol forms. Che’s group used [IPrAuCl

Iodine-catalyzed electrophilic substitution of indoles: Synthesis of (un)symmetrical diindolylmethanes with a quaternary carbon center

• Thanigaimalai Pillaiyar,
• Masoud Sedaghati,
• Andhika B. Mahardhika,
• Lukas L. Wendt and
• Christa E. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1464–1475, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.102

• derivatives have recently received increasing attention from synthetic organic chemists, biologists, and pharmacologists. In general, DIMs can be synthesized via electrophilic substitution of indoles by aldehydes or ketones in the presence of conventional Lewis or Brønsted acids as catalysts [19]. This

Fritsch–Buttenberg–Wiechell rearrangement of magnesium alkylidene carbenoids leading to the formation of alkynes

• Tsutomu Kimura,
• Koto Sekiguchi,
• Akane Ando and
• Aki Imafuji

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1352–1359, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.94

• with these methods, the use of butyllithium for the generation of lithium alkylidene carbenoids limits the range of usable substrates in the Corey–Fuchs method, and the Ohira–Bestmann method cannot be applied to the synthesis of internal alkynes from ketones [3]. Magnesium alkylidene carbenoids 3 are

Icilio Guareschi and his amazing “1897 reaction”

• Gian Cesare Tron,
• Alberto Minassi,
• Giovanni Sorba,
• Mara Fausone and
• Giovanni Appendino

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1335–1351, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.93

• literature. To avoid the formation of two isomers, the reaction is generally carried out with β-ketoesters, α,γ-dicarbonyl esters, β-ketoaldehydes, or in later modifications acetylenic ketones [47][48]. The reaction was used for the 1939 commercial synthesis of pyridoxine (vitamin B6) [2], the first

• Guareschi imides, which, under the original protocol, is limited to ketones as the carbonyl component. When aldehydes are used, the adduct is aromatized to the corresponding 2-hydroxypyridone [50][51]. Finally, a modification of the type-IV Guareschi reaction that involves the condensation of two moles of

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

• method was applied on different aldehydes and ketones obtaining moderate-good yields (38–84%). The results obtained for aldehydes 39 and 56 are low as partial dehydration occurs. It was noticed that by reducing the quantity of catalyst less dehydrated product was observed. A similar approach in aqueous

• effect highly selective aldol reactions of simple ketones and aromatic aldehydes in flow [106]. Photoinduced thiol–ene coupling was used to tether the catalyst onto silica particles, yielding an easily handled powder which was packed into a short stainless steel column (Scheme 8). The resultant packed

• F&F industry (Scheme 26). The transformation is generally used to form α,β-unsaturated acids or nitriles from condensation with aldehydes or ketones [146][147][148][149][150][151], however, there are also some examples where cyclic or tetra-substituted olefins are formed [152][153]. The high

N-tert-Butanesulfinyl imines in the asymmetric synthesis of nitrogen-containing heterocycles

• Joseane A. Mendes,
• Paulo R. R. Costa,
• Miguel Yus,
• Francisco Foubelo and
• Camilla D. Buarque

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1096–1140, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.86

• from the condensation reaction of aldehydes or ketones with tert-butanesulfinamides. In this work, the condensation with aldehydes was carried using Ti(OEt)4 in tetrahydrofuran (THF), or CuSO4 in dichloromethane at room temperature. The combination of MgSO4 in the presence of a catalytic amount of

• was the only effective reagent when performing the reaction at 60 °C in THF [16]. Ketimines were also synthesized with Ti(OEt)4, under microwave irradiation in a solvent-free system [20]. In hindered ketones, Ti(OiPr)4 or Ti(OEt)4 using vacuum or under a nitrogen flow were effective to tert

• (Scheme 33) [122]. The group of Prasad reported the diastereoselective synthesis of β-amino ketone derivatives from N-tert-butanesulfinyl imines and silyl enol ethers of aryl methyl ketone [123]. The synthetic interest in β-amino ketones was exemplified in the synthesis of alkaloid (+)-sedamine (125

Recent advances in palladium-catalysed asymmetric 1,4–additions of arylboronic acids to conjugated enones and chromones

• Jan Bartáček,
• Jan Svoboda,
• Martin Kocúrik,
• Jaroslav Pochobradský,
• Alexander Čegan,
• Miloš Sedlák and
• Jiří Váňa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1048–1085, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.84

• the enantioselective β-arylation of cyclic ketones is known [38]. In 2017, Hu et al. presented the possibility of an enantioselective β-arylation of cyclohexanone using the above mentioned ligand L2. Cyclohexanone was in situ oxidized by 2-iodoxybenzoic acid (IBX) to 2-cyclohexenone, that subsequently

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

• of aldehydes or ketones in the presence of acid (Scheme 2) [25]. Although the Kriewitz reaction was an ene reaction, the mechanism of the reaction was described to proceed via an oxocarbenium ion intermediate captured by a π-nucleophile, followed by the addition of an external nucleophile, leading to

Kinetics of enzyme-catalysed desymmetrisation of prochiral substrates: product enantiomeric excess is not always constant

• Peter J. Halling

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 873–884, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.73

• are the reduction of prochiral ketones to chiral secondary alcohols, transamination of prochiral ketones to chiral amines, hydrolysis of symmetrical diesters to a chiral monoester, and esterification of prochiral diacids or diols. In desymmetrisation reactions, the enzyme initially produces the two

• the kinetic model expected for most dehydrogenases and ketoreductases carrying out reduction of prochiral ketones. In such reactions it is usual to recycle the co-substrate, usually NADH or NADPH. To give an idea of the behaviour under co-substrate (cofactor) recycling, the reaction progress was

• reduction of simple ketones by NADH at pH around 7.5 [35]. Effect of the initial starting material concentration and enzyme E value for “ordered, second” kinetics. D = 0.00333 M, Q = 0.00167 M, Keq = 5, E = 39, KMD = 0.001 M, KMS = 0.001 M, k4 = 1000 s−1, SCRf/b = 1, k3R/k4 = 1, k3R/(E · k3S) = 1, k−4/k1

Microwave-assisted multicomponent reactions in heterocyclic chemistry and mechanistic aspects

• Shivani Gulati,
• Stephy Elza John and
• Nagula Shankaraiah

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 819–865, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.71

• to the synthesis of thiopyranopyrimidines 101 with regiospecific positioning of the benzyl group at 8-position as presented in Scheme 38. Simple filtration affords the desired products with purity. A plausible mechanism suggests the formation of 2,6-dibenzylidene heterocyclic ketones A by the

• condensation of aromatic aldehydes and heterocyclic ketones followed by a [3 + 3] cycloaddition between A and amidine giving off the intermediate B, which undergoes 1,5-hydrogen transfer followed by 1,3-hydrogen transfer to give the final products (101, Scheme 39). 6.2.4 Imidazo(1,2-a)pyrimidine: The

• the microwave-assisted synthesis of steroidal pyridines 123 utilizing steroidal ketones 122, aldehydes 5, malononitrile (51)/methyl cyanoacetate and ammonium acetate as structural units and MgO nanoparticles as a catalyst in ethanol solvent. The reaction proceeded even in absence of a catalyst but

α,γ-Dioxygenated amides via tandem Brook rearrangement/radical oxygenation reactions and their application to syntheses of γ-lactams

• Mikhail K. Klychnikov,
• Radek Pohl,
• Ivana Císařová and
• Ullrich Jahn

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 688–704, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.58

• isomerized ketones trans-12b–d this leads essentially to single keto lactams 13b–d (Table 5, entries 1, 3, and 4). The non-equilibrated ketones can also be used as exemplified for 12b providing an unchanged 2.5:1 trans/cis diastereomeric mixture (Table 5, entry 2, cf. Table 3, entry 2). The trans and cis

Valorisation of plastic waste via metal-catalysed depolymerisation

• Francesca Liguori,
• Carmen Moreno-Marrodán and
• Pierluigi Barbaro

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 589–621, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.53

Synthesis of (Z)-3-[amino(phenyl)methylidene]-1,3-dihydro-2H-indol-2-ones using an Eschenmoser coupling reaction

• Lukáš Marek,
• Lukáš Kolman,
• Jiří Váňa,
• Jan Svoboda and
• Jiří Hanusek

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 527–539, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.47

• ). Alternative electrophilic components for the Eschenmoser coupling reaction The Eschenmoser coupling reaction [36][37] usually starts from α-substituted ketones, esters, malonates, or nitriles. The group in the α-position must be a good leaving group enabling a facile nucleophilic substitution giving the α

The synthesis of chiral β-naphthyl-β-sulfanyl ketones via enantioselective sulfa-Michael reaction in the presence of a bifunctional cinchona/sulfonamide organocatalyst

• Deniz Tözendemir and
• Cihangir Tanyeli

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 494–503, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.43

• synthetic organic chemistry [22]. Thus, the SMA with thiols and α,β-unsaturated ketones are generally carried out at low temperatures and with high catalyst loading [23][24][25][26]. The studies that employ mild conditions and low catalyst loading use thiophenol derivatives or simple alkylthiols as

• a low (1 mol %) catalyst loading, to obtain enantiomerically enriched β-naphthyl-β-sulfanyl ketones with up to 96% ee. The target adducts are the core structure of seco-raloxifene derivatives, which are potent anti-breast cancer agents [32]. In addition, the same scaffold has also shown urease

• inhibitor activity [33]. Due to the shown biological attractiveness of those 1,3-biarylsulfanyl derivatives, the enantioenriched products can serve as important building blocks for new drugs. The sulfide moiety of β-naphthyl-β-sulfanyl ketones can be oxidized to form sulfones. Despite that sulfones were