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

• medicinal chemistry [58]. One of the most effective strategies for their synthesis is the addition of alkynes to imines or enamines, which is typically carried out under metal catalysis and elevated temperatures. This process requires the use of high boiling point solvents such as toluene, dimethylformamide

• (DMF), dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), or dioxane to achieve high yields. The assumed mechanism is initiated by activation of the C–H bond of the terminal alkyne by a metal catalyst. The resulting metal acetylide reacts with the imine/enamine through a nucleophilic addition. Because imines/enamines are

• difficult to separate [86][87][88]. Probably, the high reactivity of the imines generated by formaldehyde leads to their polymerization [84] or even to the incorporation of other nucleophiles present in the reaction mixture, such as the solvent or a second molecule of the amidine component (Scheme 32) [84

Asymmetric synthesis of β-amino cyanoesters with contiguous tetrasubstituted carbon centers by halogen-bonding catalysis with chiral halonium salt

• Yasushi Yoshida,
• Maho Aono,
• Takashi Mino and
• Masami Sakamoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 547–555, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.43

• optimization of the substituent on the 1-position of imines was conducted (Scheme 2). In most cases, the products were obtained in high yields with moderate to high enantioselectivities; the sterically less-hindered methyl-substituted substrate 7b was found to be better than the other substrates. The bulky

• phenyl- or trityl-substituted 7c and 7d yielded products with decreased enantioselectivities, likely due to the inhibition of the interaction between the imines and the chiral catalyst by hydrogen and/or halogen bonding. From these observations, the substituent on the 1-position strongly affected the

• . From these results, the substrate scope was conducted using 9b as a catalyst. First, the scope for the imines was carried out (Scheme 4). 5-Methyl-substituted 7f provided the corresponding product 17f in 87% yield and 65:35 diastereomeric ratio with 85% ee and 58% ee for each. 5-Chloro-substituted 7g

Synthesis of electrophile-tethered preQ₁ analogs for covalent attachment to preQ₁ RNA

• Laurin Flemmich and
• Ronald Micura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 483–489, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.35

• . First, the alkyl handles bearing a primary hydroxy group were introduced and then converted into the electrophile of choice. More specifically, to furnish compounds 4b–d, precursor 9 was treated with the corresponding amino alcohols in the presence of a desiccant. The imines formed were subjected to

Beyond symmetric self-assembly and effective molarity: unlocking functional enzyme mimics with robust organic cages

• Keith G. Andrews

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 421–443, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.30

• ) [38]. To capture both stability and solubility, we turned to Mastalerz’s post-functionalization chemistry [286][300][304][306][358][359][360][361][362], in which imines are oxidized by a Pinnick oxidation to amides [286][360][363][364], an approach gaining popularity [46][262]. Importantly, we were

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

• ]. Three-component coupling of amines, aldehydes or ketones, and terminal alkynes catalyzed by Cu(OTf)2 is a fruitful tool for the production of α-substituted propargylamines 10 (Scheme 7) [20]. The reaction involves the alkynylation of the corresponding imines formed in situ and provides higher yields

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

• atroposelective deracemization of biaryl hydroxy aldehydes 55a–k [37]. NHC catalyst C18 afforded a range of axially chiral benzonitriles 56a–k in high yield and enantiomeric purities (Scheme 18). The reaction likely proceeds via the initial formation of racemic imines, which is followed by the formation of aza

• diastereomeric ratios in a couple of cases. On a 1 mmol scale with reduced catalyst loading the reaction proceeded in a similar fashion with good yield and enantioselectivity (70%, 89% ee). The Povarov reaction of imines 87a–h and alkenylindoles 88a–i catalyzed by CPA (R)-C23 was utilized to give asymmetric

• be carried out in a one-pot fashion with comparable results and without significant variation from the two-step procedure. Utilization of the Povarov reaction and subsequent oxidation by DDQ was also done by Wang et al. in 2020 [54]. In situ-formed imines from anilines 91 and benzaldehydes 92 were

Reactivity of hypervalent iodine(III) reagents bearing a benzylamine with sulfenate salts

• Beatriz Dedeiras,
• Catarina S. Caldeira,
• José C. Cunha,
• Clara S. B. Gomes and
• M. Manuel B. Marques

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3281–3289, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.272

• have been reported [12]. These reagents have proven effective in delivering azides (I) [13], amides (II) [14], aliphatic cyclic amines (III) [15], phthalimidates (IV) [16], imines (V) [17], sulfoximides (VI) [18], carbazoles (VII) [19], secondary (VIII) [4] and primary (IX) [20] amines (Figure 1). 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

• imines; asymmetric organocatalysis; cyclization; N-heterocycles; inverse electron demand aza-Diels–Alder reaction; Introduction Nitrogen-containing heterocycles are abundant scaffolds present in natural products, biologically active compounds, pharmaceuticals, synthetic agrochemicals, and functional

• materials [1][2]. Due to their importance, different synthetic routes involving stoichiometric and catalytic approaches have been developed. The α,β-unsaturated imines, also known as conjugated imines or 1-azadienes, are useful precursors for the construction of aza-heterocycles. Due to their structure

• , 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

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

• the synthesis of cyclic imines using a one-pot protocol involving Grignard addition to a cyano group followed by PhI(OAc)2 (Scheme 30) [51]. The authors used p-tolylmagnesium bromide for both the arylation of the unsaturated carbonitriles 55 and as a bromide source. Bromocyclisation was achieved using

• PhI(OAc)2, which formed a range of 5- and 6-membered bromomethyl cyclic imines 56 in good yields from unsaturated imines 57. Xia and co-workers reported the bromocyclisation of indole derivatives 58 (Scheme 31) using PIDA and CuBr2 as the oxidant and bromide source, respectively [52]. Racemic pyrrolo

• of cyclic imines 45. Synthesis of brominated pyrrolo[2,3-b]indoles 59. Bromoamidation of alkenes. Synthesis of brominated cyclic guanidines 61 and 61’. Intramolecular bromocyclisation of N-oxyureas. The formation of 3-bromoindoles. Bromolactonisation of unsaturated acids 68. Synthesis of 5

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

• .20.241 Abstract An efficient and facile synthesis of pyrrole-fused dibenzoxazepine/dibenzothiazepine/triazolobenzodiazepine derivatives was developed through the isocyanide-based multicomponent reaction of isocyanides, gem-diactivated olefins, and cyclic imines such as dibenzoxazepine, dibenzothiazepine

• great attention in biomedical applications, clinical diagnostics, and conjugate materials. Keywords: cyclic imines; dibenzothiazepine; dibenzoxazepine; isocyanides; multicomponent reactions; pyrrole; triazolobenzodiazepine; Introduction Pyrroles and their derivatives are important N-heterocyclic

• ) [42][43]. Another I-MCR for forming pyrroles is the in situ formation reaction of the zwitterion III, known as Huisgens 1,4-dipole. The latter is formed by the reaction of imines with acetylenedicarboxylates and can be trapped by an isocyanide through a [4 + 1] cyclization reaction to synthesize

Multicomponent synthesis of α-branched amines using organozinc reagents generated from alkyl bromides

• Baptiste Leroux,
• Alexis Beaufils,
• Federico Banchini,
• Olivier Jackowski,
• Alejandro Perez-Luna,
• Fabrice Chemla,
• Marc Presset and
• Erwan Le Gall

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2834–2839, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.239

• remains tenuous. Indeed, until recently, mixed alkylzinc species were only employed by Carretero and co-workers in related nucleophilic additions to activated imines under Cu catalysis [22]. In 2022, our group demonstrated that alkyl iodides offer a reliable source of heteroleptic organozinc compounds

Access to optically active tetrafluoroethylenated amines based on [1,3]-proton shift reaction

• Yuta Kabumoto,
• Eiichiro Yoshimoto,
• Bing Xiaohuan,
• Masato Morita,
• Motohiro Yasui,
• Shigeyuki Yamada and
• Tsutomu Konno

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2776–2783, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.233

• fluoroalkylated amines 15 with high optical purity could be easily prepared through [1,3]-proton shift reactions of optically active imines 14 which in turn were readily synthesized by condensation of various perfluoroalkyl ketones with optically active (R)-1-phenylethylamine (Scheme 2a) [25][26][27][28][29][30

• ][31][32]. Therefore, we envisioned that optically active tetrafluoroethylenated amines 17 could be synthesized by applying the [1,3]-proton shift to optically active imines 16 derived from readily prepared tetrafluoroethylenated ketones (Scheme 2b). In this paper, we describe the details of the [1,3

• ]-proton shift reaction of various tetrafluoroethylenated imines. Results and Discussion The preparation of substrates used in this study was as outlined in Scheme 3. Namely, the zinc reagent was prepared from commercially available 3,3,4,4-tetrafluoro-1-butene (18) [33] and reacted with various acid

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

• reactants. Therefore, based on the previous studies on the oxidative 3-component Ugi–Joullié reaction [22][23][24] and our precedent experience [25][26][27], we speculated that cyclic imines could be good substrates for our reaction, thanks to their higher rigidity and stability. As depicted in Scheme 2b

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

• and cross-coupling of different kinds of amines for approaching symmetric and unsymmetric imines [76]. This method achieved the bioconjugation of several amino acids with benzylamine, the use of phenylalanine (Phe), serine (Ser), and isoleucine (Ile) as substrates led to 85%, 59%, and 29% yield

Asymmetric organocatalytic synthesis of chiral homoallylic amines

• Nikolay S. Kondratyev and
• Andrei V. Malkov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2349–2377, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.201

• Nikolay S. Kondratyev Andrei V. Malkov Department of Chemistry, Loughborough University, Loughborough, LE11 3TU, UK Faculty of Science and Engineering, University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton, WV1 1LY, UK 10.3762/bjoc.20.201 Abstract In recent decades, the chiral allylation of imines emerged

• as a key methodology in the synthesis of alkaloids and natural products with 4-, 5- and 6-membered cyclic amine motifs. Initially reliant on stoichiometric reagents, synthetic chemists predominantly used N-substituted chiral imines, organometallic chiral reagents and achiral reagents with an

• equimolar chiral controller. However, recent years have witnessed the rise of asymmetric transition-metal catalysts and, importantly, organocatalytic allylation, reshaping the landscape of modern synthetic chemistry. This review explores the latest developments in the asymmetric allylation of imines

Stereoselective mechanochemical synthesis of thiomalonate Michael adducts via iminium catalysis by chiral primary amines

• Michał Błauciak,
• Dominika Andrzejczyk,
• Błażej Dziuk and
• Rafał Kowalczyk

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2313–2322, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.198

• catalyzed by primary amines in transformation requiring the formation of the imines without catalyst deactivation. The study underscores the potential of mechanochemistry in broadening the scope of organocatalytic and stereoselective transformations including the application of rather unexplored thioesters

Catalysing (organo-)catalysis: Trends in the application of machine learning to enantioselective organocatalysis

• Stefan P. Schmid,
• Leon Schlosser,
• Frank Glorius and
• Kjell Jorner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2280–2304, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.196

• additions to imines, comprising alcohols, thiols, phosphonates, diazoacetamides, peroxides, benzothiazolines and more as nucleophiles. Apart from reactant classes, the reactions also vary in additives, and solvent among others. Since these reactions all adhere to the same mechanism of enantioinduction, the

• authors chose to consider them in the same ML campaign, even though the nucleophiles vary significantly. As descriptors, the authors used the overlapping features of nucleophiles, imines and catalysts to derive steric and electronic parameters as well as topological descriptors for solvents, where less

• develop a comprehensive model, finding that imine parameters govern the defining transition state and hence the preferred enantiomer. In a focused modelling, two separate models are constructed, one for all E- and Z-imines, respectively, finding substrate–catalyst matching is important for E- and Z-imines

Heterocycle-guided synthesis of m-hetarylanilines via three-component benzannulation

• Andrey R. Galeev,
• Maksim V. Dmitriev,
• Alexander S. Novikov and
• Andrey N. Maslivets

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2208–2216, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.188

• situ-generated acetone imines in a (3 + 3) manner to afford meta-substituted anilines (Scheme 1C) [53][54]. Various EWGs (ester, carbamoyl, ketone, trifluoromethyl) have been successfully employed which motivated us to evaluate other possible EWGs. Results and Discussion Based on the fact, that many

Multicomponent syntheses of pyrazoles via (3 + 2)-cyclocondensation and (3 + 2)-cycloaddition key steps

• Ignaz Betcke,
• Alissa C. Götzinger,
• Maryna M. Kornet and
• Thomas J. J. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2024–2077, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.178

Harnessing the versatility of hydrazones through electrosynthetic oxidative transformations

• Aurélie Claraz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1988–2004, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.175

• agrochemical industries. The (3 + 2)-cycloaddition between nitrile imines and alkenes represents one of the most efficient strategies to prepare these azacycles. However, conventional methods for the generation of the nitrile imine involved the use of unstable hydrazonoyl halides or the oxidation of aldehyde

Access to 2-oxoazetidine-3-carboxylic acid derivatives via thermal microwave-assisted Wolff rearrangement of 3-diazotetramic acids in the presence of nucleophiles

• Ivan Lyutin,
• Vasilisa Krivovicheva,
• Grigory Kantin and
• Dmitry Dar’in

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1894–1899, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.164

• reported in the literature are based on the construction of the β-lactam ring (Scheme 1). The main methods include the [2 + 2] cycloaddition of acyl ketenes, generated by various methods, with imines [11][12][13][14] and the Wolff rearrangement of γ-amino-α-diazo-β-ketoesters followed by intramolecular

The Groebke–Blackburn–Bienaymé reaction in its maturity: innovation and improvements since its 21st birthday (2019–2023)

• Cristina Martini,
• Muhammad Idham Darussalam Mardjan and
• Andrea Basso

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1839–1879, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.162

• combination of reactants was studied, but a major hurdle was found to be the imine formation step in aqueous media. Consequently, imines were first prepared as metastable adducts (with benzotriazole or p-TSA as stabilizers) and then tested with isocyanides in the presence of the template protein, involving

• metastable imines, could serve as a starting point for the development of other TGS projects involving imine-based multicomponent reactions. 1.4 In situ generation of reactants and use of enabling technologies Despite their high versatility, isocyanides have some drawbacks, such as their repellent smell (but

• a variation of the GBB reaction employing benzothiazole acetonitrile 104 (X = S) in place of the amidine component (Scheme 33). Knoevenagel condensation with an aldehyde in the presence of 2-(hydroxymethyl)pyrrolidinium acetate produced conjugated imines 105 as the reaction intermediates. Once

Electrophotochemical metal-catalyzed synthesis of alkylnitriles from simple aliphatic carboxylic acids

• Yukang Wang,
• Yan Yao and
• Niankai Fu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1497–1503, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.133

• readily converted into a myriad of functional groups including carbonyls, amines, imines, and a variety of heterocyclic scaffolds with well-established procedures [4][5][6][7][8][9]. In particular, tertiary nitriles are common structural motifs in many bioactive compounds and are widely used as

Manganese-catalyzed C–C and C–N bond formation with alcohols via borrowing hydrogen or hydrogen auto-transfer

• Mohd Farhan Ansari,
• Atul Kumar Maurya,
• Abhishek Kumar and
• Saravanakumar Elangovan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1111–1166, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.98

• aldehydes or ketones, undergo base-assisted condensation reactions with amines providing the corresponding imines. In the last step, the active manganese hydride complexes reduce the imine compounds and afford the desired alkylated amine products (Scheme 2B). Several well-defined manganese complexes have

• synthesis of amines and imines using Mn-pincer catalyst [37]. When t-BuOK (1 equiv) was used as a base, alkylated amine products were observed selectively using alcohol as an alkylating agent, whereas when t-BuONa (1.5 equiv) was used as base, alkylated imine products were isolated (Scheme 6). This

• indicates that the cation-coordinative interaction with the catalyst plays a significant role. Moreover, the mechanistic investigation suggested that the observed selectivity is due to the more reactive potassium manganate hydride towards the hydrogenation of imines to amines than the sodium manganate

Carbonylative synthesis and functionalization of indoles

• Alex De Salvo,
• Raffaella Mancuso and
• Xiao-Feng Wu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 973–1000, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.87

• ., in two different periods, reported two paradigmatic examples for indole syntheses. In 2010, they developed the synthesis of 1-(alkoxyarylmethyl)indole-3-carboxylic esters from 2-alkynylaniline imines by using PdI2/KI as catalyst system and oxygen as oxidant [15]. In particular, the reaction was

• )-catalyzed heterocyclization/alkoxycarbonylation of 2-alkynylaniline imines. Pd(II)-catalyzed heterocyclization/alkoxycarbonylation of 2-alkynylanilines to N-substituted indole-3-carboxylic esters and indole-3-carboxylic esters (top). Pd(II)-catalyzed selective carbonylation of 2-alkynylaniline to methyl 1