Synthesis and photoinduced switching properties of C₇-heteroatom containing push–pull norbornadiene derivatives

• Daniel Krappmann and
• Andreas Hirsch

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 807–816, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.64

• . Starting with 1-((bromoethynyl)sulfonyl)-4-methylbenzene, which was previously prepared and characterized [40][41], Diels–Alder reaction with either cyclopentadiene, furan or Boc-protected pyrrol, resulted in the NBD precursors C-NBD1, O-NBD1 and N-NBD1, respectively [31][42]. With these precursors in hand

• were observed. However, purification was not possible. Furthermore, an alternative commonly used synthetic strategy involving the Diels–Alder reaction of a pre-functionalized push–pull acetylene with furan or pyrrol derivatives proved unsuccessful [4][43]. All synthesized NBD derivatives were

Synthesis of HBC fluorophores with an electrophilic handle for covalent attachment to Pepper RNA

• Raphael Bereiter and
• Ronald Micura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 727–735, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.56

• intention was to provide an RNA pulldown tool where the RNA of interest tagged with the Pepper aptamer becomes covalently attached to the fluorophore, which in turn can be biotinylated via a catalyst-free inverse-electron-demand Diels–Alder reaction (IEDDA) [11]. Thereby, the entire process is easily

Semisynthetic derivatives of massarilactone D with cytotoxic and nematicidal activities

• Rémy B. Teponno,
• Sara R. Noumeur and
• Marc Stadler

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 607–615, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.48

• oxa-Diels–Alder reaction between two methacryloyl chloride molecules could have taken place to yield 6-chloro-3,4-dihydro-2,5-dimethyl-2H-pyran-2-carbonyl chloride as previously described [18] before esterification of the hydroxy group at C-7. Compounds 3 (6% yield) and 4 (90% yield) were obtained

Formaldehyde surrogates in multicomponent reactions

• Cecilia I. Attorresi,
• Javier A. Ramírez and
• Bernhard Westermann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 564–595, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.45

• such as an aza-Prins cyclization [23] and aza-Diels–Alder reaction [24], where MMS serves as direct source of the methylene (-CH2-) group (Scheme 5b). In both cases, the resulting reactive species (MMS or formaldehyde) can participate as electrophilic component in several MCRs as C1 building block

• –Alder reaction between an imine and an alkene (Scheme 6). Very successfully, the multicomponent version of the Povarov reaction using aldehydes, anilines, and alkenes has been explored in a three-component cascade reaction to quinolines [28][29][30][31] (Scheme 6). Furthermore, protocols have been

• this context, quinoline and its derivatives are privileged structures in several natural products and biologically active compounds, rendering this scaffold an important synthetic target. An attractive strategy to afford tetrahydroquinolines and quinolines is the Povarov reaction, a type of aza-Diels

New tandem Ugi/intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction based on vinylfuran and 1,3-butadienylfuran derivatives

• Yuriy I. Horak,
• Roman Z. Lytvyn,
• Andrii R. Vakhula,
• Yuriy V. Homza,
• Nazariy T. Pokhodylo and
• Mykola D. Obushak

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 444–450, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.31

• yields. The studied tandem Ugi and intramolecular Diels–Alder reactions allow high substituent variation in the named isoindoles. Keywords: 1,3-butadienylfuran; furo[2,3-f]isoindole; intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction; isoindole; one-pot; Ugi reaction; vinylfuran; Introduction Energy-saving and

• present work, the new tandem sequence involving an Ugi reaction and Diels–Alder [4 + 2] cycloaddition based on vinylfuran, 1,3-butadienylfuran derivatives was designed and studied. Results and Discussion To carry out an intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction, we tested (E)-3-(furan-2-yl)acrylaldehyde (1a) in

• agree with our previous results on tandem acylation/Diels–Alder reactions [31][32][33] and lead us to conclude that the final Diels–Alder reaction products are formed as the exo-adducts. Moreover, since we do not observe other stereoisomers we speculate that the Ugi and Diels–Alder reactions occur under

Red light excitation: illuminating photocatalysis in a new spectrum

• Lucas Fortier,
• Corentin Lefebvre and
• Norbert Hoffmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 296–326, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.22

• formed. This reaction only occurs close to the photocatalyst or sensitizer fixed at the intracellular target, for example at tubulin. An intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction followed by nitrogen extrusion

Three-component reactions of conjugated dienes, CH acids and formaldehyde under diffusion mixing conditions

• Dmitry E. Shybanov,
• Maxim E. Kukushkin,
• Eugene V. Babaev,
• Nikolai V. Zyk and
• Elena K. Beloglazkina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 262–269, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.18

• adducts of the Diels–Alder (i.e., I) and the hetero-Diels–Alder reaction (i.e., II), or adducts resulting from the addition of a second equivalent of CH acid to the crotonic condensation product (i.e., III). Apparently ʟ-proline played an essential role as catalyst in this three-component reaction. Using

• and 8, the reaction also produced hetero-Diels–Alder reaction adducts 6 and 9. For these, CH–O 1H NMR signals in the region of 4.9–5.4 ppm were characteristic. It is worth noting that the individual isolated compounds 8 and particularly 9 were unstable when stored in solution, and boiling adduct 8 or

• participation of the C=C bond. Apparently, the ratio of the adducts of the Diels–Alder (i.e., I) and the hetero-Diels–Alder reaction (i.e., II) was strongly influenced by steric factors; a decreased steric hindrance in the initial CH acid derivatives led to a more selective formation of the structures I. This

Cu(OTf)₂-catalyzed multicomponent reactions

• Sara Colombo,
• Camilla Loro,
• Egle M. Beccalli,
• Gianluigi Broggini and
• Marta Papis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 122–145, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.7

• is plausible to assume as the key step for ring formation an aza-Diels–Alder reaction between the alkyne and the imine generated by dehydration between the aldehyde and aniline. The catalyst promotes the formation of the imine XI, while the high regioselectivity is ascribable to the favored

Non-covalent organocatalyzed enantioselective cyclization reactions of α,β-unsaturated imines

• Sergio Torres-Oya and
• Mercedes Zurro

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3221–3255, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.268

• imines; asymmetric organocatalysis; cyclization; N-heterocycles; inverse electron demand aza-Diels–Alder reaction; Introduction Nitrogen-containing heterocycles are abundant scaffolds present in natural products, biologically active compounds, pharmaceuticals, synthetic agrochemicals, and functional

• , they can be attacked by a nucleophile and undergo a 1,2-addition or conjugate addition leading to the production of allylic amines or aliphatic imines, respectively. They can also behave as C4 synthons in cycloaddition reactions such as the aza-Diels–Alder reaction, giving access to nitrogen-containing

• construction of carbon–carbon bonds [5][6][7][8][9][10]. The hetero-Diels–Alder reaction is therefore an attractive strategy for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. It involves the reaction of dienes or dienophiles which possess a heteroatom in their structure. In this reaction, the HOMO of the diene and

Germanyl triazoles as a platform for CuAAC diversification and chemoselective orthogonal cross-coupling

• John M. Halford-McGuff,
• Thomas M. Richardson,
• Aidan P. McKay,
• Frederik Peschke,
• Glenn A. Burley and
• Allan J. B. Watson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3198–3204, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.265

• established as a powerful approach for molecule synthesis. Strategies within click chemistry include several widely used reactions such as the (hetero-)Diels–Alder reaction [1][2], alkene hydrothiolation [3], and an array of amide-bond-forming chemistries [4]. However, by virtue of the access to alkyne and

Advances in the use of metal-free tetrapyrrolic macrocycles as catalysts

• Mandeep K. Chahal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3085–3112, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.257

• hetero-Diels–Alder reaction of Danishefsky's diene 6 with p-nitrobenzaldehyde (7, Figure 2). The reaction can provide three products depending on the reaction conditions; either a Mukaiyama aldol (8) or products of Diels–Alder cycloaddition (9 and 10). Out of the three screened catalysts, only calix[4

• catalysis of Diels–Alder reaction in aqueous environment catalyzed by TPPS3 53 supramolecular aggregates [67]. The Diels–Alder reaction between cinnamaldehyde (55) and cyclopentadiene (56) proceeds via iminium activation by the zwitterionic hetero-aggregates derived from TPPS3 molecules 53 and a cyclic

• interactions between phenyl groups and cyclopentadiene. Due to the presence of both types of moieties on the aggregate surface, the two reacting species can get into proximity and form the desired product (Figure 10b). Later, an analogous system was used for catalysis of an asymmetrical Diels–Alder reaction

Improved deconvolution of natural products’ protein targets using diagnostic ions from chemical proteomics linkers

• Andreas Wiest and
• Pavel Kielkowski

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2323–2341, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.199

• bearing an affinity or reporter tag. To carry out this bioorthogonal reaction well-known chemistries were developed including traceless Staudinger ligation, Cu-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), strain-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC), inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder reaction

Catalysing (organo-)catalysis: Trends in the application of machine learning to enantioselective organocatalysis

• Stefan P. Schmid,
• Leon Schlosser,
• Frank Glorius and
• Kjell Jorner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2280–2304, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.196

Natural resorcylic lactones derived from alternariol

• Joachim Podlech

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2171–2207, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.187

1,2-Difluoroethylene (HFO-1132): synthesis and chemistry

• Liubov V. Sokolenko,
• Taras M. Sokolenko and
• Yurii L. Yagupolskii

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1955–1966, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.171

• -phase photolysis at −80 °C from 1,2-difluoroethylene and diazomethane (Scheme 19). Unfortunately, the product yield was not reported. Diels–Alder reaction of (E)- and (Z)-1,2-difluoroethylenes with hexachlorocyclopentadiene was studied by Ihrid and Smith [99]. It was shown that (Z)-1,2-difluoroethylene

• -difluoroethylene. Cyclopropanation of 1,2-difluoroethylene. Diels–Alder reaction of 1,2-difluoroethylene and hexachlorocyclopentadiene. Cycloaddition reaction of 1,2-difluoroethylene and fluorinated ketones. Cycloaddition reaction of 1,2-difluoroethylene and perfluorinated aldehydes. Photochemical cycloaddition of

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

• microwaved, a Diels–Alder reaction occurred, yielding the spiro product 41. The reaction conditions were also applied to 17-ethynyl-17-hydroxysteroids derived from mestranol and desogestrel obtaining similar results. The one-pot RCEYM/Diels–Alder reaction was only applied to mestranol and lynestrenol

Chemo-enzymatic total synthesis: current approaches toward the integration of chemical and enzymatic transformations

• Ryo Tanifuji and
• Hiroki Oguri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1693–1712, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.151

• /ketalization cascades of generated (S)-34 proceeded predominantly, achieving the chemoenzymatic total synthesis of trichodimerol (2) in 27% yield from 33. In contrast, the use of acetone as the co-solvent resulted in the homodimerization of (S)-34 via Diels–Alder reaction between the cyclohexadienone moieties

• , allowing the total synthesis of bisorbicillinol (37). Meanwhile, treatment of the resulting (S)-34 under harsher conditions, such as reflux in pyridine, resulted in a distinct intermolecular Diels–Alder reaction between the cyclohexadienone moiety and the side chain of (S)-34 enabling the first total

• diversity, the research group achieved the synthesis of various dearomatized compounds, and the total synthesis of a member of the sorbicillinoid family. Enantioselective intermolecular Diels–Alder reaction to assemble core scaffolds: chalcomoracin and kuwanons Chalcomoracin (3) and kuwanons bearing a

Sustainable tandem acylation/Diels–Alder reaction toward versatile tricyclic epoxyisoindole-7-carboxylic acids in renewable green solvents

• Ayhan Yıldırım

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1308–1319, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.114

• reaction, the acylation is followed by an intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction and the amide intermediate (a sample compound has been previously isolated and fully characterized as a result of detailed studies) is in equilibrium with the final product at room temperature in polar solvents such as DMSO

• prediction that their resources will run out in the near future has led 'green chemists' to explore solvents that can be derived from renewable resources and used effectively in various organic transformations. In this context, we have shown for the first time that the 100% atom-economical tandem Diels–Alder

• Diels–Alder reactions and can be used repeatedly without significant degradation. These materials also allow the reaction to be completed in less time, with less energy consumption and higher yields. Keywords: biobased solvent; epoxyisoindoles; furanics; green chemistry; intramolecular Diels–Alder

A Diels–Alder probe for discovery of natural products containing furan moieties

• Alyssa S. Eggly,
• Namuunzul Otgontseren,
• Carson B. Roberts,
• Amir Y. Alwali,
• Haylie E. Hennigan and
• Elizabeth I. Parkinson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1001–1010, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.88

• products, methylenomycin furan (MMF) hormones, and MMF derivatives. Moreover, the molecular probe has been tested in crude supernatants of various Streptomyces strains and enables identification of MMFs. Keywords: Diels–Alder reaction; furans; methylenomycin furan hormones; natural products; reactivity

• ][16]. One probe has been developed capable of undergoing a Diels–Alder reaction with a peptide containing a terminal furan [17]. However, to date, no one has developed probes that have been demonstrated to work well with natural products containing furans. Therefore, we have developed a probe that can

• unreactive. Specifically, breaking their aromaticity, which is required for the Diels–Alder reaction to occur, is unfavorable and results in Diels–Alder reactions with furans often being easily reversible [18]. Fortunately, although difficult, it is not impossible to perform a Diels–Alder reaction with

(Bio)isosteres of ortho- and meta-substituted benzenes

• H. Erik Diepers and
• Johannes C. L. Walker

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 859–890, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.78

• -workers, and was accessed over 8 steps from diene 161 (Scheme 17A) [51]. Diels–Alder reaction of diene 161 and di-tert-butyl azodicarboxylate (160) followed by palladium-assisted elimination of acetic acid gave diene 162. A sequence of 4π-electrocyclisation and electrophilic transcarbamation (to 163

• ), deprotection, decarboxylation, oxidation, nitrogen extrusion (to cyclobutadiene) and Diels–Alder reaction yielded annulated tricycle 164. Further intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition formed cubane precursor 165. From diketone 165, 1,3-cubane 166 was obtained by Favorskii ring contraction followed by

• alkylation (to 172) were all possible. An alternative pathway to 1,3-cubane 166 was reported by Coote and co-workers (Scheme 17C) [64]. Through their synthesis of enone 176, used in Ueda’s synthesis of cubane 166 and previously only obtained as a side product of the Diels–Alder reaction forming enone 173 [65

Synthesis of π-conjugated polycyclic compounds by late-stage extrusion of chalcogen fragments

• Aissam Okba,
• Pablo Simón Marqués,
• Kyohei Matsuo,
• Naoki Aratani,
• Hiroko Yamada,
• Gwénaël Rapenne and
• Claire Kammerer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 287–305, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.30

• introduced by Herwig and Müllen as early as in 1996 for pentacene, which was ultimately obtained in a thin-film by a thermally-activated retro-Diels–Alder reaction from a tailor-made tetrachlorobenzene-pentacene soluble adduct (Scheme 1, top left) [13][14]. Over the years, thermally-induced

• pristine acene with a dienophile to transiently form a cycloadduct with increased solubility for processing purposes, and unmasking it afterwards via a retro-Diels–Alder reaction [16][17][18][19]. In parallel to retro-Diels–Alder reactions, another efficient strategy for the in situ aromatization of target

• performances. Since the synthesis of π-CPCs involving as final step the elimination of C-based molecules, i.e., a retro-Diels–Alder reaction or a decarbonylation, has already been thoroughly reviewed in the past years [4][5][9][10][11][12], this review focuses on the late-stage extrusion of chalcogen fragments

Biphenylene-containing polycyclic conjugated compounds

• Cagatay Dengiz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1895–1911, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.141

• naphthazarin and triptycene units (Scheme 14) [48]. Naphthazarin derivatives are known to complex with boron moieties and metals to form electron-poor acene units. Through the Diels–Alder reaction involving dienophile 66, which was formed via the tautomerization of compound 65, and diene 67, compound 68 was

The unique reactivity of 5,6-unsubstituted 1,4-dihydropyridine in the Huisgen 1,4-diploar cycloaddition and formal [2 + 2] cycloaddition

• Xiu-Yu Chen,
• Hui Zheng,
• Ying Han,
• Jing Sun and
• Chao-Guo Yan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 982–990, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.73

• ; isoquinolino[1,2-f][1,6]naphthyridine; Introduction Among various well-known cycloaddition reactions such as the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction, Diels–Alder reaction, and the Povarov reaction, the cycloaddition reaction of Huisgen 1,4-dipoles with activated alkenes received increasing attention [1][2][3

Construction of hexabenzocoronene-based chiral nanographenes

• Ranran Li,
• Di Wang,
• Shengtao Li and
• Peng An

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 736–751, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.54

• reaction. To prevent planarization during the final oxidative cyclodehydrogenation reaction step, Jux and co-workers synthesized hexaarylbenzene precursor 3 with sterically demanding tert-butyl groups through a standard [4 + 2] Diels–Alder reaction of tetra-tert-butyltolane 1 and tetracyclone 2 in an 81

• -workers reported pyrrole-containing helical NGs 19 and 20. The precursors 17 and 18 were synthesized from pyrrole-containing alkynes and tetracyclone 2 through a typical Diels–Alder reaction. The pair of enantiomers of these aza-[5]helicenes was confirmed by the X-ray crystal structure of racemic

• this helical aza-NG was achieved by introducing a chiral auxiliary reagent at the nitrogen site [40], and the racemization barrier of one enantiomer was measured as 26.2 kcal/mol by monitoring the changes of CD spectra at 60–80 °C. The synthesis started with the Diels−Alder reaction of 5H-dibenzo[b,f

Strategies in the synthesis of dibenzo[b,f]heteropines

• David I. H. Maier,
• Barend C. B. Bezuidenhoudt and
• Charlene Marais

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 700–718, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.51

• induces a retro-Diels–Alder reaction, giving dibenzo[b,f]azepine 110 in good yield (Scheme 23). The authors synthesised a series of derivatives, with substituents including -OMe, -Me, -Cl and –F, with good yield (50–78%) in one step. In the follow-up reported in 2018 [65], the method was extended to aryl