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

• E. M. Kosower in 1978. In this study, we report the topochemical cycloaddition of diethyl 2,6-dichloro-1,7-dioxo-1H,7H-pyrazolo[1,2-a]pyrazole-3,5-dicarboxylate (Cl2B), initiated by visible light. Crystal structure analysis confirmed that the reactive double bonds are parallel and coplanar, in line

• with the Schmidt criteria for topochemical cycloaddition. Additionally, two other bimane derivatives with different substitution patterns were synthesized and investigated. Our findings suggest that functionalizing bimanes to redshift their absorption maxima into the visible-light spectrum provides a

• promising strategy for synthesizing substituted cyclobutanes without the need for ultraviolet irradiation. Keywords: bimane; [2 + 2] cycloaddition; fluorescence; topochemical polymerization; X-ray crystallography; Introduction Topochemical polymerizations refer to polymerization reactions occurring in the

Photomechanochemistry: harnessing mechanical forces to enhance photochemical reactions

• Francesco Mele,
• Ana M. Constantin,
• Andrea Porcheddu,
• Raimondo Maggi,
• Giovanni Maestri,
• Nicola Della Ca’ and
• Luca Capaldo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 458–472, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.33

• alignment within the crystal drives the reaction. For example, in 2008, Vittal et al. [62] designed a mechanochemical strategy to align the C=C bonds of 4,4'-bipyridylethylene (bpe, 1.1) molecules to drive efficient [2 + 2] cycloaddition and give the corresponding cyclobutanes (1.2). This approach relied on

• are crucial for product formation. Lastly, the author noted that the inclusion of acetonitrile as a LAG agent enabled the transformation even without the presence of a photocatalyst [72][74]. In 2023, Braunschweig and co-workers reported the photomechanochemical [2 + 2] cycloaddition of acenaphthylene

• + 2] cycloaddition (Scheme 11). Regarding the experimental setup, the authors adapted a commercially available ball mill, by introducing a custom-made stainless steel safety shield to minimize unwanted light leakage. The interior surface of the shield is somewhat reflective. A hole in the milling

Electrochemical synthesis of cyclic biaryl λ³-bromanes from 2,2’-dibromobiphenyls

• Andrejs Savkins and
• Igors Sokolovs

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 451–457, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.32

• diaryl λ3-bromanes under remarkably mild conditions with subsequent applications of the in situ-generated arynes in cycloaddition reactions [3], meta-selective reactions with oxygen and nitrogen nucleophiles [4][5], regiodivergent meta or ortho-alkynylations [6], and regioselective (di)halogenation [7

New tandem Ugi/intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction based on vinylfuran and 1,3-butadienylfuran derivatives

• Yuriy I. Horak,
• Roman Z. Lytvyn,
• Andrii R. Vakhula,
• Yuriy V. Homza,
• Nazariy T. Pokhodylo and
• Mykola D. Obushak

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 444–450, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.31

• reaction and Diels–Alder [4 + 2] cycloaddition based on vinylfuran and 1,3-butadienylfuran derivatives was designed and studied. It was found that in the case of 3-(furan-2-yl)acrylaldehyde, a one-pot Ugi reaction and intramolecular Diels–Alder vinylarene (IMDAV) reaction leads to the formation of the

• -3aH-furo[2,3-f]isoindole core in excellent yields. Under the same conditions, the (2E,4E)-5-(furan-2-yl)penta-2,4-dienal gives an Ugi adduct that undergoes the IMDA reaction without involving the furan core. The cycloaddition leads to the formation of 2,3,3a,4,5,7a-hexahydro-1H-isoindoles in high

• [11][12][13]. Advancements in one-pot syntheses, like combining the Ugi reaction with other methods [14][15][16][17][18], for example, the Huisgen cycloaddition, have led to the creation of unique [1,2,3]triazolo[1,5-a]pyrazine derivatives [19]. Tandem reactions are particularly valued for their atom

Molecular diversity of the reactions of MBH carbonates of isatins and various nucleophiles

• Zi-Ying Xiao,
• Jing Sun and
• Chao-Guo Yan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 286–295, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.21

• very different to that of the above mentioned reactions of MBH nitriles and formates of isatins. It has been reported that triphenylphosphine can catalyze the cycloaddition reaction of MBH carbonates of isatins with some activated alkenes to give diverse spirooxindoles [38][39][40][41]. The reaction of

Three-component reactions of conjugated dienes, CH acids and formaldehyde under diffusion mixing conditions

• Dmitry E. Shybanov,
• Maxim E. Kukushkin,
• Eugene V. Babaev,
• Nikolai V. Zyk and
• Elena K. Beloglazkina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 262–269, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.18

• main reaction products. Keywords: aldol condensation; [4 + 2]-cycloaddition; diffusion mixing; formaldehyde; Knoevenagel condensation; three-component reactions; Introduction Formaldehyde is a reactive electrophilic reagent widely used as a C1 building block in multicomponent reactions [1][2][3]. Its

• method was successfully used to generate highly active nitrile oxides and nitrilimines for 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions [19][20][21]. Based on our previous experience with diffusion mixing, we assumed that formaldehyde vapor diffusion into the reaction would lead to an extremely low concentration

• various CH acid derivatives and conjugated dienes (cyclopentadiene, 1,3-cyclohexadiene, 2,3-dimethylbutadiene and isoprene), leading to [4 + 2]-cycloaddition adducts (Scheme 1). It should be noted that in previous works describing three-component reactions of carbonyl compounds, conjugated dienes and

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

• insights were outlined as well as cycloaddition and aza-Diels–Alder reactions were included. These strategies have gained attention due to their highly atom- and step-economy, one-step multi-bond forming, mild reaction conditions, low cost and easy handling. Keywords: cascade process; copper catalysis

• behavior or reactivity properties. The ambiguity related to the role of Cu(OTf)2 is particularly relevant for cycloaddition reactions, where it is even more difficult to justify the activation of the copper species as a Lewis acid or metal catalyst [12][13][14]. The reaction mechanism involved can be ionic

• ] cycloaddition reaction with the nitroalkene produces the pyrrolidine XXVII, which then aromatizes by extrusion of HNO2 (Scheme 21) [38]. Substituted pyrrolidines 30 were achieved in an enantioselective form starting from amino acid esters, electron-poor olefins and 4-substituted-2-picolinaldehydes or 4

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

• are of interest and have been recently investigated by Jørgensen and co-workers. The authors employed an enantioselective aminocatalytic cycloaddition between 5H-benzo[a]pyrrolizine-3-carbaldehydes 22 and naphthyl-substituted nitroalkenes, α,β-unsaturated ketoesters, or α,β-unsaturated aldehydes 23

• enantioselectivities (Scheme 13). Axially chiral compounds with an N–N stereogenic axis can be synthesized by an NHC-catalyzed (3 + 3) annulation [33]. The key feature of this transformation is the cycloaddition of α,β-unsaturated azolium intermediates with thioureas. In this way, a range of diversely substituted N–N

• axially chiral pyrroles and indoles 44 are obtained (Scheme 14). Zhu and co-workers developed a method for the atroposelective formation of arenes 48 by an NHC-catalyzed formal (4 + 2) cycloaddition [34]. The triazolium pre-catalyst (R,S)-C11 was the most efficient in providing a range of biaryls in high

Emerging trends in the optimization of organic synthesis through high-throughput tools and machine learning

• Pablo Quijano Velasco,
• Kedar Hippalgaonkar and
• Balamurugan Ramalingam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 10–38, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.3

• . Photochemical reactions require uniform light penetration of the reaction mixture, and flow setups with uniform path lengths would be ideal for such reactions. A self-optimizing continuous-flow reactor was designed by Poscharny et al. [59] for [2 + 2]-cycloaddition reactions promoted by light. The optimization

Synthesis of acenaphthylene-fused heteroarenes and polyoxygenated benzo[j]fluoranthenes via a Pd-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura/C–H arylation cascade

• Merve Yence,
• Dilgam Ahmadli,
• Damla Surmeli,
• Umut Mert Karacaoğlu,
• Sujit Pal and
• Yunus Emre Türkmen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3290–3298, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.273

• reaction cascade starting from diarylalkynes 8, which involves indole formation/peri-C–H annulation and N-dealkylation reactions to afford acenaphthylene-fused indole products 9 (Scheme 1b) [41]. Recently, Takeuchi and co-workers reported an effective Ir-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition between 1,8

• )-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition reactions with 1,8-dialkynylnaphthalenes to access azafluoranthenes and 2-pyridone-fused naphthalenes [27]. In 2017, we reported a Pd-catalyzed cascade reaction that involves a sequential Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling and a subsequent intramolecular C–H arylation between

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

• Sergio Torres-Oya Mercedes Zurro Departamento de Química Orgánica y Química Inorgánica, Instituto de Investigación Química “Andrés M. del Río” (IQAR), Universidad de Alcalá (IRYCIS), 28805 Madrid, Spain 10.3762/bjoc.20.268 Abstract Asymmetric cycloaddition is a straightforward strategy which

• , they can be attacked by a nucleophile and undergo a 1,2-addition or conjugate addition leading to the production of allylic amines or aliphatic imines, respectively. They can also behave as C4 synthons in cycloaddition reactions such as the aza-Diels–Alder reaction, giving access to nitrogen-containing

• , respectively. Additionally, the most common cyclic α,β-unsaturated imines involve benzofuran or saccharin-derived azadienes (Figure 1). Cycloaddition reactions, especially Diels–Alder reactions, have attracted a lot of attention since their discovery as one of the most powerful methodologies for the

Germanyl triazoles as a platform for CuAAC diversification and chemoselective orthogonal cross-coupling

• John M. Halford-McGuff,
• Thomas M. Richardson,
• Aidan P. McKay,
• Frederik Peschke,
• Glenn A. Burley and
• Allan J. B. Watson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3198–3204, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.265

• 10.3762/bjoc.20.265 Abstract We report the synthesis of germanyl triazoles formed via a copper-catalysed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) of germanyl alkynes. The reaction is often high yielding, functional group tolerant, and compatible with complex molecules. The installation of the Ge moiety enables

• azide precursors and the formation of a single 1,4-disubstituted triazole product, the copper-catalysed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) remains the archetypal click reaction (Scheme 1) [5]. The reaction has shown applicability on small and large scale, as well as under flow conditions [6], and

Synthesis of extended fluorinated tripeptides based on the tetrahydropyridazine scaffold

• Thierry Milcent,
• Pascal Retailleau,
• Benoit Crousse and
• Sandrine Ongeri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3174–3181, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.262

• ]-cycloaddition reaction between electron-poor 1,2-diaza-1,3-dienes and electron-poor alkenes in refluxing acetonitrile was reported leading to various substituted tetrahydropyridazines in 17–78% yields (Scheme 1c) [26][27]. Nevertheless, these methods are neither relevant for the synthesis of 1 nor appropriate

Multicomponent reactions driving the discovery and optimization of agents targeting central nervous system pathologies

• Lucía Campos-Prieto,
• Aitor García-Rey,
• Eddy Sotelo and
• Ana Mallo-Abreu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3151–3173, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.261

• cycloaddition, and Ugi reactions followed by Mitsunobu cyclization, among other strategies (Figure 2) [16]. Central nervous system diseases Central nervous system (CNS) diseases are the main cause of disability and the second cause of mortality worldwide, indeed, according to the 2019 World Health Organization

• years, the Ugi reaction has emerged as a highly considered reaction due to its mild conditions, broad applications, and product diversity. It enables the selective assembly of precursors, facilitating various post-reaction transformations such as deprotection cyclization, 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, and

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

• hetero-Diels–Alder reaction of Danishefsky's diene 6 with p-nitrobenzaldehyde (7, Figure 2). The reaction can provide three products depending on the reaction conditions; either a Mukaiyama aldol (8) or products of Diels–Alder cycloaddition (9 and 10). Out of the three screened catalysts, only calix[4

• ]pyrrole α,β-isomer 4 was found to be catalytically active providing a 57% conversion to 10, suggesting a concerted cycloaddition mechanism. Calix[4]pyrrole α,α-isomer 3 and dipyrromethane 5 were catalytically inactive. The authors concluded that the catalytic inactivity of 3 is caused by the parallel

• centrifugation. In the same way as a calix[4]pyrrole was used as organocatalyst for cyclic carbonate synthesis from epoxide and CO2, as discussed in section 1.1, Gallo and co-workers investigated the organocatalytic activity of porphyrin/TBACl binary catalytic systems for the regioselective cycloaddition of CO2

Extension of the π-system of monoaryl-substituted norbornadienes with acetylene bridges: influence on the photochemical conversion and storage of light energy

• Robin Schulte,
• Dustin Schade,
• Thomas Paululat,
• Till J. B. Zähringer,
• Christoph Kerzig and
• Heiko Ihmels

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3061–3068, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.254

• . Photometric monitoring of the irradiation of 1i (A) and 1l (B) in the presence of [Ru(phen)3](PF6)2; λex = 520 nm. For clarity, the absorption of the sensitizer has been deducted. Insets: plot of absorption at long-wavelength maximum versus irradiation time t [38]. Photoinduced [2 + 2]-cycloaddition

Synthesis of fluorinated acid-functionalized, electron-rich nickel porphyrins

• Mike Brockmann,
• Jonas Lobbel,
• Lara Unterriker and
• Rainer Herges

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2954–2958, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.248

• ]. Beyond their essential biological roles, porphyrins and their derivatives are employed in a number of applications, acting as catalysts in numerous reactions, including oxidation, reduction, and cycloaddition [6][7][8][9][10]. Particularly when electron-rich porphyrins act as reducing agents, e.g. in

Synthesis of pyrrole-fused dibenzoxazepine/dibenzothiazepine/triazolobenzodiazepine derivatives via isocyanide-based multicomponent reactions

• Marzieh Norouzi,
• Mohammad Taghi Nazeri,
• Ahmad Shaabani and
• Behrouz Notash

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2870–2882, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.241

• with 1,10-phenanthroline as cyclic imine under solvent-free conditions for the synthesis of pyrrole-fused phenanthroline. This reaction proceeds via in situ formation of zwitterion I through reaction of the aldehyde and malononitrile followed by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition (Scheme 1a) [41]. Chen and co

Synthesis of spiroindolenines through a one-pot multistep process mediated by visible light

• Francesco Gambuti,
• Jacopo Pizzorno,
• Chiara Lambruschini,
• Renata Riva and
• Lisa Moni

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2722–2731, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.230

• the acid-catalyzed [4 + 1] cycloaddition of commercially available substrates, as indoles and nitroalkenes to give spiro-isoxazoles (Scheme 1c), but acceptable yields were obtained just using nitrostyrenes [13][14]. Despite these examples, the highly efficient construction of structurally diverse

5th International Symposium on Synthesis and Catalysis (ISySyCat2023)

• Anthony J. Burke and
• Elisabete P. Carreiro

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2704–2707, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.227

• in MeOH at room temperature with a short reaction time. Some of them were further functionalized with a 1,2,3-triazole ring via copper-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) and deprotected with trifluoroacetic acid. Several hybrids were evaluated against six cancer cell lines, displaying GI50

A review of recent advances in electrochemical and photoelectrochemical late-stage functionalization classified by anodic oxidation, cathodic reduction, and paired electrolysis

• Nian Li,
• Ruzal Sitdikov,
• Ajit Prabhakar Kale,
• Joost Steverlynck,
• Bo Li and
• Magnus Rueping

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2500–2566, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.214

• product (Scheme 30a). In the same year, the Xia group reported an iodide ion and PPh3-induced electrochemical oxidative [3 + 2] cycloaddition of carboxylic acids and isocyanoacetates [41]. The successful LSF of drug molecules such as sulbactam acid and oxaprozin demonstrated the potential applicability of

Evaluating the halogen bonding strength of a iodoloisoxazolium(III) salt

• Dominik L. Reinhard,
• Anna Schmidt,
• Marc Sons,
• Julian Wolf,
• Elric Engelage and
• Stefan M. Huber

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2401–2407, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.204

• it with our known iodonium species in the activation of Au(I)–Cl bonds. Results and Discussion As immediate precursor to the target structure 7Z, the literature-known isoxazole 10 was synthesized via a Cu(I)-catalyzed cycloaddition between (2-iodophenyl)acetylene (8) and benzyl nitrile oxide, which

Improved deconvolution of natural products’ protein targets using diagnostic ions from chemical proteomics linkers

• Andreas Wiest and
• Pavel Kielkowski

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2323–2341, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.199

• bearing an affinity or reporter tag. To carry out this bioorthogonal reaction well-known chemistries were developed including traceless Staudinger ligation, Cu-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), strain-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition (SPAAC), inverse electron-demand Diels–Alder reaction

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

• aldehyde [10]. Latterly, Yamamoto utilized a 90% deuterated [D2]-isocyanide in a copper catalyzed [3 + 2] cycloaddition to afford a 60% deuterated [D2]-pyrrole [11]. The utility of the Leuckart–Wallach reaction towards the generation of isocyanides was first explored by Dömling [12], yet the use of such

Metal-free double azide addition to strained alkynes of an octadehydrodibenzo[12]annulene derivative with electron-withdrawing substituents

• Naoki Takeda,
• Shuichi Akasaka,
• Susumu Kawauchi and
• Tsuyoshi Michinobu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2234–2241, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.191

• Naoki Takeda Shuichi Akasaka Susumu Kawauchi Tsuyoshi Michinobu Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology, 2-12-1 Ookayama, Meguro-ku, Tokyo 152-8552, Japan 10.3762/bjoc.20.191 Abstract Strain-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition (SpAAC) is a powerful tool in

• azide–alkyne cycloaddition; Introduction The strain-promoted azide–alkyne cycloaddition (SpAAC) is one of the most representative metal-free click chemistry reactions [1][2][3][4][5]. SpAAC has been mainly employed in bioconjugation in the fields of chemical biology and medicinal chemistry due to its

• oxidation-controlled cyclooctyne-1,2-quinone cycloaddition (SPOCQ) was developed and employed in the same fields of chemical biology [6][7]. On the other hand, the use of the SpAAC in materials science was slow. We developed another class of metal-free click chemistry reactions, such as the [2 + 2