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

• intermediate 85 followed by reductive elimination with tertiary amine to give intermediate 86. The utilization of earth-abundant transition metals for O/N-acylation has emerged due to their low cost. For instance, Son and co-workers (2023) utilized a more cost-efficient Cu salt to access N-acyliminophosphorane

• 89 from the corresponding dioxazolone 88 in excellent yields via reductive elimination from intermediate 90 (Scheme 26) [62]. Hu and co-workers (2019) also employed a Cu salt (Cu(OTf)2) to synthesize N-difluoroethylimide 91 from cinnamic acid (7) and tert-butyl nitrite (TBN) in good yield via

• been successfully done for this method. Similarly, Hou and co-workers (2022) also used CO2 to carry out an auto-tandem Cu-catalyzed carboxylation of styrenes via β-hydride elimination (208) (Scheme 60B) [104]. Impressively, several natural product-like compounds (e.g., 207) were successfully prepared

Recent total synthesis of natural products leveraging a strategy of enamide cyclization

• Chun-Yu Mi,
• Jia-Yuan Zhai and
• Xiao-Ming Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 999–1009, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.81

• photocyclization. This transformation was carried out using a high-pressure mercury vapor lamp to afford benzazepine 22, completing the construction of the pentacyclic framework of the natural product. Subsequent functional group manipulations, including the Chugaev elimination of the hydroxy group on the

• divergent total synthesis of several Cephalotaxus alkaloids. The α-hydroxylation of cyclopentanone, followed by amide reduction and methanol elimination in one-pot, produced (−)-cephalotaxine in 9 steps. Alternatively, Riley SeO2 oxidation of 31, benzylic bromination/hydrolyzation, facial selective ketone

• attack of the electron-rich arene on the acyliminium ion occurs from the Si-face. This stereochemical outcome is attributed to the steric discrepancy of the phenyl or tert-butyl group and the hydroxy group. The resulting tricyclic products could be further elaborated by elimination or amide reduction to

Harnessing tethered nitreniums for diastereoselective amino-sulfonoxylation of alkenes

• Shyam Sathyamoorthi,
• Appasaheb K. Nirpal,
• Dnyaneshwar A. Gorve and
• Steven P. Kelley

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 947–954, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.78

• alkene side product, presumably arising from mesylate elimination (Table 4, entry 4). In general, the functional group tolerance of the reaction was good, and aryl halogens, aryl CF3 moieties, and benzyl ethers were fully compatible (Table 4, entries 7 and 8). Where applicable, stereoarrays could be

A convergent synthetic approach to the tetracyclic core framework of khayanolide-type limonoids

• Zhiyang Zhang,
• Jialei Hu,
• Hanfeng Ding,
• Li Zhang and
• Peirong Rao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 926–934, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.75

• H2O under neutral conditions merely resulted in decomposition (Table 1, entry 10). To our delight, photoirradiation of the corresponding methyl ether 31 at 254 nm in the presence of AcOH at 20 °C led to a smooth cyclization, followed by spontaneous elimination, which produced the desired 10 as the

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

• , tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI), and water significantly accelerated aryne generation, thereby increasing its local concentration. This favored aryne coordination to the palladium center, followed by CO insertion and reductive elimination to furnish phenanthridinones. In contrast, when dppm was introduced

• preferentially occupied the palladium coordination site. Sequential insertion of CO and aryne, followed by reductive elimination, culminated in acridone formation. This ligand-dependent mechanistic dichotomy underscores the critical interplay between aryne availability, steric modulation, and electronic effects

• elimination yields the benzofuro[3,2-c]quinolinone product 9 along with a Pd(0) species, which is reoxidized to Pd(II) by BQ (benzoquinone). When the ligand is switched to the sterically bulky and electron-rich dppm, the chemoselectivity is reversed: the palladium center now preferentially coordinates with

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

• . Finally, the new enolate E evolves through intramolecular proton abstraction and elimination of boryllithium [20][21]. The formation of side product 3 observed when dichloromethane was used as a solvent could be explained by protonation of intermediate A, followed by transmetalation of the resulting

Chitosan-supported CuI-catalyzed cascade reaction of 2-halobenzoic acids and amidines for the synthesis of quinazolinones

• Xuhong Zhao,
• Weishuang Li,
• Mengli Yang,
• Bojie Li,
• Yaoyao Zhang,
• Lizhen Huang and
• Lei Zhu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 839–844, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.67

• , which acts as a base. Subsequently, I undergoes oxidative addition and complexation with the amidine 2 to generate intermediate II. This intermediate then undergoes reductive elimination to form intermediate III, releasing CS@CuI back into the system. Finally, the coupling reaction between the carboxyl

4-(1-Methylamino)ethylidene-1,5-disubstituted pyrrolidine-2,3-diones: synthesis, anti-inflammatory effect and in silico approaches

• Nguyen Tran Nguyen,
• Vo Viet Dai,
• Luc Van Meervelt,
• Do Thi Thao and
• Nguyen Minh Thong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 817–829, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.65

• organic cation transporter 2 (OCT2) was examined, with OCT2 playing a pivotal role in the renal elimination of both xenobiotics and endogenous compounds. The predicted results suggest that none of the studied compounds act as OCT2 substrates. Toxicity was assessed using the Ames test, a widely accepted

Recent advances in the electrochemical synthesis of organophosphorus compounds

• Babak Kaboudin,
• Milad Behroozi,
• Sepideh Sadighi and
• Fatemeh Asgharzadeh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 770–797, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.61

• reaction proceeded via an oxidative addition and reductive elimination processed in the presence of Ni(0), which was produced in situ from NiBr2 in the cathode. Palladium is one of the most important metals used as a catalyst in non-electrochemical reactions. In 2020, Budnikova et al. [58] reported a

Recent advances in allylation of chiral secondary alkylcopper species

• Minjae Kim,
• Gwanggyun Kim,
• Doyoon Kim,
• Jun Hee Lee and
• Seung Hwan Cho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 639–658, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.51

• has been challenging due to the tendency of α-CF3-substituted alkylcopper intermediates 39 to undergo undesired β-F elimination (Scheme 14a) [54]. In 2021, Hirano and co-workers made a significant advance in this area by disclosing a copper-catalyzed regio- and enantioselective hydroallylation of 1

• otherwise predominant β-F elimination from the α-CF3-alkylcopper intermediate 39. Detailed kinetic studies confirmed the effect of the crown ether. When KOPiv was employed alone, the initial rate of defluorination increased by 1.57-fold, whereas the addition of 18-crown-6 reduced this acceleration to 1.22

• -fold. These observations supported the hypothesis that the crown ether effectively disrupts the interaction between the alkali metal cation and fluorine atom, thereby decreasing the rate of β-F elimination. This asymmetric copper-catalyzed protocol represents one of the rare examples that allows to

Total synthesis of (±)-simonsol C using dearomatization as key reaction under acidic conditions

• Xiao-Yang Bi,
• Xiao-Shuai Yang,
• Shan-Shan Chen,
• Jia-Jun Sui,
• Zhao-Nan Cai,
• Yong-Ming Chuan and
• Hong-Bo Qin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 601–606, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.47

• acidic conditions as key step to construct an aryl-containing quaternary center. The 6/5/6 benzofuran unit was formed through reductive elimination with Zn/AcOH and a spontaneous oxy-Michael addition. This synthesis consists of 8 steps and achieves an overall yield of 13%, making it the shortest known

• steps and achieved 12% overall yield. In May 2024, the Qin group reported the second total synthesis of (±)-simonsol C (Scheme 2) [5]. An effective strategy to form the 6/5/6 benzofuran scaffold was developed which specifically involved a basic dearomatization and reductive elimination with Zn/AcOH to

• dearomatization offers considerable versatility. Not only can it be employed under basic dearomatization conditions, but it is also effective under Lewis acid conditions. Combined with a reductive elimination using Zn/AcOH, the benzofuran skeleton can be easily synthesized. This dual applicability of the new

Formaldehyde surrogates in multicomponent reactions

• Cecilia I. Attorresi,
• Javier A. Ramírez and
• Bernhard Westermann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 564–595, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.45

• was carried out via copper catalysis or iodine–acid catalysis. Interestingly, when aliphatic amines are employed (R3 = n-Pr, n-Bu, product 8) only the N atoms are incorporated in the structure of the final product, probably because the high temperature favors the elimination of the alkyl group. The

• the same amine component) deprotonates the terminal alkyne, generating the metal acetylide derivative A, which is the active nucleophilic species in the reaction. Intermediate A undergoes an oxidative addition by the dihaloalkane, generating intermediate B. This undergoes reductive elimination to

• isocyanide component is preferred over the formation of the imine, probably because of the high reactivity of the carbonyl compound or the low stability of the imine. After cycloaddition, the tosyloxazoline derivative undergoes an addition at C-2 by the primary amine, followed by elimination of the

Identification and removal of a cryptic impurity in pomalidomide-PEG based PROTAC

• Bingnan Wang,
• Yong Lu and
• Chuo Chen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 407–411, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.28

• develop a method to facilitate the elimination of this impurity. We first attempted scavenging 6 by solid-phase supported amines. Incubating a mixture of 3 and 6 with TentaGel S-NH2 in DMF led to a gradual decrease of 6 over four days. Whereas this method is applicable to removing 9 of different PEG-OH

The effect of neighbouring group participation and possible long range remote group participation in O-glycosylation

• Rituparna Das and
• Balaram Mukhopadhyay

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 369–406, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.27

• protecting groups in the C-2 position in glycosyl donors, on the elimination of the activated leaving group from the anomeric position, the flattened oxocarbenium ion formed causes the incoming nucleophilic acceptor to attack from either the β or the α-face of the sugar ring, thereby leading to the formation

• ether-type groups are less electron-withdrawing than the ester groups [55][145][146] making the corresponding glycosyl donors more reactive (armed) than the corresponding donors with ester group protection. However, the use of ether groups works on the protocol of elimination 1,2-trans selectivity

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

• reaction mixture. This step allows the oxidative addition of nickel on the aryl bromide 9 followed by the reductive elimination giving the desired product 11. Besides the innovative synthetic results obtained in this study, the authors underline a major advantage to switch to red light as it enables a

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

• derivatives. At first, a Lewis base attack at the α-position of the MBH nitrile of isatin resulted in the intermediate A with elimination of carbon dioxide and tert-butoxide ion. Secondly, the product 3 was produced by the SN2 substitution of the Lewis base by the arylamine. When MBH maleimides of isatin were

• used in the reaction, a direct Michael addition of the arylamine to the C=C bond of the maleimide unit and sequential elimination of carbon dioxide and tert-butoxide ion gives the intermediate B, which in turn undergoes an allylic rearrangement to afford the product 5. In this process, no extra

• addition of Lewis base is needed. When triphenylphosphine or tri(n-butyl)phosphine were involved in the reaction, the similar SN2’ substitution of tri(n-butyl)phosphine with the elimination of carbon dioxide and tert-butoxide anion gives the phosphonium salt C. Then, the deprotonation of phosphonium salt C

Dioxazolones as electrophilic amide sources in copper-catalyzed and -mediated transformations

• Seungmin Lee,
• Minsuk Kim,
• Hyewon Han and
• Jongwoo Son

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 200–216, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.12

• , providing the corresponding products (16g–k). Mechanistically, the reaction begins with the generation of the active copper species 17, successively forming INT-19 and INT-20 (Figure 5). The penta-coordinated copper nitrenoid species INT-20, as suggested by DFT calculations, undergoes reductive elimination

• 20 is afforded through protonolysis, regenerating the active copper species to complete the catalytic cycle. 2 Amidation via oxidative insertion to N–O bonds and reductive elimination 2.1 Hydroamidation of vinylarenes Amines bearing stereogenic centers have been widely investigated in the research

• and silane, undergoes the enantio-determining hydrocupration of the vinylarene, affording INT-25 [25]. Next, oxidative insertion of INT-25 into the N–O bond of the dioxazolone, forms INT-26, followed by decarboxylative reductive elimination to generate INT-27. Further incorporation of silane delivers

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

• through oxidative addition, followed by transmetalation and reductive elimination, to obtain the desired product. Throughout the catalytic cycle, the catalyst undergoes conversion between [M]n and [M]n+2 (Figure 1) [11]. However, using alkyl electrophiles as coupling partners in cross-coupling reactions

• remains a significant challenge owing to the high energy barrier required for oxidative addition and facile β-hydride elimination [12]. The development of radical approaches facilitated by transition-metal catalysis has provided a promising solution to overcome the limitations of conventional coupling

• elimination, produces C–H alkynylated arene 10, which then forms the final product 3 through intramolecular cyclization. Finally, the Cu(I) complex 9 produced via reductive elimination is reoxidized at the anode to regenerate the Cu(II) complex 4, completing the catalytic cycle. Yao and Shi developed the

Nickel-catalyzed cross-coupling of 2-fluorobenzofurans with arylboronic acids via aromatic C–F bond activation

• Takeshi Fujita,
• Haruna Yabuki,
• Ryutaro Morioka,
• Kohei Fuchibe and
• Junji Ichikawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 146–154, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.8

• successfully synthesize a range of 2-arylbenzofurans with various substituents. The reaction, which proceeded under mild conditions, involved β-fluorine elimination from nickelacyclopropanes formed by the interaction of 2-fluorobenzofurans with zero-valent nickel species. This protocol facilitates orthogonal

• developed efficient metal-mediated methods for activating (i) vinylic [8][9][10][11][12][13] and (ii) allylic C–F bonds [14][15][16][17][18] using β-fluorine elimination under mild conditions. In these studies, (i) we discovered zirconium-mediated β-fluorine elimination from zirconacyclopropanes A, which

• -(trifluoromethyl)-1-alkenes strongly interact with electron-rich zero-valent nickel species to form nickelacyclopropanes C [15][16][17]. These intermediates enable C–F bond activation through the formation of nickelacyclopentenes D with alkynes, followed by β-fluorine elimination, leading to defluorinative

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

• the mechanism is the attack of the protonated pyridin-2-one to the copper-complex of the enamine XXXII resulting from the reaction between acetophenone and O-tosylhydroxylamine, which occurs with elimination of TsOH. The so-obtained imino–copper complex XXXIII gives rise to an intramolecular C–N bond

• formation releasing Cu(OTf)2. The final bicyclic product 33 arises from isomerization and water elimination. Recently, Singh's research group developed a cascade process to access imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines-linked isoxazoles 35. Isoxazole carbaldehydes treated with 2-aminopyridines and isonitriles in the

• of an ortho-quinone methide intermediate XXXVII formed through nucleophilic attack of the 2-naphthol to the aldehyde followed by reaction with 1,3-dicarbonyl compound coordinated by the copper. The subsequent intramolecular nucleophilic attack of the oxygen to the enol and water elimination resulted

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

• [27]. This transformation led to a series of axially chiral cycl[3.2.2]azines 24 in good yields and high enantiomeric purities (Scheme 8). The proposed mechanism comprises enamine activation, condensation with nitroolefin 23, ring closure, and catalyst elimination to provide the axially chiral product

• the final step of the reaction, ring opening by the C–C bond cleavage yields the desired product 203. The first phosphoric acid C39-catalyzed asymmetric cycloaddition–elimination cascade reaction of 2-naphthol or phenol enamide derivatives 204 with azonaphthalenes 205 was done by Xu et al. in 2021

• cyclization takes place, subsequent β-H elimination, and C–N-bond cleavage lead to the axially chiral indolylaniline 212. Heterobiaryl aldehydes 217a–o and aminobenzamides 218a–g reacted in the presence of CPA C50 leading to axially chiral products 219 (Scheme 64) [94]. Investigating various combinations of

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

• -membered ring to an eight-membered ring [2]. Results and Discussion As shown in Scheme 1a, the synthesis of trione 1 started from the bromination of 4-bromo-2,3:6,7-dibenzotropone (4) [24], giving tribromide 5 in a yield of 64%. The subsequent elimination reaction of 5 with KOH afforded dibromide 6 in a

Ceratinadin G, a new psammaplysin derivative possessing a cyano group from a sponge of the genus Pseudoceratina

• Shin-ichiro Kurimoto,
• Kouta Inoue,
• Taito Ohno and
• Takaaki Kubota

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3215–3220, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.267

• ]. Despite the absence of an HMBC correlation directly indicating a connection between C-8 and C-9, the HMBC correlation between the N-methylene protons H2-10 (δH 3.66) and the carbonyl carbon C-9 (δC 161.5), along with the molecular formula of compound 1 by process of elimination, suggested that C-8 and 9-N

Direct trifluoroethylation of carbonyl sulfoxonium ylides using hypervalent iodine compounds

• Radell Echemendía,
• Carlee A. Montgomery,
• Fabio Cuzzucoli,
• Antonio C. B. Burtoloso and
• Graham K. Murphy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3182–3190, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.263

• reductive elimination (path 1) [37][38][39]. This pathway initiates by formation of a halogen bond complex between 1a and the trifuoroethyl(mesityl)iodonium ion 2a’, where adduct XB-1 is presumably in equilibrium with isomeric XB-2. Reductive elimination of the iodoarene from XB-2 would furnish B, whose

• arene moieties. These observations confirmed the LUMO as an appropriate lobe for nucleophilic attack via the SN2 pathway (path 2), and confirmed the LUMO+1 as an appropriate lobe for substitution via reductive elimination (path 1). As such, neither mechanism could be immediately discarded, and we were

• mesh) as a stationary phase (eluent n-hex/AcOEt 5:95%). Representative examples of fluorine containing, biologically active compounds. Possible mechanisms for the reaction of 1a and 2a leading to 3a (via B), proceeding via either halogen-bonded adducts and reductive elimination (path 1) or directly via

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

• ring A (Scheme 2). The Pd(II) intermediate is oxidised by PhI(OPiv)2/AgF, forming Pd(IV). Formation of the product can occur either by reductive elimination by Pd(IV) or SN2 nucleophilic attack by fluorine with concomitant palladium reduction. Reductive elimination of the Pd(II) intermediate forms the

• on the alkene gave low yields of product. A mechanism was proposed involving the activation of iodosylbenzene 9 with BF3·Et2O to form an HVI intermediate that activates the alkene to form an iodonium species. Intramolecular nucleophilic attack of nitrogen, elimination of PhI and attack by fluoride

• ) whereby AgBF4 first activates the fluoroiodane 12 for alkene coordination. Intramolecular nucleophilic attack of oxygen on the more substituted carbon forms the cyclised intermediate A and eliminates fluoride. Phenonium intermediate B is formed with elimination of the iodoarene and subsequent attack of