Oxetanes: formation, reactivity and total syntheses of natural products

• Peter Gabko,
• Martin Kalník and
• Maroš Bella

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1324–1373, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.101

• moderate to good yields of the spirocycle. The reaction is assumed to proceed through a Michael addition followed by Williamson etherification of the resulting γ-hydroxyselenone 12. In 2022, Kleij et al. reported a domino synthesis of bicyclic 3,5-anhydrofuranoses 15 using easily accessible bis-epoxy

• alcohols 13 and a binary Al/TBAB catalyst (Scheme 5) [40]. The reaction is carried out in toluene upon mild heating, providing the bicyclic products in high to excellent yields. Both electron-rich and electron-poor phenyls as well as aliphatic chains worked well, however, increased temperature and catalyst

• the precursor 60 from diazomalonate based on a Rh-catalysed O–H insertion, and further applied this cyclisation methodology to a preparation of tetrasubstituted oxetanes 62, including bicyclic analogues. In 2024, Liu, Shi, Wei and co-workers published the first radical cyclisation of ethers leading to

Recent total synthesis of natural products leveraging a strategy of enamide cyclization

• Chun-Yu Mi,
• Jia-Yuan Zhai and
• Xiao-Ming Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 999–1009, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.81

• . Cyclization/isomerization – collective total synthesis of fawcettimine-type alkaloids The bicyclic decahydroquinoline enamide motif can serve as a versatile precursor to access different types of tricyclic N-heterocycles. As demonstrated in the above work from She’s group, the aza-Prins cyclization renders

• cases, the use of a chiral Cr(III)(salen)Cl complex in combination with InCl3 was necessary to maintain a high level of stereocontrol. Total synthesis of (−)-cephalocyclidin A The bicyclic and tricyclic N-heterocycles without a fused arene are essential core structures in a wide array of alkaloids. A

A convergent synthetic approach to the tetracyclic core framework of khayanolide-type limonoids

• Zhiyang Zhang,
• Jialei Hu,
• Hanfeng Ding,
• Li Zhang and
• Peirong Rao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 926–934, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.75

• bicyclic ketone 21, which was prepared from (+)-Hajos–Parrish ketone in 49% yield over two steps (Scheme 3) [40][41][42][43]. Ensuring silyl enol etherification of the ketone at C29 coupled with IBX-mediated Nicolaou oxidation [44] furnished the corresponding enone in 72% yield (90% brsm). The methyl group

Recent advances in controllable/divergent synthesis

• Jilei Cao,
• Leiyang Bai and
• Xuefeng Jiang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 890–914, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.73

• radical anion, followed by cyclization and dehydration to yield bicyclic product 76. Substrate control Substrate control has emerged as a powerful strategy in organic synthesis, enabling precise manipulation of reaction pathways and stereochemical outcomes through the intrinsic structural and electronic

Light-enabled intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition via photoactivation of simple alkenylboronic esters

• Lewis McGhie,
• Hannah M. Kortman,
• Jenna Rumpf,
• Peter H. Seeberger and
• John J. Molloy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 854–863, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.69

• , and control reactions support sensitization, enabling an intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition to be realized accessing 3D bicyclic fragments containing a boron handle. Keywords: boron; catalysis; [2 + 2] cycloaddition; energy transfer; photochemistry; Introduction The strategic use of a photon to

• ], the strategic incorporation of an alkene tether, bringing both alkenes spatially proximal, facilitated a [2 + 2] cycloaddition to generate bicyclic product 4a as a 1:1 mixture of diastereoisomers in low yield. This provides an exciting proof of principle that it is possible to efficiently quench the

• + 2] cycloaddition established, the scope and pivotal properties of the core structure was assessed (Scheme 1). Single point modifications of the tethered backbone were tolerated, enabling access to small 3D bicyclic scaffolds 4b, 4c, and 4d containing both a boron and ester handle. Consciously aware

Unprecedented visible light-initiated topochemical [2 + 2] cycloaddition in a functionalized bimane dye

• Metodej Dvoracek,
• Brendan Twamley,
• Mathias O. Senge and
• Mikhail A. Filatov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 500–509, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.37

• development of a novel scaffold for topochemically active monomers. Bimanes Bimanes, a class of bicyclic compounds first synthesized by Kosower and Pazhenchevsky in 1978 [16], are based on a 1H,7H-pyrazolo[1,2-a]pyrazole-1,7-dione scaffold. The general structure of a bimane is depicted in Figure 1a. The term

Beyond symmetric self-assembly and effective molarity: unlocking functional enzyme mimics with robust organic cages

• Keith G. Andrews

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 421–443, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.30

• least bicyclic in connectivity, whose minimal structure is comprised of covalent bonds. Organic cages have historically been synthesized using irreversible bond formation [236][237][238][239][240][241][242][243][244][245][246][247][248], sometimes with a template [45][249][250]. Following the

The effect of neighbouring group participation and possible long range remote group participation in O-glycosylation

• Rituparna Das and
• Balaram Mukhopadhyay

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 369–406, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.27

• the anomeric carbon forming an electron-deficient bicyclic acyloxonium ion intermediate 11 which blocks the α-face of the glycosyl ring, inducing the attack of the nucleophilic acceptor 12 to approach from the opposite face to form the 1,2-trans glycoside 13 primarily. Various protecting groups for

• stoichiometric amount of sodium methoxide [88] generated in situ where the authors postulated an associative SN2 pathway as they were unable to isolate any bicyclic orthoester intermediate from the crude mixture. With the aim to get similar neighbouring group protection at C-2 position, it was observed that the

• , Scheme 18) gave product 108 with higher 1,2-cis selectivity. In protocol A, the tosylamide forms an intramolecular hydrogen bonding with the benzylic oxygen forming a quasi-bicyclic intermediate acting as a 1,2-trans directing protecting group. Thus, following subsequent formation of the oxocarbenium ion

Visible-light-promoted radical cyclisation of unactivated alkenes in benzimidazoles: synthesis of difluoromethyl- and aryldifluoromethyl-substituted polycyclic imidazoles

• Yujun Pang,
• Jinglan Yan,
• Nawaf Al-Maharik,
• Qian Zhang,
• Zeguo Fang and
• Dong Li

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 234–241, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.15

• efficiently, generating the CF2H-substituted bicyclic imidazoles with yields ranging from moderate to high (specifically, 3i yielded 42%, 3j yielded 70%, and 3k yielded 80%). The relatively lower yield of 3i can be attributed to the formation of side products due to the presence of the phenyl ring

• tricyclic and bicyclic imidazoles under additive-, base-, and metal catalyst-free conditions utilizing difluoroacetic acid and α,α-difluorobenzeneacetic acid as the readily available fluorine sources. The significant advantages of this approach, including its environmental friendliness and cost

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

• formation releasing Cu(OTf)2. The final bicyclic product 33 arises from isomerization and water elimination. Recently, Singh's research group developed a cascade process to access imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines-linked isoxazoles 35. Isoxazole carbaldehydes treated with 2-aminopyridines and isonitriles in the

Advances in radical peroxidation with hydroperoxides

• Oleg V. Bityukov,
• Pavel Yu. Serdyuchenko,
• Andrey S. Kirillov,
• Gennady I. Nikishin,
• Vera A. Vil’ and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2959–3006, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.249

Photoredox-catalyzed intramolecular nucleophilic amidation of alkenes with β-lactams

• Valentina Giraldi,
• Giandomenico Magagnano,
• Daria Giacomini,
• Pier Giorgio Cozzi and
• Andrea Gualandi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2461–2468, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.210

• carboaminations. However, photoredox catalysis could be applied to a suitable β-lactam intermediate decorated with an alkene moiety to achieve N–H addition and cyclization to the fused bicyclic system of clavams (Figure 2A). Clavulanic acid (1, Figure 2B) belongs to the family of clavam β-lactam compounds and is

• literature, oxacepham scaffolds, the 6-membered fused bicyclic analog of clavams, were prepared from appropriately substituted unfused precursors by intramolecular C-radical addition to alkene functionalities [44]. The utilization of radical conditions has prevented the effective nucleophilic opening of the

• investigated whether this protocol could be adapted to other lactams, allowing for a practical synthesis of bicyclic structures. The resulting bicyclic lactam substrate could serve as a foundation to access pyrroloisoquinoline alkaloids [50][51]. The model substrate 14 was synthesized in a two-step process

Tandem diazotization/cyclization approach for the synthesis of a fused 1,2,3-triazinone-furazan/furoxan heterocyclic system

• Yuri A. Sidunets,
• Valeriya G. Melekhina and
• Leonid L. Fershtat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2342–2348, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.200

• physiological conditions. Moreover, the target bicyclic compounds were shown to be thermostable substances and could be used in various fields of materials science. Examples of bioactive compounds containing the 1,2,3-triazin-4-one core. The X-ray structure of compound 1b (CCDC 2363621) and 7h (CCDC 2363622

Deuterated reagents in multicomponent reactions to afford deuterium-labeled products

• Kevin Schofield,
• Shayna Maddern,
• Yueteng Zhang,
• Grace E. Mastin,
• Rachel Knight,
• Wei Wang,
• James Galligan and
• Christopher Hulme

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2270–2279, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.195

• three-component reaction of α-amino-heterocycles, aldehydes, and isocyanides which affords various aza-bicyclic molecules [48][49][50][51][52]. The methodology has been widely used for file enhancement purposes. Three deuterated GBB products are presented, Scheme 9. Unlike the previous MCRs, labeling

• via a deuterated aldehyde is not feasible as deuterium is removed in favor of the aromatic bicyclic product. Both [D2]- and [D1]-isocyanides are exemplified in 7a–c. Finally, we studied the compatibility of the Hantzsch dihydropyridine synthesis with [D1]-aldehydes. The reaction is a condensation of

The Groebke–Blackburn–Bienaymé reaction in its maturity: innovation and improvements since its 21st birthday (2019–2023)

• Cristina Martini,
• Muhammad Idham Darussalam Mardjan and
• Andrea Basso

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1839–1879, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.162

• using 30 equiv of AcOH in DMA, with no damage of DNA observed. The GBB reaction, under these mild conditions, demonstrated a wide range of scope. Different aldehydes were tested: benzaldehydes with different substituents, heteroaromatic and bicyclic aromatic aldehydes, all giving good results. Only

• -substituted 1H-imidazo[1,5-a]imidazole scaffold. This scaffold has a significant relevance in drug synthesis and was not deeply studied yet. As depicted in Scheme 22, 5-amino-1H-imidazole-4-carbonitrile (57) was used as heterocyclic amidine, to obtain the desired bicyclic adducts 58. The solvent choice was

Oxidative fluorination with Selectfluor: A convenient procedure for preparing hypervalent iodine(V) fluorides

• Samuel M. G. Dearman,
• Xiang Li,
• Yang Li,
• Kuldip Singh and
• Alison M. Stuart

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1785–1793, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.157

• ) fluorides in good isolated yields (72–90%). Stability studies revealed that bicyclic difluoro(aryl)-λ5-iodane 6 was much more stable in acetonitrile-d3 than in chloroform-d1, presumably due to acetonitrile coordinating to the iodine(V) centre and stabilising it via halogen bonding. Keywords: fluorination

• them easily because they normally require harsh fluorinating reagents. The synthesis of hypervalent iodine(V) fluoride 3 was reported by Amey and Martin in 1979 using the highly toxic gas, trifluoromethyl hypofluorite (Scheme 2A), and they later prepared bicyclic hypervalent iodine(V) fluoride 4 using

• ) fluorides by reacting iodine(III) precursors with commercially available Selectfluor. The method avoids large excesses of reagents and pure iodine(V) fluorides are isolated after a simple work-up. Results and Discussion Preparation of bicyclic difluoro(aryl)-λ5-iodanes Two different types of bicyclic

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

• to form bicyclic thioester 89 with incorporation of a stereogenic center at C1. The Red domain liberates bicyclic aldehyde 90 by reducing the resulting thioester 89, while the A domain again activates another molecule of tyrosine derivative 86, facilitating its loading onto the PCP domain. In the

Methyltransferases from RiPP pathways: shaping the landscape of natural product chemistry

• Maria-Paula Schröder,
• Isabel P.-M. Pfeiffer and
• Silja Mordhorst

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1652–1670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.147

• sections. Myxococcus xanthus DK1622 and other strains of M. xanthus produce the peptide cittilin A (Figure 4). The novel RiPP class of cittilins was established based on its unique bicyclic structure. Experimental evidence suggests that O-methylation occurs in the last biosynthetic step by the MT CitC [65

Mining raw plant transcriptomic data for new cyclopeptide alkaloids

• Draco Kriger,
• Michael A. Pasquale,
• Brigitte G. Ampolini and
• Jonathan R. Chekan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1548–1559, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.138

• potential unique precursor peptide sequences. Examination of possible cores suggested that the producers closely related to C. argentea (A. bettzickiana and Amaranthus tricolor [edible amaranth] are likely to make bicyclic burpitides but may vary in the cycle size and identity of the cyclized residues

• (Figure 7 and Supporting Information File 1, Figures S13–S15). While unusual, this motif could be biosynthetically related to the alpha-hydroxy modification seen in vignatic acid [35]. These potential compounds are bicyclic which resemble the bicyclic motif found in moroidin from the closely related C

Selectfluor and alcohol-mediated synthesis of bicyclic oxyfluorination compounds by Wagner–Meerwein rearrangement

• Ziya Dağalan,
• Muhammed Hanifi Çelikoğlu,
• Saffet Çelik,
• Ramazan Koçak and
• Bilal Nişancı

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1462–1467, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.129

• of Arts and Sciences, Amasya University, Amasya, Turkey 10.3762/bjoc.20.129 Abstract Herein, we report the first environmentally friendly systematic fluoroalkoxylation reactions in bicyclic systems. New oxyfluorination products were obtained with excellent yields (up to 98%) via Wagner–Meerwein

• rearrangement using benzonorbornadiene and the chiral natural compound (+)-camphene as bicyclic alkenes, selectfluor as an electrophilic fluorine source, and water and various alcohols as nucleophile sources. The structure of bicyclic oxy- and alkoxyfluorine compounds was determined by NMR and QTOF-MS analyses

• . Keywords: alkoxyfluorine compounds; bicyclic alkene; oxyfluorination; selectfluor; Wagner–Meerwein rearrangement; Introduction Organofluorines are of great importance in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries, as the presence of fluorine has a serious effect on the biological activities of organic

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

• intramolecular Cannizzaro reaction while accomplishing the synthesis of the bicyclic core structure of proposed ottelione A (47) [85]. Commencing from the Diels–Alder adduct 48, an enzymatic desymmetrization of the reduced diol 49 formed the enantiopure 50 (ee >99%). A cascade of reaction sequences delivered the

• a bicyclic ketal motif. The method illustrates the potent use of an aldol-crossed-Cannizzaro reaction to form the quaternarized pentol 79 from the aldehyde 78 in 94% yield and >99.8% purity after recrystallization. This symbolizes the efficient applicability of the Cannizzaro reaction for the

Computation-guided scaffold exploration of 2E,6E-1,10-trans/cis-eunicellanes

• Zining Li,
• Sana Jindani,
• Volga Kojasoy,
• Teresa Ortega,
• Erin M. Marshall,
• Khalil A. Abboud,
• Sandra Loesgen,
• Dean J. Tantillo and
• Jeffrey D. Rudolf

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1320–1326, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.115

• natural products containing a foundational 6/10-bicyclic framework and can be divided into two main classes, cis and trans, based on the configurations of their ring fusion at C1 and C10. Previous studies on two bacterial diterpene synthases, Bnd4 and AlbS, revealed that these enzymes form cis- and trans

• rearrangement; DFT calculations; diterpene; electrophilic cyclization; eunicellane; Introduction The eunicellane diterpenoids are a family of nearly 400 natural products that present a conserved 6/10-bicyclic hydrocarbon framework [1][2][3]. Mostly known from soft corals [2], but with a growing number of

• family members in bacteria and plants [4], these diterpenoids have four main structural differences: the number and location of oxidized carbons, the absence or presence of transannular ether bridges, the configuration (cis or trans) of the bicyclic ring fusion, and the presence and configuration (E or Z

Stability trends in carbocation intermediates stemming from germacrene A and hedycaryol

• Naziha Tarannam,
• Prashant Kumar Gupta,
• Shani Zev and
• Dan Thomas Major

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1189–1197, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.101

• the germacrene A and hedycaryol-derived carbocations. This study focused on twelve hydrocarbons derived from germacrene A and twelve from hedycaryol, which can be divided into three groups: four molecules containing 6-6 bicyclic rings, four 5-7 bicyclic compounds with the carbocation being on the

• seven-membered ring and the remaining four 5-7 bicyclic compounds with the carbocation on the five-membered ring. The variations in energy within the groups of carbocations (i.e., 6-6 and two kinds of 5-7 bicyclic carbocations) can be ascribed to intramolecular repulsion interactions, as seen from non

• C6 position of the C6–C7 double bond leads to 4 distinct 6-6 bicyclic cationic stereoisomers (A–D, Figure 1). Reprotonation at the C3-position of the C2–C3 double bond forms 6-6 bicyclic compounds that are not observed in nature for eudesmanes as they proceed via a secondary carbocation [16

Novel route to enhance the thermo-optical performance of bicyclic diene photoswitches for solar thermal batteries

• Akanksha Ashok Sangolkar,
• Rama Krishna Kadiyam and
• Ravinder Pawar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1053–1068, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.93

• we report our attempt to enhance both the thermochemical and photophysical properties in a single-bridged bicyclic diene (BBD)-based photoswitch by elongating the unsaturated bridge with different heteroatomic units. To elucidate the best elongation unit, the energy storage capacity and the TBR

• /kg), and TBR barrier (121.76 kJ/mol) of prototype NBD/QC in the gas phase. The outcomes render useful insights into the stability and properties of bicyclic diene-based photoswitches having elongated unsaturated bridges and indeed paves the way for the rational design of practical MOST systems

• . Keywords: bridged bicyclic diene (BBD); molecular solar thermal (MOST) energy storage; reversible photoswitches; unsaturated bridge elongation; Introduction Energy is an inevitable necessity of society and its rate of consumption is continuously increasing across the world due to increasing population and

(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

• employed their method for the synthesis of 1,2,3-trisubsituted BCPs and a number of other bridged bicyclic scaffolds. Comparison of physicochemical data of 1,2-BCHs and ortho-benzenes was reported by Mykhailiuk and co-workers (Figure 5) [36]. Lipophilicity of 1,2-BCHs was measured by experimental

• and co-workers employed an intramolecular coupling of sulfonylhydrazones and boronates to access 1,2,3-trisubstituted BCPs (1,2,3-BCPs). They also showed that their method can be extended to the synthesis of different bicyclic systems [41]. The synthesis of bridge mono-fluorinated 1,2,3,-BCPs by

• ]. A wide variety of 1,2,3-BCPs bearing substituents in the bridge position were reported by Measom and co-workers in their study on the lithium–halogen exchange of 2-bromo-1,2,3-BCPs [78]. Larger bridged bicyclic structures such as bicyclo[2.1.1]hexane offer multiple different exit vectors for