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

• structurally diverse macrocycles through the dynamic self-assembly of α,α’-linked oligopyrrolic dialdehydes and alkyldiamines (Scheme 10) [39]. Their investigation revealed distinct solvent-mediated selectivity in product formation. Condensation of the pyridine-bridged oligopyrrolic dialdehyde 37 with simple

Dicarboxylate recognition based on ultracycle hosts through cooperative hydrogen bonding and anion–π interactions

• Wen-Hui Mi,
• Teng-Yu Huang,
• Xu-Dong Wang,
• Yu-Fei Ao,
• Qi-Qiang Wang and
• De-Xian Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 884–889, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.72

• selectivity for heptanedioate (C72−) was attributed to cooperative hydrogen bonding, anion–π interactions, and a size-matching effect, as supported by DFT optimizations. Keywords: anion–π interactions; anion recognition; hydrogen bonding; dicarboxylates; ultracycles; Introduction Macrocycles containing more

• than 50 atoms in the macrocyclic skeleton are denoted as ultracycles [1]. These very large macrocycles are prevalent in nature and exhibit unique functions. For instance, the archaeal lipid GDGT-0 enables archaea to thrive in extreme environments [2]; cycloamyloses enhance the stability of drug

• , synthetic ultracycles remain relatively unexplored due to the significant synthetic challenges [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. Among these, very large macrocycles constructed from smaller macrocyclic building units are particularly underexplored. Such macrocycle-containing ultracycles are

Unraveling cooperative interactions between complexed ions in dual-host strategy for cesium salt separation

• Zhihua Liu,
• Ya-Zhi Chen,
• Ji Wang,
• Qingling Nie,
• Wei Zhao and
• Biao Wu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 845–853, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.68

• binding Na+ and K+ by oligourea foldamers and macrocycles [37][38][39]. However, in the solid−liquid extraction of Li2SO4 in DMSO, addition of crown ether did not help to increase the extraction efficiency. This is because ion-dipole interactions are negligible in high polar solvent, and Li+ binding is

• found to be co-stabilized by three 18-crown-6 macrocycles. Next, a solid–liquid extraction experiment was conducted for Cs2SO4 salts. A solution of hexaurea receptor L and two equivalents of 18-crown-6 in CHCl3 were prepared, and solid Cs2SO4 was added into the solution. Under stirring at 60 °C for 5

Acyclic cucurbit[n]uril bearing alkyl sulfate ionic groups

• Christian Akakpo,
• Peter Y. Zavalij and
• Lyle Isaacs

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 717–726, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.55

• [n])), and those prepared by metal ligands and H-bonding self-assembly processes [1][2][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. Macrocycles have played key roles in important real-world products including the household deodorizer FebreezeTM, glucose monitors, and as solubilizing excipients [21

• acyclic CB[n] are not macrocycles, they are preorganized into a C-shaped geometry by virtue of their polycyclic chemical structure and display binding affinities approaching those of macrocyclic CB[n]. M1 and analogues display outstanding biocompatibility and have been used for a number of in vivo

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

• groups in different relative locations around the macrocycle (e.g., 37, Figure 5), and it can be applied to larger macrocycles too [73]. Most strikingly, this effect has been exploited to modulate the aromas of fragrance compounds (e.g., compounds 38 and 39, Figure 5) by fine-tuning the shape of the

• orthogonal in 47 [84], leading to different overall molecular shapes for compounds 46 and 47. Another illustration of this phenomenon is seen with the macrocycles 48 and 49, which are simplified analogues of a known BACE-1 inhibitor [85]. In the non-fluorinated macrocycle 48, the aryl ether moiety features a

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

• the MCR product is possible thus increasing the versatility of these reactions in terms of structural diversity and molecular complexity. In this context, a wide variety of heterocycles and macrocycles as important biological scaffolds have been synthesized [6]. One of the most important components

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

• imprinted polymers (MIPs) [60] has been discussed elsewhere and will not be covered. Perspective Cavity catalysis: current state of the art Functionalized macrocycles Since Cramer’s work with cyclodextrins [61][62][63], there has been significant interest in using macrocyclic confinement to modulate

• substrate reactivity [64]. Cyclodextrins, cucurbiturils, cavitands, and calixarenes are representative [64][65][66][67][68][69][70], and typical features of these macrocycles are high symmetry and a hydrophobic cavity with polar edge groups. They tend to be synthesized as covalent cyclic oligomers in

• mixtures of ring sizes, either by enzymatic synthesis (cyclodextrins) or thermodynamic synthesis, and are used after separation of the different ring sizes. Since the macrocycles are generically hydrophobic on the interior, they can perform catalysis by dual-confinement of two hydrophobic substrates from

Hydrogen-bonded macrocycle-mediated dimerization for orthogonal supramolecular polymerization

• Wentao Yu,
• Zhiyao Yang,
• Chengkan Yu,
• Xiaowei Li and
• Lihua Yuan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 179–188, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.10

• covalently linked polymers. So far, the design of such monomers has relied heavily on three-dimensional macrocycles, and the use of two-dimensional shape-persistent macrocycles for this purpose remains rather rare. Here, we demonstrate a dimerization motif based on a hydrogen-bonded macrocycle that can be

• polymerization concentration of 17 μM. These polymers were highly concentration-dependent. Establishing this new dimerization motif with shape-persistent H-bonded macrocycles widens the scope of noncovalent building blocks for supramolecular polymers and augurs well for the future development of functional

• materials. Keywords: hydrogen-bonded macrocycle; orthogonal self-assembly; shape-persistent; supramolecular polymer; Introduction Host–guest interactions, particularly those involving macrocycles as hosts [1], have found a myriad of applications in supramolecular chemistry [2][3][4] owing to their ability

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

• Mandeep K. Chahal School of Chemistry and Forensic Science, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NH, UK 10.3762/bjoc.20.257 Abstract This review provides an overview of recent progress made in the field of catalysis using metal-free tetrapyrrolic macrocycles, focusing on calix[4]pyrroles

• applied in various fields, including organometallic catalysis, dye-sensitized solar cells, sensing, artificial olfactory systems, photodynamic therapy (PDT), anticancer drugs, biochemical probes, and electrochemical devices. Relevant examples of these two pyrrolic macrocycles as metal-free organocatalysts

• two macrocycles as metal-free catalysts. Keywords: calix[4]pyrroles; electrocatalysis; free-base porphyrins; organocatalysis; photocatalysis; tetrapyrrolic macrocycles; Introduction Tetrapyrrolic macrocycles are a class of cyclic compounds that contain four pyrrolic units in their ring. Examples of

Tailored charge-neutral self-assembled L₂Zn₂ container for taming oxalate

• David Ocklenburg and
• David Van Craen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3007–3015, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.250

• -driven self-assemblies like cages or containers while numerous classic organic receptors for oxalate exist. This discrepancy is astonishing because metallocontainers or metallocages have advantages over classic macrocycles or organocages like a higher modularity and good preorganization paired with a

• calcium oxalate [6][7][8]. Unsurprisingly, the detection of oxalate was studied with numerous classic organic receptors involving acyclic hosts [9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21], macrocycles [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33], and cages [34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42

C–C Coupling in sterically demanding porphyrin environments

• Liam Cribbin,
• Brendan Twamley,
• Nicolae Buga,
• John E. O’ Brien,
• Raphael Bühler,
• Roland A. Fischer and
• Mathias O. Senge

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2784–2798, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.234

• substrates in their void. Keywords: C–C coupling; conformational analysis; nonplanar porphyrin; Pd-catalysis; porphyrin; Introduction Porphyrins are tetrapyrrolic macrocycles that perform essential processes in nature, such as oxygen transport in hemoglobin and photosynthesis [1]. Porphyrins are often

• described as planar 18π aromatic macrocycles; however, molecular structure analysis frequently reveals nonplanar ring distortion [2][3]. In fact, porphyrins with nonplanar ring distortions are vital for many natural processes to occur, e.g., nonplanarity can alter oxygen affinity of the metal iron core [4

• ] and almost planar [19] dodecasubstituted porphyrins have been reported. Despite the increasing interest in the chemical and physical properties of nonplanar porphyrins only limited synthetic methods are available for the functionalization of these macrocycles [6]. An attractive approach to accomplish

HFIP as a versatile solvent in resorcin[n]arene synthesis

• Hormoz Khosravi,
• Valeria Stevens and
• Raúl Hernández Sánchez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2469–2475, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.211

• ]; and 3) access to larger macrocycles with n > 4 is not a trivial task usually leading to reaction yields <10% [21][38][42][60]. Herein, we report 1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoroisopropanol (HFIP) as an efficient solvent to speed up reaction times and also capable of tolerating electron-deficient and halogenated

• translated to the formation of other macrocycles as long as they share a similar reaction mechanism. (a) Control experiment testing deiodination of 2-iodoresorcinol. (b) Molecular crystal structure of chlorinated resorcin[4]arenes 1h and 1i, and carboxylic acid-containing 1s at 100 K. Thermal ellipsoids are

Novel truxene-based dipyrromethanes (DPMs): synthesis, spectroscopic characterization and photophysical properties

• Shakeel Alvi and
• Rashid Ali

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2163–2170, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.186

• the importance of DPMs in mind due to their utmost significance as a building block in the construction of porphyrinogens, related polypyrrolic macrocycles, and pigments [39][40][41]. As shown in Figure 1, these DPMs and many more have fruitfully been used by several research groups in sensing/binding

Radical reactivity of antiaromatic Ni(II) norcorroles with azo radical initiators

• Siham Asyiqin Shafie,
• Ryo Nozawa,
• Hideaki Takano and
• Hiroshi Shinokubo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1967–1972, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.172

• species has remained unexplored. Here, we disclose the radical functionalization of Ni(II) norcorroles with simple and frequently used azo radical initiators to furnish nonconjugated macrocycles with bowl-shaped structures [27]. The photophysical and electronic properties of the obtained products are also

• subsequent demetallation. Conclusion In conclusion, we have investigated the addition reaction of electrophilic alkyl radicals derived from azo radical initiators to antiaromatic Ni(II) norcorroles. The reaction smoothly proceeded to afford bowl-shaped nonconjugated macrocycles 2a in excellent yield, which

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

Discovery of antimicrobial peptides clostrisin and cellulosin from Clostridium: insights into their structures, co-localized biosynthetic gene clusters, and antibiotic activity

• Moisés Alejandro Alejo Hernandez,
• Katia Pamela Villavicencio Sánchez,
• Rosendo Sánchez Morales,
• Karla Georgina Hernández-Magro Gil,
• David Silverio Moreno-Gutiérrez,
• Eddie Guillermo Sanchez-Rueda,
• Yanet Teresa-Cruz,
• Brian Choi,
• Armando Hernández Garcia,
• Alba Romero-Rodríguez,
• Oscar Juárez,
• Siseth Martínez-Caballero,
• Mario Figueroa and
• Corina-Diana Ceapă

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1800–1816, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.159

• ). Furthermore, analysis of the MS2 experiment post-iodoacetamide reaction indicated the absence of free cysteines between C30 and C39, supported by alkylated y35 and y24 ions, implying macrocyclization, and proposed the presence of three macrocycles between G41 and the C-terminus (Figure S3 in Supporting

Chemo-enzymatic total synthesis: current approaches toward the integration of chemical and enzymatic transformations

• Ryo Tanifuji and
• Hiroki Oguri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1693–1712, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.151

• aldehyde at the C6 sidechain. Furthermore, the fusion protein, JuvD-RhFRED, enabled regio- and diastereoselective epoxidation of the C12 double bond of macrocycles 80–82, culminating in the total synthesis of M-4365 A1 (83), M-4365 A3 (juvenimicin A4, 84), and M-4365 A2 (juvenimicin A3, 85), respectively

Introduction of peripheral nitrogen atoms to cyclo-meta-phenylenes

• Koki Ikemoto and
• Hiroyuki Isobe

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1207–1212, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.103

• biased charges on the peripheral nitrogen atoms. Keywords: cross coupling; macrocycles; nitrogen doping; UV–vis spectroscopy; X-ray charge density analysis; Introduction Graphitic carbonaceous sheets of graphene continue to attract considerable attention, which lead us to explore structural defects

• 3a and 3b resembled those of the hydrocarbon congeners, forming one-dimensional columns of stacked macrocycles (Figure 3b). The electronic effects of the nitrogen dopants in 3a were examined with X-ray charge density analyses [10][16]. For the crystal structures shown in Figure 3, we used a standard

• configurations preferred over T-shaped stackings [22]. In our study, we observed that pyridine–pyridine stacks were preferred in the crystal stacking (Figure 3), which might be attributed to the biased ESPs on the macrocycles. Finally, we found that nitrogen locations altered chemical characteristics of nitrogen

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of macrocyclic peptides and polyketides via thioesterase-catalyzed macrocyclization

• Senze Qiao,
• Zhongyu Cheng and
• Fuzhuo Li

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 721–733, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.66

• polyketides; thioesterase; Introduction Nonribosomal peptides, polyketides, and their hybrids exhibit significant diversity and a broad spectrum of bioactivities [1][2][3]. Particularly, macrocycles from these three categories of natural products are vital resources for developing pharmaceuticals and drug

• possible and provides a potential to construct the analogs library of these bioactive macrocycles for further biological investigations. This review presents representative examples of chemoenzymatic approaches for macrocyclic peptides, polyketides, and their hybrids employing TE domains, and particular

• aforementioned NPRS macrocycles, the synthesis of macrocylic polyketides and PKS/NRPS hybrids is more challenging due to the absence of a streamlined preparation strategy such as solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). In enzymology studies, it was common to hydrolyze the cyclic natural products in order to obtain

Switchable molecular tweezers: design and applications

• Pablo Msellem,
• Maksym Dekthiarenko,
• Nihal Hadj Seyd and
• Guillaume Vives

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 504–539, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.45

Active-metal template clipping synthesis of novel [2]rotaxanes

• Cătălin C. Anghel,
• Teodor A. Cucuiet,
• Niculina D. Hădade and
• Ion Grosu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1776–1784, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.130

• beautiful structures and intriguing properties. We present herein a new synthetic strategy to access [2]rotaxanes, namely active-metal template clipping. We discuss the design of the target [2]rotaxanes, synthesis and characterization of the axle, macrocycle precursors and macrocycles as well as preparation

• CuAAC click chemistry [38][39][40]. The choice of CuAAC as key step to accomplish the synthesis of the [2]rotaxanes was motivated by its high efficiency [41]. In addition, this reaction proved its versatility for rotaxanes synthesis [15], including chiral [2]rotaxanes [42]. The macrocycles M1 and M2

• -functonalized stopper 3 after substitution of bromine with azide. The dialkyne-decorated pyridine 5 was prepared starting from 2,6-bis(bromomethyl)pyridine that was reacted with compound 4, under phase transfer catalysis (Scheme 1). Finally, the axle 6, as well as the reference macrocycles M1 and M2 [44], were

Tying a knot between crown ethers and porphyrins

• Maksym Matviyishyn and
• Bartosz Szyszko

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1630–1650, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.120

• materials science [10]. These two classes of molecules seem particularly remarkable among the endless family of macrocyclic compounds due to their unique features and easy accessibility. The popularity of porphyrins and crown ethers has been so extensive that the whole range of these macrocycles is even

• macrocycles is shown. As several topics were reviewed earlier, we did not intend to present an exhaustive overview but instead focused on presenting selected examples of molecules of fundamental importance in this research area. The more interested readers are referred to excellent review articles focused on

• specific classes of macrocycles, such as crowned porphyrins [22], calixpyrroles [26][27][28][29], Schiff porphyrinoids [30], expanded porphyrinoids [31][32], or carbaporphyrinoids [33][34], and a selection of articles dedicated to crown ether chemistry [17][20][35][36][37]. Historical Perspective Various

Unravelling a trichloroacetic acid-catalyzed cascade access to benzo[f]chromeno[2,3-h]quinoxalinoporphyrins

• Chandra Sekhar Tekuri,
• Pargat Singh and
• Mahendra Nath

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1216–1224, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.89

• ; multicomponent synthesis; one-pot reaction; trichloroacetic acid; Introduction π-Conjugated porphyrin macrocycles are known for their applications in numerous areas ranging from oxygen transport, photosynthesis, catalysis and medicine [1][2][3]. In the past several years, diverse organic scaffolds have been

• incorporated at the porphyrin periphery and different metal ions in the porphyrin core to modulate ground-state and excited-state characteristics of easily accessible meso-tetraarylporphyrins. Some of these π-extended tetrapyrrolic macrocycles have emerged as potential candidates in photodynamic therapy and

Cyclodextrins as building blocks for new materials

• Miriana Kfoury and
• Sophie Fourmentin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 889–891, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.66

• publications carried out on cyclodextrins (CDs) and their market growth are clear evidence of the undying interest in these macrocycles discovered in 1891 [1]. It seems that these supramolecules still have not revealed all their secrets and are still stimulating curiosity in fundamental and applied research

Light-responsive rotaxane-based materials: inducing motion in the solid state

• Adrian Saura-Sanmartin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 873–880, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.64

• supramolecular gels (Figure 2a) [52]. Upon irradiation using a UV-light-emitting diode (LED) and a visible LED as sources, the reversible cleavage of the trithiocarbonate stoppers was accomplished, thus allowing the dethreading [53] of the wheels to take place by the shuttling of the macrocycles along the thread

• cyclobutanes (Figure 4b). Interestingly, the changes in the crystalline array as a consequence of this photodimerization within the cucurbituril macrocycles also induced a macroscopic deformation of the metal-organic material, promoting a photomechanical bending of the crystals. This photomechanical