Thiazolidinones: novel insights from microwave synthesis, computational studies, and potentially bioactive hybrids

• Luan A. Martinho,
• Victor H. J. G. Praciano,
• Guilherme D. R. Matos,
• Claudia C. Gatto and
• Carlos Kleber Z. Andrade

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2618–2636, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.203

• condensation-type reaction between aromatic aldehydes with rhodanine or thiazolidine-2,4-dione [39]. Various protocols have been reported employing diverse catalyst systems and reaction conditions. Common catalysts include inorganic bases such as sodium acetate (NaOAc) [40], urea/thiourea [41], NaOH [42

• ], diammonium phosphate (DAP) [43], and tetrabutylammonium bromide (TBAB) [44]. Organic bases like morpholine [45], triethylamine [46], ethanolamine, and piperidine [47] and heterogeneous catalysts from Cu [48], Ti [49], and Zn [50] metal compounds have also been used. Common solvents are ethanol [51], toluene

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

• , Michael additions, cycloadditions, domino reactions, cascade annulations, Diels–Alder reactions, and Michael–Stetter reactions, to name a few [31][32][33][34][35]. Notably, previous reports have demonstrated that the utility of chiral N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalysts permits contracting asymmetric C

• –C, C–HA bond-forming reactions [36][37]. These chiral NHC catalysts, used to access enantiopure alcohol/amine derivatives, particularly 2° and 3° alcohols/amines, are significant structural motifs in numerous drugs and natural products and have found widespread synthetic applications in medicinal

• continued integration of this versatile photocatalytic platform with sustainable methods such as visible-light harvesting and the use of earth-abundant catalysts is expected to further enhance its impact across diverse research fields, including chemical biology, pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, polymers

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

• reagent resulted in complete loss of reactivity (Table 1, entry 12). Further, extending the reaction time had no significant effect on the yield (Table 1, entry 13). Finally, our investigation using various 3d transition metal catalysts such as Ni(OAc)2, Cu(OAc)2, and Co(OAc)2 in place of Pd₂(dba)3 did

Synthesis of the tetracyclic skeleton of Aspidosperma alkaloids via PET-initiated cationic radical-derived interrupted [2 + 2]/retro-Mannich reaction

• Ru-Dong Liu,
• Jian-Yu Long,
• Zhi-Lin Song,
• Zhen Yang and
• Zhong-Chao Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2470–2478, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.189

• catalysts that could promote the proposed PET reaction of 9a on the basis of our previous results [15]. The reaction was performed in MeCN in the presence of photocatalysts under blue light-emitting diode (LED) irradiation at 30 °C. The results are listed in Table 1. Catalysts I [28], II [29], and III [30

• ] gave the desired product 10a, with catalyst I giving the best result (Table 1, entries 1–3). The necessities of irradiation and the presence of a photocatalyst were also defined (Table 1, entries 4 and 5). However, use of the other tested catalysts did not give the desired product under the reaction

Catalytic enantioselective synthesis of selenium-containing atropisomers via C–Se bond formations

• Qi-Sen Gao,
• Zheng-Wei Wei and
• Zhi-Min Chen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2447–2455, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.186

• Atropisomers are not only prevalent in biologically active natural products and pharmaceuticals, but they have also garnered increasing attention for their effectiveness as ligands and catalysts in the field of catalytic asymmetric synthesis. Asymmetric catalysis serves as a key strategy for the

• compounds can participate in asymmetric synthesis reactions and construct chiral molecules with specific stereoconfiguration, which is particularly critical for drug synthesis [9]. In the field of organic catalysis, chiral organic selenium-containing compounds can be used as chiral ligands or catalysts to

• (Scheme 4). In 2025, Yang, Lu, and co-workers employed bifunctional catalysts, including chiral thiourea derivatives or chiral phosphoric acid, to activate alkynes and selenols through multiple hydrogen-bonding interactions, thereby achieving an enantioselective hydroselenation of alkynes [22]. All

Transformation of the cyclohexane ring to the cyclopentane fragment of biologically active compounds

• Natalya Akhmetdinova,
• Ilgiz Biktagirov and
• Liliya Kh. Faizullina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2416–2446, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.185

• [52] achieved high regioselectivity and stereospecific construction of contiguous all-carbon quaternary centers through an oxidative ring contraction of cyclic α-formyl ketones by the action of H2O2. This reaction is easy to perform, environmentally friendly, and does not require expensive catalysts

• products of epoxide ring opening. It should be noted that the position of the epoxy ring in the 6-membered ring has a major influence on the composition of reaction products. Catalysts only affect the yield of the reaction. A striking confirmation of this is the work of Berteina-Raboin and co-workers [87

• formation of ketone 191. This was observed when BF3·Et2O, InCl3, TfOH, or ZnBr2 were used as catalysts. Elimination of a proton from C15 led to formation of alcohol 192 with a second exocyclic double bond in reaction mediated by ZnBr2, Bi(OTf)3, p-TSA or TFA. A 1,2-rearrangement or migration of C2 results

The high potential of methyl laurate as a recyclable competitor to conventional toxic solvents in [3 + 2] cycloaddition reactions

• Ayhan Yıldırım and
• Mustafa Göker

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2389–2415, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.184

• optimized [3 + 2] cycloaddition conditions. The primary strategy for the selection of these compounds as catalysts is predicated on their capacity to function as H-bond acceptors and/or H-bond donors. As has been documented in previous research, imine-based templates or [2]rotaxane that possess an amide

• in Table 1, entry 9. As illustrated in Table 5, the product yields obtained from the reactions are presented alongside the observed cis/trans diastereoisomer ratios in the presence of the respective catalysts. However, upon examination of the 1H NMR spectra of compound 3a synthesized in the presence

• of the relevant catalysts, it was found that these catalyst molecules had no significant effect on the cis/trans diastereoisomer distribution. Conclusion In conclusion, the present study reveals that methyl laurate is an excellent biocompatible solvent candidate for [3 + 2] cycloaddition reactions

Adaptive experimentation and optimization in organic chemistry

• Artur M. Schweidtmann and
• Philippe Schwaller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2367–2368, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.180

• human–AI synergy emerges repeatedly. The computational design of asymmetric catalysts by Ferrer et al. demonstrates how AI can accelerate discovery while relying on chemical principles to guide the search space [14]. The most successful approaches combine the rapid exploration capabilities of AI with

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

• ingenuity lies in utilizing the inherent conformational constraints of the substrate instead of external chiral catalysts, which not only simplifies the reaction system but also solves the challenge of precisely controlling contiguous chiral centers in polycyclic systems. Conclusion This review

Enantioselective radical chemistry: a bright future ahead

• Anna C. Renner,
• Sagar S. Thorat,
• Hariharaputhiran Subramanian and
• Mukund P. Sibi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2283–2296, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.174

• enantioenriched catalysts ranging from chiral organometallic complexes to organocatalysts (small organic molecules) have been designed, synthesized, and successfully used in several organic transformations [1][2][3]. Despite these advances, catalytic methods involving radical intermediates were very rare until

• include the use of transition metals or photoredox catalysts. In photoredox catalysis, radical generation often involves single-electron transfer (SET) to or from a photoexcited state of a photoredox catalyst, usually a metal complex or organic molecule. Two other notable strategies for radical generation

• catalysts. The drawbacks of chiral Lewis acids have been overcome to an extent using organocatalysis. The use of photochemistry to generate radicals by light-induced electron transfer has resulted in elegant enantioselective radical transformations. Several transition-metal photocatalysts [9] and organo

Pathway economy in cyclization of 1,n-enynes

• Hezhen Han,
• Wenjie Mao,
• Bin Lin,
• Maosheng Cheng,
• Lu Yang and
• Yongxiang Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2260–2282, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.173

• substrate class. Through mechanistic-guided modulation of catalysts, solvents, ligands, and angle strain, this approach achieves unprecedented reaction pathway control while demonstrating superior temporal and step efficiency compared to conventional methods. The work establishes a sustainable framework for

• components such as solvents, catalysts, ligands and so on. Unlike traditional “one-to-one” reactions, pathway-controlled “one-to-many” transformations synthesize multiple products from single intermediates, dramatically reducing preparation time and reagent requirements (Scheme 1b). As an exceptionally

• ligands could enhance catalytic activity and efficiency while enabling fine control over chemo-, regio-, stereo-, and enantioselectivity of reactions. Ligands enhance both the thermal/chemical stability and solubility profiles of catalysts in specific reaction media. Thus, ligands function as a regulatory

Pd-catalyzed dehydrogenative arylation of arylhydrazines to access non-symmetric azobenzenes, including tetra-ortho derivatives

• Loris Geminiani,
• Kathrin Junge,
• Matthias Beller and
• Jean-François Soulé

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2234–2242, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.170

• product and side-products is presented in Figure 2B. The first reaction to be inhibited is the Pd-catalyzed denitrogenative cross-coupling, which leads to the formation of an array of biphenyl products [52][53][54]. This can be controlled by selecting appropriate catalysts and solvents. For instance, PdCl

Electrochemical cyclization of alkynes to construct five-membered nitrogen-heterocyclic rings

• Lifen Peng,
• Ting Wang,
• Zhiwen Yuan,
• Bin Li,
• Zilong Tang,
• Xirong Liu,
• Hui Li,
• Guofang Jiang,
• Chunling Zeng,
• Henry N. C. Wong and
• Xiao-Shui Peng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2173–2201, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.166

• transformations far from thermodynamic equilibria have emerged abundantly with the consideration of green chemistry [89][90][91][92]. Redox-active organic compounds, transition metal coordinating compounds and even an electrode surface were commonly employed as catalysts in the electrochemical transformations [93

• anodic oxidation and AcO− capture. The hydrolysis of F then occurred to afford the final product 26a. This protocol featured with some advantages such as without any oxidants and metal catalysts, simple operation, good yields, high selectivity and wide substrate scope. Isoindolinone could be also

• reduction. The subsequent protonation of F occurred to complete the formation of 28. This approach, applying electrolyte as the proton sources, avoided the use of reductants and metal catalysts efficiently. In 2022, Guo developed an electrochemical intramolecular 1,2-amino oxygenation of alkyne to access

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

• diverse downstream products from biomass, with efforts for using clean and sustainable conditions in terms of solvents, reagents and catalysts. The topic of biomass conversion has been explored in multiple perspectives [23][24][25][26][27], and the purpose of the present review is to offer a specific

• for the synthesis of GA and GCA using activated carbon deposited Cu catalysts and different biomass-derived polyols as feedstock with exceptionally high atom utilization ≈93% and up to 90% yield (Scheme 1) [28]. Glycolaldehyde (GCA), the smallest sugar molecule, was used by Sels et al. for the

• -Hydroxypropanal (3-HPO) and 2,3-dihydroxypropanal (2,3-HPO) Xu et al. reported the cross-aldol reaction of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde for the synthesis of 3-hydroxypropanal and further reduction to 1,3-propanediol (PDO). The reaction was promoted by X-5Mg/SiO2 and Mg/SiO2 (X = Mn, Co, Ni, Fe) catalysts

The application of desymmetric enantioselective reduction of cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds in the total synthesis of terpenoid and alkaloid natural products

• Dong-Xing Tan and
• Fu-She Han

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2085–2102, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.164

• enantioselective reduction of some complex substrates, as well as suppressing the double reduction by-products and developing new types of catalysts. Moreover, the application of desymmetric enantioselective reduction of chain dicarbonyl compounds in natural products synthesis remains largely undeveloped although

Solar thermal fuels: azobenzene as a cyclic photon–heat transduction platform

• Jie Yan,
• Shaodong Sun,
• Minghao Wang and
• Si Wu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2036–2047, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.159

• ) through structural or bond rearrangements, thereby enabling solar energy storage. This reversible process is termed "energy charging", while the subsequent transformation of high-energy photoisomers back to their ground state – triggered by external stimuli such as light, heat, or catalysts – releases

Switchable pathways of multicomponent heterocyclizations of 5-amino-1,2,4-triazoles with salicylaldehydes and pyruvic acid

• Yana I. Sakhno,
• Oleksander V. Buravov,
• Kostyantyn Yu. Yurkov,
• Anastasia Yu. Andryushchenko,
• Svitlana V. Shishkina and
• Valentyn A. Chebanov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2030–2035, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.158

• -1,2,4-triazoles, is important because the formation of different chemotypes of final heterocyclic compounds are possible depending on the structure of the reagents, the solvents and the catalysts, and type of activation methods [7][8][9]. MCRs of aminotriazoles, methylene-active compounds, and

Measuring the stereogenic remoteness in non-central chirality: a stereocontrol connectivity index for asymmetric reactions

• Ivan Keng Wee On,
• Yu Kun Choo,
• Sambhav Baid and
• Ye Zhu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1995–2006, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.155

• important in pharmaceuticals, catalysts, and advanced materials due to their unique stereogenic scaffolds and associated properties. Consequently, synthetic chemists have been pursuing molecules featuring these forms of non-central chirality, where the stereogenic elements are not localized on a single

• parameterizing the relay of stereochemical information from the chiral catalysts to the prochiral substrates. In this study, we propose a stereocontrol connectivity index that quantitatively characterizes asymmetric reactions. The index could serve as a basis for classifying asymmetric reactions according to the

• positioning of stereochemically relevant elements, independent of the type of transformation. Additionally, the index enables the identification of the minimal set of structural features in a molecule that are recognized by chiral catalysts to achieve stereocontrol. Results and Discussion We envisaged that

Aryl iodane-induced cascade arylation–1,2-silyl shift–heterocyclization of propargylsilanes under copper catalysis

• Rasma Kroņkalne,
• Rūdolfs Beļaunieks,
• Armands Sebris,
• Anatoly Mishnev and
• Māris Turks

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1984–1994, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.154

• species are limited to aryl- [7][8][10] or heteroaryl groups [7][8]. In one example methyl ethers were used [9]. Under [Pd]-catalyzed conditions a syn-type addition is observed [8][11], while [Cu] catalysts promote anti-addition [7][10]. In substrates prone to cationic rearrangements (or hydride shifts

• , partial degradation of the starting material 7a was also observed. Among the tested solvents, EtOAc gave the best results (Table 1, entries 1–3, 7–18). As for reaction catalysts, Cu(I) salts demonstrated far better reactivity than Cu(II) salts, likely because the reaction proceeds via the Cu(I/III

Enantioselective desymmetrization strategy of prochiral 1,3-diols in natural product synthesis

• Lihua Wei,
• Rui Yang,
• Zhifeng Shi and
• Zhiqiang Ma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1932–1963, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.151

• reactions, chemists have developed a series of catalysts composed of transition-metal cores and chiral ligands, which have been applied to various asymmetric reactions [50][51][52]. Compared to the enzymatic methods, the transition-metal-catalyzed approach may provide an advantage to access both enantiomers

• -catalyzed acylation Zn-based complexes are another class of effective catalysts used in desymmetrization of 1,3-diols, as reported by Trost and co-worker in 2003 [56]. In 2013, Trost et al. developed the synthesis of (−)-18-epi-peloruside A (Scheme 26) [68], and converted diol 204 into enantioenriched

• enantioselective desymmetrization of prochiral 1,3-diols within complex structures can be realized using organometallic catalysts composed of copper or zinc salts and different types of chiral ligands. In general, the ability to control the stereoselectivity of the product by using the enantiomer of the ligand in

Rhodium-catalysed connective synthesis of diverse reactive probes bearing S(VI) electrophilic warheads

• Scott Rice,
• Julian Chesti,
• William R. T. Mosedale,
• Megan H. Wright,
• Stephen P. Marsden,
• Terry K. Smith and
• Adam Nelson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1924–1931, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.150

• functional groups that might be incorporated into co-substrates [14]. The richness of potential connective chemistry, and the availability of alternative dirhodium catalysts with distinctive reactivity, was expected to expand the structural diversity of accessible reactive probes. Herein, we describe the

• with, we investigated reactions of the α-diazoamide substrates D1, D2 and D3 with the 16 co-substrates C1–16 catalysed by three diverse [21] dirhodium catalysts (Rh2piv4, Rh2pfb4 and Rh2cap4) i.e., an array of 144 reactions. An α-diazoamide substrate (20 μmol; 16 μL of a 1.25 M solution in CH2Cl2) and

• of each reaction was thus 200 μL, with final concentrations of 100 mM (for substrates), 500 mM (for co-substrates) and 1 mM (for catalysts). After 48 h, the outcome of the reactions was determined by analytical UPLC–MS with, additionally, evaporative light-scattering detection [22][23] to enable

Chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of helically chiral, planarly chiral and inherently chiral molecules

• Wei Liu and
• Xiaoyu Yang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1864–1889, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.145

• asymmetric Mannich reactions, the past two decades have witnessed the remarkable evolution of CPA catalysis into one of the most versatile platforms for achieving diverse enantioselective transformations [3][4][5][6][7][8]. CPA catalysts are generally recognized as bifunctional catalysts with two distinct

• catalytic sites. The OH group on the phosphorus atom functions as a Brønsted acid site, while P=O serves as a Lewis base site, which enables the simultaneous activation of both nucleophiles and electrophiles in one reaction (Figure 1). The chiral properties of the catalysts are derived from the chiral

• framework of the diol precursors, predominantly axially chiral structures such as BINOL, H8-BINOL, SPINOL and VAPOL scaffolds, which are widely used in the development of CPA catalysts. Furthermore, the ortho-aryl substitutions of the CPA catalyst can efficiently modulate the stereochemical and electronic

Systematic pore lipophilization to enhance the efficiency of an amine-based MOF catalyst in the solvent-free Knoevenagel reaction

• Pricilla Matseketsa,
• Margret Kumbirayi Ruwimbo Pagare and
• Tendai Gadzikwa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1854–1863, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.144

• enhance covalent and/or acid–base catalysis via any combination of non-covalent interactions (hydrogen bonding, π–π stacking, lipophilic interactions, etc) [4][5][6]. Inspired by enzymes, Nature's most efficient catalysts, chemists have long endeavored to synthesize catalytic materials in which multiple

• ][22]. These attributes allow us to construct MOF-based catalysts with active sites that are isolated within cavities of the same size range as small molecules and whose walls are decorated with precisely located functional groups. We can rationally elaborate these functional groups to modulate

• catalytic performance and/or systematically investigate the influence of a particular chemical or structural property on catalyst efficiency [23]. For examples of tailoring the pore environment in MOF-based catalysts to modulate catalytic performance, we can refer to the elegant work of Telfer and co

Fe-catalyzed efficient synthesis of 2,4- and 4-substituted quinolines via C(sp²)–C(sp²) bond scission of styrenes

• Prafull A. Jagtap,
• Manish M. Petkar,
• Vaishnavi R. Sawant and
• Bhalchandra M. Bhanage

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1799–1807, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.142

• probes for sensing and bioimaging applications (Figure 1) [16][17]. Quinoline-derived metal complexes have also demonstrated broad utility, functioning as effective catalysts in organic synthesis and finding applications across medicinal chemistry, materials science, photovoltaics, and chemical sensing

• [25]. However, these methods often require multiple synthetic steps and demanding conditions such as elevated temperatures, strong acidic or basic environments, and the use of expensive metal catalysts, which limit their broader applicability. To overcome these limitations, numerous catalytic

• cycloaddition, tandem annulation, intramolecular cyclization, and cross-coupling reactions are commonly employed under thermal conditions, utilizing metal catalysts based on Pd, Ru, Au, Cu, and Fe to access a wide array of substituted quinoline frameworks [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. Conversely, in

3,3'-Linked BINOL macrocycles: optimized synthesis of crown ethers featuring one or two BINOL units

• Somayyeh Kheirjou,
• Jan Riebe,
• Maike Thiele,
• Christoph Wölper and
• Jochen Niemeyer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1719–1729, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.134

• highly efficient catalysts, chemosensors, and functional materials. We have recently made strides in developing macrocyclic organocatalysts; however, their synthesis remains challenging. In this work, we aimed to discover a straightforward method for producing a diverse range of chiral macrocycles