Asymmetric synthesis of β-amino cyanoesters with contiguous tetrasubstituted carbon centers by halogen-bonding catalysis with chiral halonium salt

• Yasushi Yoshida,
• Maho Aono,
• Takashi Mino and
• Masami Sakamoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 547–555, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.43

• -workers developed chiral amine 1 with an electron-deficient iodine atom, which catalyzed the Mannich reaction in excellent yields and enantioselectivities [17]. In 2020, Huber and co-workers reported the bis(iodoimidazolium) 2-catalyzed Mukaiyama–aldol reaction of carbonyl compounds with enol silyl ethers

Synthesis, structure, ionochromic and cytotoxic properties of new 2-(indolin-2-yl)-1,3-tropolones

• Yurii A. Sayapin,
• Eugeny A. Gusakov,
• Inna O. Tupaeva,
• Alexander D. Dubonosov,
• Igor V. Dorogan,
• Valery V. Tkachev,
• Anna S. Goncharova,
• Gennady V. Shilov,
• Natalia S. Kuznetsova,
• Svetlana Y. Filippova,
• Tatyana A. Krasnikova,
• Yanis A. Boumber,
• Alexey Y. Maksimov,
• Sergey M. Aldoshin and
• Vladimir I. Minkin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 358–368, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.26

• 2-(indolin-2-yl)-1,3-tropolones [5]. Unlike the cross-aldol reaction of o-chloranil with methyl ketones [13][14][15], which is always accompanied by the removal of one of the chlorine atoms from the seven-membered ring, the acid-catalyzed reaction between methylene-active heterocyclic compounds and

Recent advances in organocatalytic atroposelective reactions

• Henrich Szabados and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 55–121, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.6

• activation, atroposelective aza-Michael addition, and intramolecular aldol reaction to form the cationic intermediate Int-6. Release of the catalyst C2, reduction with NaBH4, and dehydration with acetic acid leads to the desired product 6. Recently, an organocatalytic atroposelective intramolecular (4 + 2

• yields and enantiomeric purities. The reaction was initiated by the formation of acylazolium intermediate Int-24 that underwent a 1,6-addition with the enol form of the carbonyl substrate to give Int-25. Cyclization was realized via an intramolecular aldol reaction to Int-26 (Scheme 15). Ye and co

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

• . Then, an intramolecular aldol reaction leads to intermediate D which undergoes final protonation to produce the desired chiral product 43f. The authors proposed that the stereoselectivity of the Michael addition product would direct the stereoselectivity of the intramolecular aldol reaction. To

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

• hypothesis that the reaction would work in acidic environment using catalysts insensitive to pH-induced aggregation. In the same aldol reaction, using of macrocycles 60 and 61 containing chiral secondary amine moieties provided not only good yields, but also good diastereoselectivities; chiral HPLC analysis

N-Glycosides of indigo, indirubin, and isoindigo: blue, red, and yellow sugars and their cancerostatic activity

• Peter Langer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2840–2869, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.240

• failed under various conditions, due to decomposition by retro-aldol reaction. Interestingly, while indirubin-N-glycosides 17, thio- and selenoindirubin-N-glycosides 33 and 38 were formed as pure Z-isomers, oxoindirubin-N-glycosides 41 were formed as mixtures of E- and Z-isomers. The isolated yields of Z

• an orange solid (Scheme 29) [46]. In the first step, a base-mediated aldol reaction was carried out. The corresponding alcohol was directly used as the crude product and treated with tosyl chloride, NEt3, and DMAP (stirring for 2 h at 20 °C) to give the corresponding tosylate which was further

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

Selective hydrolysis of α-oxo ketene N,S-acetals in water: switchable aqueous synthesis of β-keto thioesters and β-keto amides

• Haifeng Yu,
• Wanting Zhang,
• Xuejing Cui,
• Zida Liu,
• Xifu Zhang and
• Xiaobo Zhao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2225–2233, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.190

• ) [25] or β-keto esters (Scheme 1a, path 4) [26][27], the aldol reaction between aldehydes and S-ethyl acetothioate followed by oxidation with Dess–Martin periodinane (Scheme 1a, path 5) [28], the hydrolysis of α-oxo ketene dithioacetals (Scheme 1a, path 6) [29] and MgBr2·OEt2-catalyzed acylation of

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

• treatment of Alzheimer's disease [3][4]. Likewise, RL91 and BHMPC are active for selective cell growth inhibition of the resistant lines (Figure 1) [5][6]. Their synthesis mainly involves a cascade Michael–aldol reaction between enones and suitable Michael donors such as β-ketosulfones, β-diketones, or

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

• condensation of 73 and 74, followed by highly-diastereoselective vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol reaction and subsequent protecting group manipulations [81][82][83]. The separately synthesized left and right segments, 72 and 75, were then assembled via Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons (HWE) olefination to give carboxylic

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

• ML models predict the site of reaction using the lowest ML-predicted pKa value. To understand the result for the out-of-sample set, we show three different reactions in Scheme 1. The first step of the reaction shown in Scheme 1a is an aldol reaction where the deprotonation occurs at the least

• reported borylation reactions [45]. Arrow: major experimental site/prediction by SoBo; black ring: QM-computed lowest pKa + 1.5; teal filled circle: ML-predicted lowest pKa + 1.5. Predicting the reaction site for three different reactions from the out-of-sample dataset from Reaxys. (a) Aldol reaction

Synthetic applications of the Cannizzaro reaction

• Bhaskar Chatterjee,
• Dhananjoy Mondal and
• Smritilekha Bera

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1376–1395, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.120

• ). Huang et al. set up a clean crossed-Cannizzaro-aldol reaction strategy of isatin derivatives 88 and 90 with paraformaldehyde under microwave irradiation to furnish 3,3-disubstituted oxindole derivatives 89a–h and 91a–d [92]. The representative 3-hydroxymethyloxindole adducts with varying substituents

Domino reactions of chromones with activated carbonyl compounds

• Peter Langer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1256–1269, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.108

• (Scheme 9) [39]. The formation of the products can be explained by 1,4-addition of the terminal carbon of the diene to the chromone to give intermediate J and subsequent attack of the central carbon atom of the 1,3-dicarbonyl unit (aldol reaction). No aromatization and extrusion of the hydroxy group was

• 13a–c, following the conditions discussed above for the synthesis of 23a–j, and subsequent treatment with PTSA afforded benzophenones 24a–w in a two-step on-pot procedure (Scheme 10) [39]. The formation of the products can be explained by 1,4-addition and subsequent aldol reaction to give products 24

• ) [40]. The formation of the products can be explained by 1,4-addition of the terminal carbon of the diene to the chromone to give intermediate O and subsequent attack of the central carbon atom of the 1,3-dicarbonyl unit (aldol reaction). No aromatization and extrusion of the hydroxy group was observed

Cofactor-independent C–C bond cleavage reactions catalyzed by the AlpJ family of oxygenases in atypical angucycline biosynthesis

• Jinmin Gao,
• Liyuan Li,
• Shijie Shen,
• Guomin Ai,
• Bin Wang,
• Fang Guo,
• Tongjian Yang,
• Hui Han,
• Zhengren Xu,
• Guohui Pan and
• Keqiang Fan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1198–1206, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.102

• aldehyde–acid intermediate 11. In JadG-catalyzed reactions, compound 11 participated in a reaction with ʟ-isoleucine to yield 6. In contrast, in AlpJ- or Flu17-catalyzed reactions, 11 underwent decarboxylation and an aldol reaction, giving rise to intermediate 12. Subsequent dehydration of 12 led to the

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of macrocyclic peptides and polyketides via thioesterase-catalyzed macrocyclization

• Senze Qiao,
• Zhongyu Cheng and
• Fuzhuo Li

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 721–733, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.66

• pikromycin and the aglycones in this family, 10-deoxymethynolide (24) and norbonolide (25), using asymmetric aldol reaction, Yamaguchi esterification, and ring-closing metathesis as key steps [65][66]. Nevertheless, the inherent complexity of these natural products demands high step counts, leading to low

Evaluation of the enantioselectivity of new chiral ligands based on imidazolidin-4-one derivatives

• Jan Bartáček,
• Karel Chlumský,
• Jan Mrkvička,
• Lucie Paloušová,
• Miloš Sedlák and
• Pavel Drabina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 684–691, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.62

• also tested in asymmetric aldol reactions. Under the optimised reaction conditions, aldol products with enantioselectivities of up to 91% ee were obtained. Keywords: asymmetric aldol reaction; asymmetric Henry reaction; chiral ligands; enantioselective catalysis; imidazolidine derivatives

• acids producing chiral isotetronic acids. However, the application of compound IV as the organocatalyst in these reactions proceeded sluggishly, and the corresponding products were obtained in only moderate ees [24]. Herein, the aldol reaction was chosen as a standard asymmetric reaction to explore the

• . Thus, early attempts at the aldol reaction of 4-nitrobenzaldehyde with cyclohexanone were performed to evaluate the reaction parameters, i.e., solvent, reaction temperature, and amount of acidic additive (Table 5). Hence, using DMF at −25 °C were the most convenient conditions regarding diastereo- and

α-(Aminomethyl)acrylates as acceptors in radical–polar crossover 1,4-additions of dialkylzincs: insights into enolate formation and trapping

• Angel Palillero-Cisneros,
• Paola G. Gordillo-Guerra,
• Fernando García-Alvarez,
• Olivier Jackowski,
• Franck Ferreira,
• Fabrice Chemla,
• Joel L. Terán and
• Alejandro Perez-Luna

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1443–1451, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.103

• (MgSO4), and concentrated under reduced pressure to provide the crude product which was then purified by column chromatography on silica gel. 3. Procedure for the air-promoted tandem 1,4-addition–aldol reaction between dialkylzinc reagents, α-(aminomethyl)acrylates and carbonyl derivatives (preparation

Sulfate radical anion-induced benzylic oxidation of N-(arylsulfonyl)benzylamines to N-arylsulfonylimines

• Joydev K. Laha,
• Pankaj Gupta and
• Amitava Hazra

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 771–777, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.57

• their unique stability, defined reactivity, and versatility in organic synthesis [2]. Leveraging their electron-deficient nature, N-arylsulfonylimines are widely used in organic transformations including nucleophilic addition, cycloaddition, imino-aldol reaction, ene reactions, aza-Friedel–Crafts

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

• Following the seminal work of Feringa in 1997 [21], the tandem asymmetric organozinc conjugate addition followed by subsequent aldol reaction was scarcely applied in the last decade. Welker and Woodward studied the reaction of zinc enolates 2 with chiral acetals 3 (Scheme 2) [22]. The Lewis acid (TiCl4 or

• successfully applied in the Mukiyama aldol reaction to gain the originally desired aldol adducts with improved yields and still good dr. Finally, the cerium ammonium nitrate (CAN) promoted one-step oxidative removal of the chiral auxiliary group was also successfully demonstrated. In 2012, Aikawa et al

• benzaldehyde (51) (Scheme 13a). Related to this work, Feringa´s team realized also the conjugate addition to chromone (53) [44]. The enolate was again trapped with benzaldehyde in an aldol reaction (Scheme 13b). Naphthol derivatives 55 bearing an α,β-unsaturated ester group undergo a copper(I)-catalyzed

Asymmetric synthesis of a stereopentade fragment toward latrunculins

• Benjamin Joyeux,
• Antoine Gamet,
• Nicolas Casaretto and
• Bastien Nay

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 428–433, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.32

• analogue synthesis, starting from (+)-β-citronellene. Key stereoselective transformations involve an asymmetric Krische allylation, an aldol reaction under 1,5-anti stereocontrol, and a Tishchenko–Evans reduction accompanied by a peculiar ester transposition, allowing to install key stereogenic centers of

• the natural products. Keywords: allylation; aldol reaction; latrunculins; stereocontrol; total synthesis; Introduction Latrunculins constitute a class of marine polyketide natural products isolated from Sponges like Negombata (= Latrunculia) magnifica [1][2]. They are characterized by the presence

• disconnection strategies for the macrocycle or the lactol formation (Figure 2, left), and for the aldol reaction leading to 4, using a 4-acetyl-1,3-thiazolidin-2-one 5 as ketone partner (Figure 2, route A). Strikingly, this last disconnection was adopted in all previous syntheses to form the (15,16)- or the

Strategies to access the [5-8] bicyclic core encountered in the sesquiterpene, diterpene and sesterterpene series

• Cécile Alleman,
• Charlène Gadais,
• Laurent Legentil and
• François-Hugues Porée

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 245–281, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.23

• could not obtain the desired tricyclic compound possessing the required eight-membered ring, but instead they recovered the starting material 47, together with a dimeric product or an eleven-membered ring resulting from a RCM and a retro-aldol reaction. Assuming that the allylic alcohol may induce a

An accelerated Rauhut–Currier dimerization enabled the synthesis of (±)-incarvilleatone and anticancer studies

• Tharun K. Kotammagari,
• Sweta Misra,
• Sayantan Paul,
• Sunita Kunte,
• Rajesh G. Gonnade,
• Manas K. Santra and
• Asish K. Bhattacharya

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 204–211, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.19

• ). The formation of (±)-incarvilleatone (1), perhaps due to RC dimerized product (±)-4, first undergoes oxa-Michael followed by aldol reaction in one-pot. The aldol reaction take place with intermediate 5 in basic medium due to the close proximity of the two carbonyl groups. Finally, the structure of

• achieved the total synthesis of (±)-incarvilleatone (1) starting from rac-rengyolone (3) through accelerated RC intermolecular dimerization catalyzed by TBAF to synthesize a heterochiral dimerized product (±)-4, followed by a one-pot oxa-Michael and aldol reaction sequence using KHMDS as a base. The

Combining the best of both worlds: radical-based divergent total synthesis

• Kyriaki Gennaiou,
• Antonios Kelesidis,
• Maria Kourgiantaki and
• Alexandros L. Zografos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1–26, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.1

• total synthesis of (−)-FR901483 (160) through an aldol reaction, and an intramolecular condensation resulted in the synthesis of (+)-TAN1251C (162, Scheme 13). Divergent synthesis of bipolamine alkaloids (Maimone 2022) [88]: Bipolamines were isolated from the fungi Curvularia sp. IFB Z10 and Bipolaris

Total synthesis of grayanane natural products

• Nicolas Fay,
• Rémi Blieck,
• Cyrille Kouklovsky and
• Aurélien de la Torre

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1707–1719, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.181

• into dimethylacetal 45 by Vilsmeier reaction followed by aldehyde protection in 54% yield over two steps. A Mukaiyama aldol reaction between trimethylsilyl enol ether 46 and dimethylacetal 45 followed by Sakurai cyclization provided an inseparable mixture of C9 epimers (dr = 2:1). A catalyst

Rhodium-catalyzed intramolecular reductive aldol-type cyclization: Application for the synthesis of a chiral necic acid lactone

• Motoyuki Isoda,
• Kazuyuki Sato,
• Kenta Kameda,
• Kana Wakabayashi,
• Ryota Sato,
• Hideki Minami,
• Yukiko Karuo,
• Atsushi Tarui,
• Kentaro Kawai and
• Masaaki Omote

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1642–1648, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.176

• aldol reaction is one of the most powerful tools to achieve this transformation [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. In particular, the intramolecular aldol condensation is an important approach to the formation of ring systems such as cyclic β-hydroxy carbonyl products or cyclic α,β-unsaturated carbonyl products

• aldol-type reactions, and reductive Mannich-type reactions using RhCl(PPh3)3 with Et2Zn [41][42][43][44][45][46][47]. The rhodium-catalyzed reductive aldol reaction of α,β-unsaturated esters with aldehydes or ketones gives aldol-type products in good to excellent yields (Scheme 1) [43][44]. In addition