Recent advances in total synthesis of illisimonin A

• Juan Huang and
• Ming Yang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2571–2583, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.199

• starting materials [32]. This synthesis features a pentafulvene-based intramolecular [6 + 2] cycloaddition [41][42] and a nitroso-Diels–Alder reaction [43] as key steps. The route began with the esterification of pentafulvenol 82 to give β-ketoester 83, which was subsequently converted to the sterically

Recent advances in Norrish–Yang cyclization and dicarbonyl photoredox reactions for natural product synthesis

• Peng-Xi Luo,
• Jin-Xuan Yang,
• Shao-Min Fu and
• Bo Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2315–2333, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.177

• bonds of 83 (Scheme 10). Building block 76 was first obtained in 18% overall yield from β-ketoester 74 through a sequence involving Michael addition, decarboxylation, nitrile hydration, and cyclization under vacuum. Aminoketal 81 – a direct precursor to the oxygen-sensitive α,β-unsaturated iminium 81a

Asymmetric total synthesis of tricyclic prostaglandin D2 metabolite methyl ester via oxidative radical cyclization

• Miao Xiao,
• Liuyang Pu,
• Qiaoli Shang,
• Lei Zhu and
• Jun Huang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1964–1972, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.152

• connection of C8 and C12 in compound 21 could be realized through a photoredox-catalyzed radical cyclization of unactivated alkene-substituted β-ketoester 27. This reaction was expected to involve a 5-exo-trig radical cyclization via transition state TS-3 [38], in which the diastereoselectivity could be

Catalytic asymmetric reactions of isocyanides for constructing non-central chirality

• Jia-Yu Liao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1648–1660, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.129

• between β-ketoester 30 and di-tert-butyl azodicarboxylate (31), and the corresponding product 32 was obtained in 99% yield with 88% ee. A plausible reaction mechanism was proposed for this CPA-catalyzed enantioselective Groebke–Blackburn–Bienaymé reaction. As illustrated in Scheme 5b, the imine

Formal synthesis of a selective estrogen receptor modulator with tetrahydrofluorenone structure using [3 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition of yne-vinylcyclopropanes and CO

• Jing Zhang,
• Guanyu Zhang,
• Hongxi Bai and
• Zhi-Xiang Yu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1639–1644, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.127

• is the retrosynthetic analysis for the key intermediate 1, which can reach the final compound VI via chlorination and demethylation [19]. Target molecule 1 can be accessed by decarboxylation reaction from compound 13, prepared by an intramolecular Heck reaction between the β-ketoester and the vinyl

• have been applied here. The first one is a [3 + 2 + 1] reaction of yne-VCP and CO to build the 6/5/6 skeleton in 20 mmol scale with 87% yield. The second one is a Heck reaction between the β-ketoester and the vinyl group (coming from the [3 + 2 + 1] reaction) to form the [3.2.1] ring, the D ring of the

Origami with small molecules: exploiting the C–F bond as a conformational tool

• Patrick Ryan,
• Ramsha Iftikhar and
• Luke Hunter

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 680–716, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.54

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

• ) are the key methodology to access valuable heterocycles for medicinal chemistry projects. The classical Biginelli reaction (1893) is an acid-catalyzed, three-component reaction between an aldehyde, β-ketoester, and urea that produces 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones, also known as DHPMs (Scheme 1A

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

• with similar yields. In 2006, Akita et al. used an intramolecular Knoevenagel–Claisen type condensation between a β-ketoester and an acetate residue to synthesize spiro-2H-furan-3-ones [24]. For instance, the intermediate orthoester 35 was obtained in 86% yield after a cyclization–carbonylation

Tetrabutylammonium iodide-catalyzed oxidative α-azidation of β-ketocarbonyl compounds using sodium azide

• Christopher Mairhofer,
• David Naderer and
• Mario Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1510–1517, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.135

• of the tert-butyl-containing β-ketoester 1a (Table 1 gives an overview of the most significant results obtained hereby). First experiments testing different oxidants in combination with Bu4NI (30 mol %) in 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE), a solvent that we found to be well-suited for oxidative α

• [31]. Not surprisingly, when we analyzed reactions shortly after the addition of all reagents we detected notable amounts of the α-iodinated β-ketoester 3 which then converted to the final product 2a over time. Furthermore, we also synthesized compound 3 independently (by reacting 1a with TBAI and

• straightforwardly. Furthermore, this procedure was also successfully extended to γ-butyrolactone-based products 7. Unfortunately, this methodology came to its limits when using tetralone-based β-ketoesters like compound 8, which resulted in a complex product mixture, or the acylic β-ketoester 9, which did not show

Bismuth(III) triflate: an economical and environmentally friendly catalyst for the Nazarov reaction

• Manoel T. Rodrigues Jr.,
• Aline S. B. de Oliveira,
• Ralph C. Gomes,
• Amanda Soares Hirata,
• Lucas A. Zeoly,
• Hugo Santos,
• João Arantes,
• Catarina Sofia Mateus Reis-Silva,
• João Agostinho Machado-Neto,
• Leticia Veras Costa-Lotufo and
• Fernando Coelho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1167–1178, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.99

• in moderate to good yields. With the β-ketoesters prepared, we began the synthesis of the Knoevenagel derivatives. To do so, we employed an adapted protocol from the literature. Using 1.00 equiv of β-ketoester, 1.50 equiv of aldehyde, 0.60 equiv of acetic acid, and 0.25 equiv of piperidine, the

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

• Indonesian sponge Haliclona sp. [108]. Their synthesis takes advantage of the same tandem procedure that gives β-ketoester 219. The asymmetric conjugate 1,4-addition and subsequent acylation provided good stereocontrol and the authors could revise the thus far incorrectly assigned configuration of the target

Vicinal ketoesters – key intermediates in the total synthesis of natural products

• Marc Paul Beller and
• Ulrich Koert

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1236–1248, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.129

• -tricarbonyl compound 108 to set two stereogenic centers and correct one via an intramolecular aldol addition (108 → 109; Scheme 18) [34]. The vic-tricarbonyl compound 108 was synthesized via DMDO oxidation from α-diazo-β-ketoester 107, which was easily accessible from 5-methoxy-4H-chromen-4-one (106). The

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

• reaction To a solution of the 1,3-diketone, β-ketoester, or β-ketoamide (0.5 mmol, 1 equiv) in methanol was added water, phenyl hydroximoyl chloride (1 equiv), and DIPEA (3 equiv) at room temperature (total volume of methanol and water = 15 mL; 95% water, 5% methanol). The reaction mixture was stirred for

Synthesis of 5-unsubstituted dihydropyrimidinone-4-carboxylates from deep eutectic mixtures

• Sangram Gore,
• Sundarababu Baskaran and
• Burkhard König

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 331–336, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.37

• -unsubstituted 3,4-dihydropyrimidinone-4-carboxylate derivatives by employing oxalacetic acid as a β-ketoester equivalent in the presence of TFA via a Biginelli reaction [23]. Lam and Fang reported the same synthesis under microwave conditions [24]. Very recently, Kambappa and co-workers reported a one-pot

• synthesis of 5-unsubstituted dihydropyrimidinone-4-carboxylate using gem-dibromomethylarene, oxalacetic acid, and urea [25]. Here the gem-dibromomethylarene moiety serves as an aldehyde equivalent. In addition, utilizing aromatic ketones as a β-ketoester equivalent, the synthesis of 5-unsubstituted DHPM

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

• -ketol rearrangement to 59. Note that this reaction took advantage of the thermodynamically preferred conversion of an α-ketoester to a β-ketoester seen in other examples in this review. Although not technically a tandem reaction due to the need to add a reagent to continue the cascade, the sequence of

Visible-light-mediated copper photocatalysis for organic syntheses

• Yajing Zhang,
• Qian Wang,
• Zongsheng Yan,
• Donglai Ma and
• Yuguang Zheng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2520–2542, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.169

• undergoes radical addition with the N-substituted maleimide (Scheme 25). In 2017, Wu and co-workers [94] reported the α-amino C−H functionalization of aromatic amines 51 with nucleophiles, including arynes or aromatic olefins 52, indoles, acyclic β-ketoester 53, and β-diketone 54 (Scheme 26). Mechanistic

Halides as versatile anions in asymmetric anion-binding organocatalysis

• Lukas Schifferer,
• Martin Stinglhamer,
• Kirandeep Kaur and
• Olga García Macheño

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2270–2286, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.145

• proton of the enolizable β-ketoester 49 and thus activating the nucleophilic species. This enolate then adds to the cationic substrate from in situ upon halide abstraction of α-chloro amino acid derivatives 48 by the thiourea moiety of the bifunctional catalyst (Scheme 10c, key intermediate), leading to

Synthesis of legonmycins A and B, C(7a)-hydroxylated bacterial pyrrolizidines

• Wilfred J. M. Lewis,
• David M. Shaw and
• Jeremy Robertson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 334–342, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.31

• of further C(7a)-hydroxylated bacterial pyrrolizidines and related molecules. Pyrrolizidine 14 (Scheme 1), the key intermediate in Snider’s improved route to jenamidine A and Bode’s preparation of pyrrolizixenamides A (9) and D (12), is formed by N-cyclization onto the nitrile group in cyano-β

• -ketoester 13. The appended ester functionality in 14 has, at some point, to be removed, as its presence complicates a potential application to the (2-methyl-substituted) legonmycins, and it exerts a potentially stabilizing electronic effect on pyrrolic intermediates that could be unhelpful in downstream

All-carbon [3 + 2] cycloaddition in natural product synthesis

• Zhuo Wang and
• Junyang Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 3015–3031, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.251

• -workers in 2014 [49] (Scheme 9A). The synthesis began with the conversion of ketone 112 into alcohol 113 in four steps, which involved a hypervalent iodine-mediated ring expansion [60]. A two-step synthesis from 113 gave epoxide 114. Epoxide 114 was converted to the corresponding β-ketoester and

One-pot multicomponent green Hantzsch synthesis of 1,2-dihydropyridine derivatives with antiproliferative activity

• Giovanna Bosica,
• Kaylie Demanuele,
• José M. Padrón and
• Adrián Puerta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2862–2869, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.235

• equivalents of the β-ketoester ethyl acetoacetate (2) with benzaldehyde (1a) and ammonia (Scheme 1) [11]. This procedure was later optimized over the years using different substrates by varying the β-ketoesters and aldehydes in order to prepare a larger array of 1,4-dihydropyridines (1,4-DHPs) [12]. In

Microwave-assisted synthesis of biologically relevant steroidal 17-exo-pyrazol-5'-ones from a norpregnene precursor by a side-chain elongation/heterocyclization sequence

• Gergő Mótyán,
• László Mérai,
• Márton Attila Kiss,
• Zsuzsanna Schelz,
• Izabella Sinka,
• István Zupkó and
• Éva Frank

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2589–2596, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.236

• -activated acylimidazole derivative was then converted to a β-ketoester containing a two carbon atom-elongated side chain than that of the starting material. A Knorr cyclization of the bifunctional 1,3-dicarbonyl compound with hydrazine and its monosubstituted derivatives in AcOH under microwave heating

• conditions led to the regioselective formation of 17-exo-heterocycles in good to excellent yields. The suppression of an acid-catalyzed thermal decarboxylation of the β-ketoester and thus a significant improvement in the yield of the desired heterocyclic products could be achieved by the preliminary

• preliminary results concerning the cancer selectivity of the selected agents. Results and Discussion Synthetic studies The steroidal β-ketoester precursor 4, suitable for the attempted heterocyclization reaction with hydrazines was synthesized from commercially available pregnenolone acetate (1) via a

Studies towards the synthesis of hyperireflexolide A

• G. Hari Mangeswara Rao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2106–2111, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.185

• in its tautomeric enol form 7, observed in the 1H NMR spectrum after column chromatographic purification (6 and 7 were not separated) as represented in Scheme 2 [33]. In order to check the feasibility of the alkylation reaction of γ-lactone-fused β-ketoester 6, initially a mixture of 6 and 7 was

• subjected to methylation using 1.1 equiv of K2CO3 in the presence of methyl iodide (MeI). The α-methylated β-ketoester 8 was obtained in good yield. In the 1H NMR, 8 showed a signal at 3.70 ppm as doublet for C-10 (ring junction) proton confirming the selective methylation at C-8. Further, installation of

• the methyl group at C-10 was achieved by treatment of 8 with 1.1 equiv of K2CO3 in the presence of MeI to give bis-methylated γ-lactone-fused β-ketoester 9 in 72% yield (Scheme 3). These results demonstrated that regioselective alkylation at the two sites were possible. Notably, one diastereomeric

A survey of chiral hypervalent iodine reagents in asymmetric synthesis

• Soumen Ghosh,
• Suman Pradhan and
• Indranil Chatterjee

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 1244–1262, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.107

• more effective chiral iodonium salts 16 which were used for the α-arylation of β-ketoester 86 to deliver α-arylated β-ketoesters 87 with moderate enantioselectivity (Scheme 17) [63]. This was the first example of an asymmetric α-arylation of β-ketoesters using hypervalent iodine reagents. A more

Synthesis of pyrazolopyrimidinones using a “one-pot” approach under microwave irradiation

• Mark Kelada,
• John M. D. Walsh,
• Robert W. Devine,
• Patrick McArdle and
• John C. Stephens

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 1222–1228, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.104

• reaction conditions were chosen to match the already developed microwave-assisted synthesis of the 5-aminopyrazoles. A solution of the β-ketonitrile in methanol was treated with hydrazine and heated to 150 °C under microwave irradiation for 5 min. The β-ketoester and acetic acid were then simply added to

• conventional heating. When a mixture of previously isolated 5-aminopyrazole 2a, β-ketoester, and acetic acid were heated under conventional refluxing conditions for 18 h, the product pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidinone 3a could only be isolated in a 25% yield. As expected, heating the reaction mixture for 2 h at

• reflux gave a lower isolated yield of 11%. A one-pot procedure under conventional refluxing conditions was also carried out in direct comparison with the microwave method, i.e., a solution of the β-ketonitrile in methanol was treated with hydrazine and refluxed for 5 min. The β-ketoester and acetic acid

Reagent-controlled regiodivergent intermolecular cyclization of 2-aminobenzothiazoles with β-ketoesters and β-ketoamides

• Irwan Iskandar Roslan,
• Kian-Hong Ng,
• Gaik-Khuan Chuah and
• Stephan Jaenicke

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 2739–2750, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.270

• and amides have been developed, controlled by the reagents employed. With the Brønsted base KOt-Bu and CBrCl3 as radical initiator, benzo[d]imidazo[2,1-b]thiazoles are synthesized via attack at the α-carbon and keto carbon of the β-ketoester moiety. In contrast, switching to the Lewis acid catalyst

• ). However, only trace amounts of 3i were obtained for 2-aminobenzothiazoles bearing the strongly electron-withdrawing CF3 group. It was encouraging to see both that the benzoxazole and thiazole derivatives reacted well with their respective β-ketoester coupling partners to form 3j and 3k with 84% and 92