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

• base [5]. In fact, its hydrogen-bond-accepting ability is even stronger than that of the other 3-, 5- and 6-membered cyclic ethers, as well as the carbonyls of aldehydes, ketones, esters and carbonates [6][7][8]. The only better carbonyl-based hydrogen-bond acceptors are amides, carbamates and ureas [9

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

• pendant aryl moiety, is better for target-binding and hence 41 is a ≈10-fold more potent inhibitor of BACE-1 than 40. Several further examples of cyclic ethers will be examined in section 5 (sugars). The anomeric effect applies in acyclic ethers, too. Consider the non-fluorinated scaffold, Ph–O–CH3 (42

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

• obtain cyclic ether-fused tetrahydroquinolines 24 has been reported starting from secondary anilines, cyclic ethers and paraformaldehyde (Scheme 18) [35]. In addition to Cu(OTf)2 as a catalyst, the most effective reaction conditions required a substoichiometric amount of p-nitrobenzoic acid as an

Non-noble metal-catalyzed cross-dehydrogenation coupling (CDC) involving ether α-C(sp³)–H to construct C–C bonds

• Hui Yu and
• Feng Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1259–1288, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.94

• form the coupling product. However, this method is only applicable to cyclic ethers. In the same year, Correa et al. established a double C(sp3)–H functionalization reaction of α-amino carbonyl compounds and 2-alkyl-1,3-dioxolanes in the presence of Cu(I) (Scheme 6b) [55]. This method allows the

• adjacent C=C bond, various conjugated alkenyl C–H bonds can also be activated to construct functionalized ethers. In 2013, Wang et al. achieved a mild Cu(OTf)2-catalyzed CDC of (benzo)thiazoles with cyclic ethers in the presence of K2S2O8 (Scheme 9) [59]. The catalytic system is also suitable for

• ether α-C–H bond. In the presence of Cu(II), the C(sp2)–C(sp3) coupling of pyridine N-oxides and coumarins with cyclic ethers could be achieved under mild conditions (Scheme 13) [63][64]. These reactions do not all follow the reaction mechanism of the oxidative olefination of simple ethers. The role of

Redox-active molecules as organocatalysts for selective oxidative transformations – an unperceived organocatalysis field

• Elena R. Lopat’eva,
• Igor B. Krylov,
• Dmitry A. Lapshin and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1672–1695, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.179

• kinetic resolution of racemic alcohols [99] and for the oxidation of benzylic cyclic ethers to lactones [100] was demonstrated. The CuI/9-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane N-oxyl (ABNO) catalytic system successfully promotes the oxidative coupling of alcohols with primary amines [101] (Scheme 13). The reaction

Photoredox catalysis in nickel-catalyzed C–H functionalization

• Lusina Mantry,
• Rajaram Maayuri,
• Vikash Kumar and
• Parthasarathy Gandeepan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2209–2259, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.143

• irradiation with UVA light enabled the cross-coupling of α-oxy C–H bonds of acyclic/cyclic ethers 9 with alkyl bromides 40 (Scheme 24) [86]. The catalytic system was not limited to α-oxy C–H bonds of cyclic ethers, substrates having other heteroatoms such as nitrogen and sulfur that can imbue a hydridic

• - tetrakis(carbazol-9-yl)-4,6-dicyanobenzene (4-CzIPN) could also be used with nickel catalysis for the alkylation of α-oxy C–H bonds of acyclic/cyclic ethers 9 with alkyl halides 40 (Scheme 27) [87]. The bench stable nickel(II) acetylacetonate can be used as the catalyst along with the dtbbpy ligand. The

The McKenna reaction – avoiding side reactions in phosphonate deprotection

• Katarzyna Justyna,
• Joanna Małolepsza,
• Damian Kusy,
• Waldemar Maniukiewicz and
• Katarzyna M. Błażewska

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1436–1446, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.119

• ), and therefore its easy removal from the reaction mixture. Section 4: Exchange of chloride for bromide BTMS is known to act as brominating agent for various functional groups, such as alcohols [47][48], three- and four-membered cyclic ethers [49], and anomeric glycosyl acetates [50]. However, to the

Photocatalysis with organic dyes: facile access to reactive intermediates for synthesis

• Stephanie G. E. Amos,
• Marion Garreau,
• Luca Buzzetti and
• Jerome Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1163–1187, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.103

• cyclic ethers 22.3. Mes-Acr-Me+ (OD2) is a strong enough oxidant (E(PC+*/PC) ≈ 2.1 V), allowing the oxidation of unactivated alkenes (1.2 ≤ Eox ≤ 1.9 V). In this transformation, the cocatalyst 22.2 acts as an H atom shuttle. This alkene radical cation-based strategy has been extended to various

SO₂F₂-mediated transformation of 2'-hydroxyacetophenones to benzo-oxetes

• Revathi Lekkala,
• Ravindar Lekkala,
• Balakrishna Moku,
• K. P. Rakesh and
• Hua-Li Qin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 976–980, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.95

• natural products and biological active molecules [3]. The synthesis and chemistry of oxetanes have been reviewed [1][2][4][5]. In medicinal chemistry, oxetanes have remained neglected units for many years since the first parent structure has been reported by Reboul in 1878 [6]. As strained cyclic ethers

One-pot synthesis of epoxides from benzyl alcohols and aldehydes

• Edwin Alfonzo,
• Jesse W. L. Mendoza and
• Aaron B. Beeler

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2308–2312, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.205

• into carbonyls [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17], and application to cascade or domino reactions [18][19]. More recently, our group has used benzyl epoxides for the photoredox generation of carbonyl ylides which are leveraged in the synthesis of cyclic ethers [20]. This work has led us to search

Rapid transformation of sulfinate salts into sulfonates promoted by a hypervalent iodine(III) reagent

• Elsa Deruer,
• Vincent Hamel,
• Samuel Blais and
• Sylvain Canesi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 1203–1207, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.101

• aromatic systems or cyclic ethers through a ring opening pathway. Keywords: hypervalent iodine; oxidation; sulfinates; sulfonation; sulfonium; Introduction Over the past few decades, hypervalent iodine reagents [1][2][3][4] have emerged as versatile and environmentally benign substitutes for heavy metal

Electrochemical selenium- and iodonium-initiated cyclisation of hydroxy-functionalised 1,4-dienes

• Philipp Röse,
• Steffen Emge,
• Jun-ichi Yoshida and
• Gerhard Hilt

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 174–183, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.18

• and pyran derivatives under indirect electrochemical conditions generating selenium or iodonium cations. The reactions proceed in good yields and regioselectivities for the formation of single diastereomers. Keywords: cyclic ethers; cyclisation; 1,4-dienes; electrochemistry; iodonium; selenium

Cross-dehydrogenative coupling for the intermolecular C–O bond formation

• Igor B. Krylov,
• Vera A. Vil’ and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 92–146, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.13

Multicomponent versus domino reactions: One-pot free-radical synthesis of β-amino-ethers and β-amino-alcohols

• Bianca Rossi,
• Nadia Pastori,
• Simona Prosperini and
• Carlo Punta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2015, 11, 66–73, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.10

• a) [29]. Surprisingly, the same reaction was even more efficient when performed in the presence of the Ti(IV)/Zn/t-BuOOH system (Scheme 2, entry b). Under the latter conditions, the domino approach was also successfully extended to cyclic ethers, promoting the consecutive electrophilic amination to

Intermediates in monensin biosynthesis: A late step in biosynthesis of the polyether ionophore monensin is crucial for the integrity of cation binding

• Wolfgang Hüttel,
• Jonathan B. Spencer and
• Peter F. Leadlay

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 361–368, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.34

• , University of Cambridge, Lensfield Road, Cambridge CB2 1QW, UK 10.3762/bjoc.10.34 Abstract Polyether antibiotics such as monensin are biosynthesised via a cascade of directed ring expansions operating on a putative polyepoxide precursor. The resulting structures containing fused cyclic ethers and a

Synthesis of new enantiopure poly(hydroxy)aminooxepanes as building blocks for multivalent carbohydrate mimetics

• Léa Bouché,
• Maja Kandziora and
• Hans-Ulrich Reissig

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2014, 10, 213–223, doi:10.3762/bjoc.10.17

• ] lead to the highly functionalized bicyclic 1,2-oxazinones C which can be regarded as protected aminopolyol precursors offering the option for plenty of selective transformations [27][28]; after reductive steps the polyhydroxylated cyclic ethers D are obtained. The advantages of this route are the

Anodic coupling of carboxylic acids to electron-rich double bonds: A surprising non-Kolbe pathway to lactones

• Robert J. Perkins,
• Hai-Chao Xu,
• John M. Campbell and
• Kevin D. Moeller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2013, 9, 1630–1636, doi:10.3762/bjoc.9.186

• spirocyclic carbocyclic systems [3], cyclic amino acid derivatives [4], cyclic ethers [5][6], and lactones [7][8]. In most of these examples, the reactions can be viewed as arising from an oxidation that forms an olefinic radical cation that is then rapidly trapped by a nucleophile. This triggers a cascade of

Re₂O₇-catalyzed reaction of hemiacetals and aldehydes with O-, S-, and C-nucleophiles

• Wantanee Sittiwong,
• Michael W. Richardson,
• Charles E. Schiaffo,
• Thomas J. Fisher and
• Patrick H. Dussault

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2013, 9, 1526–1532, doi:10.3762/bjoc.9.174

• hemiacetals is relatively low [13]. The differences in reactivity between hemiacetals of cyclic ethers (displaced by alcohols and allyltrimethylsilane) and those of cyclic peroxides (reactive only towards alcohols) demonstrates that the extent of activation is dependent on the nature of the substrate, and

Systematic investigations on the reduction of 4-aryl-4-oxoesters to 1-aryl-1,4-butanediols with methanolic sodium borohydride

• Subrata Kumar Chaudhuri,
• Manabendra Saha,
• Amit Saha and
• Sanjay Bhar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2010, 6, 748–755, doi:10.3762/bjoc.6.94

• LiAlH4 which also often gives rise to several non-identifiable by-products. Structurally varied 1-aryl-1,4-butanediols are of great synthetic value with immense applications in cationic polymerizations [34], as intermediates for the syntheses of important acyclic antiviral nucleosides [35] and cyclic

• ethers [36]. Substrate 5 also underwent similar transformation under more drastic conditions to give a mixture of diol 6 [37] and lactone 7 [38], as shown in Scheme 4. In this instance no reaction took place at room temperature even after 24 h which might be ascribed to the lower electrophilicity of both

Oxidative cyclization of alkenols with Oxone using a miniflow reactor

• Yoichi M. A. Yamada,
• Kaoru Torii and
• Yasuhiro Uozumi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2009, 5, No. 18, doi:10.3762/bjoc.5.18

• within 5 or 10 min of residence time. Keywords: alkenols; cyclic ethers; miniflow reaction; oxidative cyclization; Oxone; Introduction The development of flow-reaction systems for molecular transformations is an important goal in organic syntheses. Recently, innovative devices such as micro- and

• carried out in the miniflow reactor with 5 min of residence time at 80 °C, we were pleased to see that the reaction proceeded smoothly to afford the corresponding cyclic ethers 2 in high conversion. Thus, a solution of an alkenol 1 in i-PrOH (50 mM) and Oxone in water (100 mM) were oppositely injected

• of six-membered cyclic ethers. Thus, the oxidation of (Z)-5-octen-1-ol (1d) was carried out with a flow rate of 2.0 μL/min (residence time: 10 min) to give 90% conversion of the threo-tetrahydropyranyl alcohol 2d (entry 4). (E)-4-Decen-1-ol (1e) underwent oxidative cyclization with 10 min residence

Synthesis of 2,6-trans- disubstituted 5,6-dihydropyrans from (Z)-1,5-syn-endiols

• Eric M. Flamme and
• William R. Roush

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2005, 1, No. 7, doi:10.1186/1860-5397-1-7

• dihydropyan ent-3. Cyclic ethers of various ring size have been synthesized by the cyclodehydration of diols through the use of oxyphosphonium salts and phosphorane reagents.[18][19][20][21][22][23] We reasoned that because the rate determining step of these cyclizations is believed to be the nucleophilic