Recent advances in total synthesis of illisimonin A

• Juan Huang and
• Ming Yang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2571–2583, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.199

• introduce another side chain, affording a diene intermediate. A subsequent ring-closing metathesis (RCM) reaction formed the cyclopentene ring, and one pot protection of both carbonyl groups with ethylene glycol provided bis-ketal 55. Notably, due to steric hindrance, only one carbonyl group could be

• into the pentacyclic diene intermediate 93 via a two-step sequence. Subsequent [4 + 2] cycloaddition of 93 with singlet oxygen yielded an unstable endoperoxide adduct 94, which rearranged to diketone 95. A five-step sequence, featuring an intramolecular aldol reaction to assemble the pentacyclic core

Total syntheses of highly oxidative Ryania diterpenoids facilitated by innovations in synthetic strategies

• Zhi-Qi Cao,
• Jin-Bao Qiao and
• Yu-Ming Zhao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2553–2570, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.198

• is as follows: Starting from the chiral compound (S)-carvone, four simple transformations yield the enone intermediate 11. This intermediate undergoes an intermolecular [4 + 2] cycloaddition with diene 12, generating two sets of regioselective products in an approximate ratio of 1:1. The product with

• reaction with allyltributylstannane, yielding compound 40. After isomerization of the C11 allyl double bond and introduction of a C6 isobutenyl group, the resulting diene 42 underwent RCM catalyzed by the Hoveyda–Grubbs catalyst to form the pentacyclic skeleton 43, thus completing the C ring of the natural

• epoxidation of the tetrasubstituted alkene followed by Grieco elimination yielded diene 92. Subsequent oxidation of the hemiacetal, saponification of the lactone, intramolecular epoxide opening, and Hoveyda–Grubbs (II)-catalyzed RCM afforded tetracyclic compounds 94 and its transesterification product 93

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

• method for the synthesis of cyclopentane derivatives through oxidative cleavage of the double bond in Diels–Alder adducts of LG with 1,3-butadiene and piperylene (3E-penta-1,3-diene), followed by an intramolecular aldol condensation of the resulting dialdehydes was described in [19]. The dicarbonyl

• formation of a mixture of ketone 194 and cyclic diene 195. Regio- and stereoselectivity was observed in the case of the epoxide 189. The cyclopentane derivative 194 was obtained stereoselectively and in high yield during the reaction with BF3·Et2O. An alternative example of the tandem epoxide rearrangement

Comparative analysis of complanadine A total syntheses

• Reem Al-Ahmad and
• Mingji Dai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2334–2344, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.178

• reaction and an intramolecular Heck reaction to build the two six-membered carbocycles embedded in the bicyclo[3.3.1]nonane ring system of complanadine A and a pyridine N-oxide directed ortho C–H arylation to forge the C2–C3’ linkage. As shown in Scheme 4, they first prepared diene 44 and dienophile 45 for

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

• and hydrogen elimination then occurred, affording 3-azabicyclo[4.1.0]hepta-2,4-diene derivatives 156. In contrast, when the temperature was raised to 110 °C, intermediate 155 underwent a 6π electrocyclic ring-opening, which was trapped by in situ-generated cyanide ions to form 4,5-dihydro-3H-azepines

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

• Griesbeck reported the tetraphenylporphin-photosensitized oxygenations of furan and derivatives in non-polar aprotic solvents, yielding the corresponding monomeric unsaturated secondary ozonides through a (4 + 2) cycloaddition of singlet oxygen onto the diene linkage of the furan ring. The attack of a

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

• hydroxyketone 104 in excellent diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity [9][11]. Ozonolysis of the double bond in 104 followed by Purdie methylation with Ag2O/MeI, base-mediated vinyl triflation, and Pd-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura cross coupling with pinacol boronate 105 delivered diene 106. Next, The Et2AlCl

• -catalyzed intermolecular Diels–Alder reaction of 106 with methacrolein 107 afforded the common intermediate 108 in high yield. Sequential Grignard reagent addition and acid-promoted ethoxy elimination provided the separable planar diene 109 (dr = 1:1), which underwent a Mn-catalyzed HAT hydrogenation to

• could be acquired in 60% yield with 93% ee. Subsequently, the Grignard addition of the ketone in 120 provided diene intermediate, which was converted to bicyclic secondary alcohol 121 via RCM reaction/hydrogenation and dehydration/hydrogenation. Oxidation states adjustment and functional group

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

• )dimethylsilane (7a) – and analogous aliphatic chain-containing propargylsilanes 7b,c were obtained from the commercial hept-1-yne [26]. While searching for appropriate arylation conditions (Table 1, entry 1) we observed the formation of both the arylated diene 10a and silylindene 11a (≈75:25). Both products are

• likely formed via the allylic cation intermediate Int-1 (Scheme 2), from where on two competing mechanistic pathways are possible. Deprotonation of the β-H and reductive elimination affords diene 10. Alternatively, an intramolecular cyclization leads to silylindenes 11. We were interested to see whether

• by the diene/indene 10a/11a molar ratio (determined by NMR). Among the tested diaryl-λ3-iodanes, only those containing a triflate anion showed reactivity. PhMesIOTf (I-1) and Ph2IOTf (I-2) showed comparable results in terms of diene yield, however, the symmetrical iodane I-2 displayed better

Asymmetric total synthesis of tricyclic prostaglandin D2 metabolite methyl ester via oxidative radical cyclization

• Miao Xiao,
• Liuyang Pu,
• Qiaoli Shang,
• Lei Zhu and
• Jun Huang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1964–1972, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.152

• was initially investigated (Scheme 3). Chan’s diene (16) was subjected to condensation with freshly distilled aldehyde 17 in THF at room temperature, using a catalytic system comprising Ti(OiPr)4/(S)-BINOL complex (2.0 mol %). Subsequent deprotection with pyridinium p-toluenesulfonate (PPTS) at 0 °C

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

• . PPL-catalyzed desymmetrization of 10 with vinyl acetate yielded monoacetate (R)-11 in 41% yield (94% brsm) with 78% ee. Diene 12 was prepared from (R)-11 via a ten-step sequence. The following ring-closing metathesis (RCM) reaction catalyzed by Grubbs catalyst 13 converted 12 into the bicyclic

• ]. Their synthesis commenced with compound 150, which was converted into triol 151 in two steps. Treatment of triol 151 with catalyst 128 furnished monobenzoate 152 in 96% yield and 97% de. Subsequently, monobenzoate 152 was transformed into diene 153 in five steps. The cis-3,6-disubstituted dihydropyran

Preparation of a furfural-derived enantioenriched vinyloxazoline building block and exploring its reactivity

• Madara Darzina,
• Anna Lielpetere and
• Aigars Jirgensons

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1737–1741, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.136

• of products in copper-catalyzed 1,4-addition of phenylmagnesium bromide, Giese reaction with 2-iodopropane, Simmons‒Smith or Johnson–Corey–Chaykovsky cyclopropanation, hydroboration reaction with 9-BBN, and Diels–Alders reaction with Danishevsky diene. Gratifyingly, it was found that vinyloxazoline S

Transition-state aromaticity and its relationship with reactivity in pericyclic reactions

• Israel Fernández

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1613–1626, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.125

• consequence, the corresponding HOMO(diene)–LUMO(dienophile) energy gap becomes smaller, which, according to the frontier molecular orbital (FMO) theory, constitutes the origin of the observed acceleration (following the so-called LUMO-lowering concept in catalysis) [36][37][38][39]. This widely accepted

• is not behind the observed acceleration in the catalyzed reactions. Once we found that neither aromaticity nor favorable orbital (HOMO(diene)–LUMO(dienophile)) interactions are responsible for the faster rates exhibited by the catalyzed reactions, we applied the activation strain model (ASM) of

• repulsion between the deformed reactants (Figure 2b). The less destabilizing Pauli repulsion computed for the catalyzed cycloaddition directly originates from the reduction of the electron density at the reactive C–C double bond of the dienophile, which translates into a lower <π(diene)|π(dienophile

Recent advances in oxidative radical difunctionalization of N-arylacrylamides enabled by carbon radical reagents

• Jiangfei Chen,
• Yi-Lin Qu,
• Ming Yuan,
• Xiang-Mei Wu,
• Heng-Pei Jiang,
• Ying Fu and
• Shengrong Guo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1207–1271, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.98

• -carbonyl bromide 67 through photoreduction by the excited state of the photocatalyst [IrIII*] (Scheme 33). The generated radical then undergoes addition to the diene, followed by 6-endo cyclization and deprotonation, ultimately forming the lactam product 68a. Notably, this process highlights 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

• . A comprehensive DFT investigation of reactant 6 was carried out to analyze the transition state of the IMDA reaction for a Br-substituted diene and its charge distribution (Figure 2). The diene has a notable positive charge (+0.318, +0.098, 6a), (+0.334, +0.082, 6h) and (+0.316, +0.074, 6r) whereas

• the dienophile presents a negative charge (−0.280 to −0.325, 6a), (−0.280 to −0.327, 6h) and (−0.280 to −0.327, 6r), respectively. This structure induces electrostatic repulsion instead of the requisite attraction for a successful interaction between the electron-rich diene and the electron-deficient

• dienophile, characteristic of Diels–Alder processes. The incorporation of a bromine atom at the 5-position of the diene (+0.306, −0.041, 6j) complicates the situation. As an electronegative element, Br exerts an inductive electron-withdrawing influence to enhance the electron shortage of the diene. This

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

• could be increased to a gram scale. Moreover, catalytic oxidation was also applied to prepare an electrophilic coupling partner. Gilmour and co-workers (2023) demonstrated the I(I)–I(III) catalytic cycle by using p-iodotoluene (cat 2) as the catalyst to activate 2-phenethyl-substituted 1,3-diene 148

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

• cycloaddition reactions with substituted furans as diene component to produce the corresponding epoxy-cycloaddition adducts. The authors developed an Ir/Sc tandem catalytic reaction to convert these adducts into polysubstituted 3-haloisoquinolines 99 in one pot. After obtaining isoquinoline compounds 99 with

Synthesis and photoinduced switching properties of C₇-heteroatom containing push–pull norbornadiene derivatives

• Daniel Krappmann and
• Andreas Hirsch

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 807–816, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.64

• not be proven. Overview of spectroscopic data of the newly synthesized compounds. The data given for the carbon analogues C-NBD1 (2-bromo-3-tosylbicyclo[2.2.1]hepta-2,5-diene) and C-NBD2 (N,N-diphenyl-4-(3-tosylbicyclo[2.2.1]hepta-2,5-dien-2-yl)aniline) were previously published [40]. Supporting

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

• the Ugi reaction with a maleic acid to form adducts containing both, diene and dienophilic fragments. It was found that aldehyde 1a reacted with amines 2, isonitriles 3, and maleic acid monoanilide (4a) to form an adduct that spontaneously underwent a [4 + 2] cycloaddition giving furoisoindoles 5a–h

• under the Ugi reaction conditions (Scheme 1). A furan double bond and an exocyclic double bond, forming the diene, enter the intramolecular cyclization, and a residue formed by the monoanilide of maleic acid acts as a dienophile. Notably, non-cyclized Ugi adducts A1 were not found in the products. The

• involving the furan core in the cycloaddition, thus leading to the 2,3,3a,4,5,7a-hexahydro-1H-isoindole core 9. In the IMDA stage, the exocyclic diene system is involved (Scheme 5). The yields of the products listed below for the Ugi/Diels–Alder tandem reactions were 73% (9a) and 70% (9b). The structures 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

• acetylacetone from the inner vial into the outer vessel containing formaldehyde, which affected the yield of all [4 + 2]-cycloaddition adducts involving this CH acid, regardless of the choice of diene. For acetoacetic ester and 1,3-diphenylpropane-1,3-dione, it was found that in addition to the main products 5

• due to the addition of another equivalent of active methylene compound were also observed. Among the reactions studied, the diffusion mixing method gave the highest yield when using Meldrum’s acid as CH acid and in reactions with cyclopentadiene as diene. Experimental Materials and methods All

• (1 equiv), 0.05 mmol ʟ-proline and 2.0–5.0 mmol diene (2–5 equiv) in 3–5 mL acetonitrile was placed into a 15 mL vial (diameter 1.3 cm). This vial was then placed into a closed 50 mL vial (diameter 2.8 cm) containing 3–5 mL of formalin, and the reaction mixture was stirred at room temperature for 2

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

• orientation between the electron-rich nitrogen of the diene and the electron-poor carbon of the alkyne. A different one-pot procedure affording tetrahydropyridines was developed employing two molecules of aromatic aldehydes, ethyl acetoacetate and two molecules of aniline. The copper triflate catalyst acts in

Synthesis, structure and π-expansion of tris(4,5-dehydro-2,3:6,7-dibenzotropone)

• Yongming Xiong,
• Xue Lin Ma,
• Shilong Su and
• Qian Miao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1–7, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.1

• synthesized according to the procedures detailed in Supporting Information File 1. In this reaction, the first step of diazo–thioketone coupling occurred at 50 °C in THF, and the second step of desulfurization with triisopropyl phosphite occurred in refluxed toluene, giving diene 10 in a yield of 47%. The

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

• construction of carbon–carbon bonds [5][6][7][8][9][10]. The hetero-Diels–Alder reaction is therefore an attractive strategy for the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds. It involves the reaction of dienes or dienophiles which possess a heteroatom in their structure. In this reaction, the HOMO of the diene and

• the LUMO of the dienophile interact to construct the six-membered heterocyclic derivative and the reaction requires electron-rich dienes and electron-poor dienophiles (Figure 2a). In the inverse electron demand hetero-Diels–Alder reaction (IEDHDA), the LUMO of the diene interacts with the HOMO of the

• nitrogen atom which is prone to interacting with hydrogen-bond donors or Brønsted acids decreasing the LUMO energy of the diene. This review article aims to give an overview of the non-covalent organocatalyzed cyclization reactions involving α,β-unsaturated imines. Although most of the cyclization

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

• orientation of p-nitrophenyl units, due to the shielding of the bound aldehyde substrate from the incoming diene. The catalytic inactivity of 5 demonstrated the requirement of macrocyclic character for the potential catalysts. Later in 2009, the same group reported an organocatalyzed diastereoselective aldol

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

• -peroxyamides 148 with TBHP and formamide derivatives 147 by difunctionalization of 1,3-diene, 1,3-enynes as well as styrenes 146 (Scheme 46) [110]. The iron catalyst is believed to mediate the formation of tert-butoxy and tert-butylperoxy radicals. The former abstracts the hydrogen atom from the formyl C–H

• reaction of iodine and TBHP forms tert-butoxy radical and tert-butylperoxy radical A. Addition of tert-butylperoxy radical A to diene 220 results in the stable allyl radical B, which reacts with iodine radical to form iodoperoxide C. Elimination

Natural resorcylic lactones derived from alternariol

• Joachim Podlech

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2171–2207, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.187