Visible-light-driven NHC and organophotoredox dual catalysis for the synthesis of carbonyl compounds

• Vasudevan Dhayalan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2584–2603, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.200

• organic chemistry, and particularly in the late-stage functionalization of bioactive compounds, drugs, and natural products. This review highlights recent advances in NHC–organophotoredox dual catalysis, focusing on methodology development, mechanistic insights, and reaction scope for synthesizing

• used for late-stage modification of bioactive compounds, including natural products. These developments will find suitable applications in medicinal chemistry for introducible organosilyl groups (Scheme 5) [55]. A visible-light-induced Friedel–Crafts acylation of arenes and heteroarenes was reported by

Rapid access to the core of malayamycin A by intramolecular dipolar cycloaddition

• Yilin Liu,
• Yuchen Yang,
• Chen Yang,
• Sha-Hua Huang,
• Jian Jin and
• Ran Hong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2542–2547, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.196

• monosaccharides and applying dipolar cycloaddition to construct various bioactive compounds [21][22][23][24][25][26][27], we intended to develop a practical strategy to access the perhydrofuropyran core of malayamycin A and other uracil nucleosides to enable future rapid derivatization (Scheme 1B). The bicyclic

Synthesis and characterization of a isothiouronium-calix[4]arene derivative: self-assembly and anticancer activity

• Giuseppe Granata,
• Loredana Ferreri,
• Claudia Giovanna Leotta,
• Giovanni Mario Pitari and
• Grazia Maria Letizia Consoli

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2535–2541, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.195

• . Multiple ligand–receptor interactions can significantly enhance receptor binding affinity and cellular uptake, as well as more effectively modulate signal transduction pathways, for instance when receptor clustering is necessary on the cell membrane [3]. Designing multivalent bioactive compounds thus

Palladium-catalyzed regioselective C1-selective nitration of carbazoles

• Vikash Kumar,
• Jyothis Dharaniyedath,
• Aiswarya T P,
• Sk Ariyan,
• Chitrothu Venkatesh and
• Parthasarathy Gandeepan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2479–2488, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.190

• functionalization of carbazoles via C–H activation [48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61]. Among the variously substituted carbazole scaffolds, nitro-substituted carbazoles exhibit a diverse range of medicinal properties and serve as key starting materials for the synthesis of bioactive compounds

A chiral LC–MS strategy for stereochemical assignment of natural products sharing a 3-methylpent-4-en-2-ol moiety in their terminal structures

• Rei Suo,
• Raku Irie,
• Hinako Nakayama,
• Yuta Ishimaru,
• Yuya Akama,
• Masato Oikawa and
• Shiro Itoi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2243–2249, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.171

• structural elucidation of complex natural products at microgram quantities, facilitating the discovery of novel bioactive compounds [1][2]. However, a definitive approach for stereochemical determination that can be applied across all compound classes has yet to be established. Relative configurations are

Synthesis of triazolo- and tetrazolo-fused 1,4-benzodiazepines via one-pot Ugi–azide and Cu-free click reactions

• Xiaoming Ma,
• Zijie Gao,
• Jiawei Niu,
• Wentao Shao,
• Shenghu Yan,
• Sai Zhang and
• Wei Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2202–2210, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.167

• agents, and high-energy propellants [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18]. Tetrazole is also found in several bioactive compounds [19][20][21][22][23][24], such as tasosartan, alfentanil, and cefmenoxime for the treatment of hypertension, anesthesia, and bacterial infections [4]. Among the reported

C2 to C6 biobased carbonyl platforms for fine chemistry

• Jingjing Jiang,
• Muhammad Noman Haider Tariq,
• Florence Popowycz,
• Yanlong Gu and
• Yves Queneau

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2103–2172, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.165

Discovery of cytotoxic indolo[1,2-c]quinazoline derivatives through scaffold-based design

• Daniil V. Khabarov,
• Valeria A. Litvinova,
• Lyubov G. Dezhenkova,
• Dmitry N. Kaluzhny,
• Alexander S. Tikhomirov and
• Andrey E. Shchekotikhin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2062–2071, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.161

• important modification for generating novel bioactive compounds with enhanced pharmacological potential [6][7]. A prominent example is copanlisib, a 2,3-dihydroimidazo[1,2-c]quinazoline derivative approved for relapsed follicular lymphoma, which, however, was later withdrawn by Bayer in 2023 [8]. The

Photoredox-catalyzed arylation of isonitriles by diaryliodonium salts towards benzamides

• Nadezhda M. Metalnikova,
• Nikita S. Antonkin,
• Tuan K. Nguyen,
• Natalia S. Soldatova,
• Alexander V. Nyuchev,
• Mikhail A. Kinzhalov and
• Pavel S. Postnikov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1480–1488, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.110

• bioactive compounds. According to the DrugBank there are more than 250 approved drugs classified as amides [2]. Just recently, between February 2021 and June 2022, sixteen anticancer drugs containing an amide bond have been approved by the U.S. FDA [3]. Consequently, the preparation of amides has garnered

Microwave-enhanced additive-free C–H amination of benzoxazoles catalysed by supported copper

• Andrei Paraschiv,
• Valentina Maruzzo,
• Filippo Pettazzi,
• Stefano Magliocco,
• Paolo Inaudi,
• Daria Brambilla,
• Gloria Berlier,
• Giancarlo Cravotto and
• Katia Martina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1462–1476, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.108

• offers wide-ranging potential for substrate expansion and the functionalisation of bioactive compounds. This study presents a green and efficient C–H amination, catalysed by CuCl and CuCl2, in acetonitrile without acidic, basic or oxidant additives that is accelerated by microwave (MW) irradiation and is

• pharmaceutical activity and their importance within the materials sciences [1][2]. 2-Aminobenzoxazoles, in particular, are important building blocks in the development of new bioactive compounds that can be useful as therapeutic agents with antibacterial [3], antiviral, antifungal [4], anticancer [5][6][7] and

N-Salicyl-amino acid derivatives with antiparasitic activity from Pseudomonas sp. UIAU-6B

• Joy E. Rajakulendran,
• Emmanuel Tope Oluwabusola,
• Michela Cerone,
• Terry K. Smith,
• Olusoji O. Adebisi,
• Adefolalu Adedotun,
• Gagan Preet,
• Sylvia Soldatou,
• Hai Deng,
• Rainer Ebel and
• Marcel Jaspars

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1388–1396, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.103

• Biochemistry, Federal University of Lafia, Nigeria 10.3762/bjoc.21.103 Abstract Pseudomonads strains represent a promising source of bioactive compounds with potential pharmaceutical applications. The necessity to find new drugs is underscored by the increased concern over antimicrobial resistance in the

A multicomponent reaction-initiated synthesis of imidazopyridine-fused isoquinolinones

• Ashutosh Nath,
• John Mark Awad and
• Wei Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1161–1169, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.92

• ]. Geometry optimizations were performed without symmetry restrictions, and frequency analyses verified that all structures represented genuine minima. Charge distributions and interatomic distances were evaluated to determine reaction feasibility, utilizing GaussView for molecular visualization. Bioactive

• compounds bearing imidazopyridine (red) and isoquinolinone-kind (blue) rings. Transition state analysis of IMDA reactions for 6a, 6j, 6h and 6r. Relative energy diagram for the synthesis of 8a from 6a. GBB-initiated synthesis of imidazopyridine-fused isoquinolinones. GBB reaction and N-acylation for the

Salen–scandium(III) complex-catalyzed asymmetric (3 + 2) annulation of aziridines and aldehydes

• Linqiang Wang and
• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1087–1094, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.86

• afford the pure product 3. The enantiomeric excess was determined using chiral HPLC analysis with a mixture of iPrOH and hexane as eluent. Oxazolidine-containing bioactive compounds. Asymmetric catalytic synthetic methods of oxazolidine derivatives. Scope of aziridines and aldehydes. Proposed reaction

Recent advances in synthetic approaches for bioactive cinnamic acid derivatives

• Betty A. Kustiana,
• Galuh Widiyarti and
• Teni Ernawati

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1031–1086, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.85

• -catalyzed carboxylation of gem-difluoroalkenes with CO2 to give the corresponding α-fluoro methyl cinnamates 214–217 via transmetallation and carboxylation (219 and 218) (Scheme 62A) [107]. The thus-obtained α-fluorocinnamic acid was successfully converted into the bioactive compounds 220 and 221. In

Cu–Bpin-mediated dimerization of 4,4-dichloro-2-butenoic acid derivatives enables the synthesis of densely functionalized cyclopropanes

• Patricia Gómez-Roibás,
• Andrea Chaves-Pouso and
• Martín Fañanás-Mastral

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 877–883, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.71

• represent an important class of compounds present in a range of bioactive compounds such as permethrin or alpha-cypermethrin, which are commonly used as insecticides [22][23]. The present transformation provides access to densely functionalized (2,2-dichlorovinyl)cyclopropanes, thus representing a potential

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

Sequential two-step, one-pot microwave-assisted Urech synthesis of 5-monosubstituted hydantoins from L-amino acids in water

• Wei-Jin Chang,
• Sook Yee Liew,
• Thomas Kurz and
• Siow-Ping Tan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 596–600, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.46

• accessibility of these bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical applications. Keywords: amino acids; hydantoin; microwave-assisted; one-pot reaction; Urech synthesis; Introduction The hydantoin moiety is a scaffold found in many biologically active compounds exhibiting a diverse range of properties, including

Synthesis, characterization, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and carbonic anhydrase inhibition activities of multifunctional pyrazolo-1,2-benzothiazine acetamides

• Ayesha Saeed,
• Shahana Ehsan,
• Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman,
• Erin M. Marshall,
• Sandra Loesgen,
• Abdus Saleem,
• Simone Giovannuzzi and
• Claudiu T. Supuran

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 348–357, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.25

• microbroth single-dose assays. Dimethyl sulfoxide was used at a final concentration of 0.1% as negative control. Microbroth dilution assays [52] for the most potent bioactive compounds 7b and 7h were performed using nine serial dilutions of the tested compounds with final concentrations of 256, 128, 64, 32

Antibiofilm and cytotoxic metabolites from the entomopathogenic fungus Samsoniella aurantia

• Rita Toshe,
• Syeda J. Khalid,
• Blondelle Matio Kemkuignou,
• Esteban Charria-Girón,
• Paul Eckhardt,
• Birthe Sandargo,
• Kunlapat Nuchthien,
• J. Jennifer Luangsa-ard,
• Till Opatz,
• Hedda Schrey,
• Sherif S. Ebada and
• Marc Stadler

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 327–339, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.23

• anticancer properties [6]. With concerns about biofilm formation and resistance escalating in the medical field, entomopathogenic fungi have emerged as a promising source of novel bioactive compounds [5]. Our recent exploration of B. neobassiana highlighted this growing interest, affording one tetramic acid

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

• oxide by direct UV light absorption. However, this method, although simpler, is not suitable for the present medicinal application. The space and time-controlled release of bioactive compounds is an important tool in bio- and medicinal chemistry to study biochemical mechanisms or to develop new

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

• as a vital pharmacophore in medicinal chemistry due to its special biological activity [11][12][13]. In particular, the tricyclic benzimidazole skeleton is ubiquitous in many bioactive compounds and therapeutic agents (Figure 1b) [14][15][16]. Recent studies have shown that fluorinated benzimidazole

Heteroannulations of cyanoacetamide-based MCR scaffolds utilizing formamide

• Marios Zingiridis,
• Danae Papachristodoulou,
• Despoina Menegaki,
• Konstantinos G. Froudas and
• Constantinos G. Neochoritis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 217–225, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.13

• of aliphatic and aromatic substituents (Scheme 4). Pyrimidines and pyrimidone-bearing indole derivatives are crucial in organic chemistry because of their extensive use as bioactive compounds with a wide array of significant biological activities (DB03074, DB03304, DB08131) [70][71][72]. In a similar

Recent advances in electrochemical copper catalysis for modern organic synthesis

• Yemin Kim and
• Won Jun Jang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 155–178, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.9

• enantioenriched nitrile products 89 and a reduced Cu(I) complex 94, which is reoxidized through anodic oxidation. The 1,2-diamine moiety is present in numerous natural products and bioactive compounds. In 2022, Xu et al. reported the Cu-catalyzed electrocatalytic diazidation of olefins with ppm-level catalyst

Reactivity of hypervalent iodine(III) reagents bearing a benzylamine with sulfenate salts

• Beatriz Dedeiras,
• Catarina S. Caldeira,
• José C. Cunha,
• Clara S. B. Gomes and
• M. Manuel B. Marques

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3281–3289, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.272

• reactivity with in situ-generated sulfenate anions, from β-sulfinyl esters, to achieve S–N bond formation. The importance of establishing this S–N bond results from the widespread presence of sulfonyl-containing bioactive compounds, such as the sulfonamide group which can be found in many pharmaceuticals

Hypervalent iodine-mediated intramolecular alkene halocyclisation

• Charu Bansal,
• Oliver Ruggles,
• Albert C. Rowett and
• Alastair J. J. Lennox

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3113–3133, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.258

• heterocycles. Example bioactive compounds containing cyclic scaffolds potentially accessible by HVI chemistry. A general mechanism for HVI-mediated endo- or exo-halocyclisation. Metal-free synthesis of β-fluorinated piperidines 6. Ts = tosyl. Intramolecular aminofluorination of unactivated alkenes with a