Thiazolidinones: novel insights from microwave synthesis, computational studies, and potentially bioactive hybrids

• Luan A. Martinho,
• Victor H. J. G. Praciano,
• Guilherme D. R. Matos,
• Claudia C. Gatto and
• Carlos Kleber Z. Andrade

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2618–2636, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.203

• 10.3762/bjoc.21.203 Abstract Various 5-arylidene derivatives were prepared via a Knoevenagel condensation-type reaction of aromatic/heteroaromatic aldehydes with rhodanine or thiazolidine-2,4-dione (TZD) catalyzed by EDA/AcOH under microwave heating. This convenient methodology is broad in scope (49

• explored. One notable approach is the use of microwave irradiation. Microwave-assisted synthesis has proven effective in reducing reaction times and improving yields [59][60][61][62]. Herein, we report the synthesis of 5-arylidene derivatives from rhodanine or thiazolidine-2,4-dione via the Knoevenagel

• condensation-type reaction using ethylenediamine (EDA) as catalyst in AcOH under microwave (μw) heating. This convenient methodology is broad in scope, provides the condensation products in high yields (up to 99%), with a reasonable catalyst loading (10 mol %) in only 30 minutes. This approach also enabled the

Pentacyclic aromatic heterocycles from Pd-catalyzed annulation of 1,5-diaryl-1,2,3-triazoles

• Kaylen D. Lathrum,
• Emily M. Hanneken,
• Katelyn R. Grzelak and
• James T. Fletcher

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2524–2534, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.194

• phenanthridines, naphthyridines, and phenanthrolines were prepared via Pd-catalyzed annulation of 1,5-diaryl-1,2,3-triazoles. Analogs with triazole N1-connected ortho-bromobenzene subunits successfully underwent annulation under microwave irradiation in yields of 31–90%. In contrast, annulations of triazole C1

• -connected ortho-bromobenzene subunit analogs failed under microwave irradiation but were successful using conventional thermal heating in yields of 31–65%. The expanded nature of the aromatic ring system following annulation was reflected by the downfield shifting of aromatic 1H NMR signals and the red

• tandem deprotection/click chemistry followed by Pd-catalyzed annulation is summarized in Table 1. The alkyne-substituted analogs 1–6 [48][49][50][51][52] used in this study were prepared from commercially available aryl halides using microwave-promoted Sonogashira coupling (Table S1, Supporting

Isoorotamide-based peptide nucleic acid nucleobases with extended linkers aimed at distal base recognition of adenosine in double helical RNA

• Grant D. Walby,
• Brandon R. Tessier,
• Tristan L. Mabee,
• Jennah M. Hoke,
• Hallie M. Bleam,
• Angelina Giglio-Tos,
• Emily E. Harding,
• Vladislavs Baskevics,
• Martins Katkevics,
• Eriks Rozners and
• James A. MacKay

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2513–2523, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.193

• addition of the acyl chloride to excess 9 was important to avoid forming bis-acylation of the phenylenediamine. The carboxylic acid 13 was formed using a microwave-promoted ring opening of glutaric anhydride (11) and benzyl-protected PNA backbone 12 [38]. A series of optimizations was performed in a

• microwave reactor with LCMS analysis, selecting for high conversion and minimal reaction time (Table 1). While high heat was originally feared to cause side reactions due to possible lability of the Fmoc and internal cyclization to form a piperazinone [39], it was discovered that the monomer was stable up

• –8). Unreacted anhydride in this reaction could be easily removed during workup. In entry 8, >97% conversion was obtained in only 5 minutes with a 98% isolated yield. While a microwave was exclusively used to study this reaction at high temperatures, it is reasonable to expect that the reaction would

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

Switchable pathways of multicomponent heterocyclizations of 5-amino-1,2,4-triazoles with salicylaldehydes and pyruvic acid

• Yana I. Sakhno,
• Oleksander V. Buravov,
• Kostyantyn Yu. Yurkov,
• Anastasia Yu. Andryushchenko,
• Svitlana V. Shishkina and
• Valentyn A. Chebanov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2030–2035, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.158

• devoted to the study of the reactions of aminoazoles, pyruvic acid and its derivatives with salicylaldehydes and it was found that depending on the conditions (reaction time, temperature, and method of process activation, in particular ultrasound and microwave irradiation), different types of heterocycles

Synthesis of N-doped chiral macrocycles by regioselective palladium-catalyzed arylation

• Shuhai Qiu and
• Junzhi Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1917–1923, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.149

• could be viewed as the aza[14]metacyclophane derivatives, in which two benzene rings are replaced by two pyrenes. The Pd-catalyzed arylation of 3a with Pd(OAc)2, PMe(t-Bu)2·HBF4 and DBU under microwave conditions gave two isomeric macrocycles MC1 and MC2 with four newly formed C–C bonds in yields of 5

• . Synthesis of N-doped macrocycles MC1, MC2, and MC3. Reaction conditions: a) Pd2(dba)3, Pt-Bu3·HBF4, NaOt-Bu, toluene, 110 °C, 24 h. 3a: 16%; 3b: 10%. b) Pd(OAc)2, PMe(t-Bu)2·HBF4, 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU), DMAc, microwave, 170 °C, 5 h. MC1: 5%; MC2: 90%; MC3: 85%. Supporting Information

Continuous-flow-enabled intensification in nitration processes: a review of technological developments and practical applications over the past decade

• Feng Zhou,
• Chuansong Duanmu,
• Yanxing Li,
• Jin Li,
• Haiqing Xu,
• Pan Wang and
• Kai Zhu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1678–1699, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.132

• technologies including ultrasonication, microwave irradiation, and microreaction technology into conventional nitration frameworks. Nikseresht et al. developed a novel heterogeneous heteropoly acid catalyst (PMA@MIL-53(Fe)), enabled efficient regioselective nitration of phenols under ultrasonic irradiation

• , achieving 54.98% o- and 45.01% p-nitrophenol yields within 15 minutes [10]. Umrigar et al. demonstrated a microwave-assisted nitration of monochlorobenzene (MCB) for the efficient synthesis of 2,4-dinitrochlorobenzene (2,4-DNCB), achieving reduced reaction time, minimized waste acid, and enhanced yield

• /selectivity through optimized parameters (microwave energy, temperature, feed composition) [11]. Recent years have witnessed growing adoption of the continuous-flow technology in nitration processes across laboratory and industrial scales, driven by the reaction's classification as a highly hazardous chemical

Copper catalysis: a constantly evolving field

• Elena Fernández and
• Jaesook Yun

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1477–1479, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.109

• harness their Lewis-acidic and weakly oxidizing properties, respectively. In addition, microwave irradiation increases the reaction rate considerably. Furthermore, the use of a solid Cu(I) catalyst immobilized on an aminated silica support allows for a heterogeneous and cost-effective process, featuring

Microwave-enhanced additive-free C–H amination of benzoxazoles catalysed by supported copper

• Andrei Paraschiv,
• Valentina Maruzzo,
• Filippo Pettazzi,
• Stefano Magliocco,
• Paolo Inaudi,
• Daria Brambilla,
• Gloria Berlier,
• Giancarlo Cravotto and
• Katia Martina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1462–1476, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.108

• offers wide-ranging potential for substrate expansion and the functionalisation of bioactive compounds. This study presents a green and efficient C–H amination, catalysed by CuCl and CuCl2, in acetonitrile without acidic, basic or oxidant additives that is accelerated by microwave (MW) irradiation and is

• synthesis of various benzoxazole derivatives, demonstrating its versatility and practical applicability. Keywords: aerobic oxidation; copper; grafted silica; heterogeneous catalysis; microwave; Introduction 2-Aminoazoles are nitrogenous heterocyclic compounds of high relevance due to their biological and

• microwave irradiation to enhance the protocol’s efficacy. The non-thermal effects and unique ability of MW irradiation to promote reactions catalysed by solid-supported metals have already been demonstrated [53]. As shown in Scheme 1, our research is in line with earlier studies that highlight the

Reactions of acryl thioamides with iminoiodinanes as a one-step synthesis of N-sulfonyl-2,3-dihydro-1,2-thiazoles

• Vladimir G. Ilkin,
• Pavel S. Silaichev,
• Valeriy O. Filimonov,
• Tetyana V. Beryozkina,
• Margarita D. Likhacheva,
• Pavel A. Slepukhin,
• Wim Dehaen and
• Vasiliy A. Bakulev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1397–1403, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.104

• precipitate was filtered off and washed with cold ethanol and diethyl ether. Preparation of 2-sulfonyl-2,3-dihydro-1,2-thiazoles 3 (general procedure). Method A. The corresponding thioamide 1 (1.0 equiv) and DCM (1 mL) was added to an oven-dried standard microwave vial with a volume of 10 mL. The resulting

• -thiazole 3 was isolated. Method B. The corresponding aryl sulfonamide (1.2 equiv), PhI(OAc)2 (1.5 equiv) and DCM (0.5 mL) was added to an oven-dried standard microwave vial with a volume of 10 mL. The resulting suspension was stirred for 10 min in an ice bath, then thioamide 1 (1.0 equiv) dissolved in DCM

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

• initial GBB reaction of aminopyridines 1 (0.5 mmol), isocyanides 3 (1.2 equiv), and furfuraldehydes 2 (1.2 equiv) was conducted in 3:1 CH2Cl2/MeOH (4 mL) using Yb(OTf)3 (0.08 equiv) as a Lewis acid catalyst under microwave irradiation at 100 °C for 1 h (Scheme 2). Nineteen distinct adducts 4 were obtained

• GBB reactions for the preparation of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines 4 were conducted using aminopyridines 1 (0.5 mmol), isocyanides 3 (0.6 mmol, 1.2 equiv), and furfuraldehyde 2 (0.6 mmol, 1.2 equiv) in 3:1 DCM/MeOH (4 mL) with Yb(OTf)3 (0.04 mmol, 0.08 equiv) as a Lewis acid catalyst under microwave

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

• , Božić and co-workers (2022) reported the microwave-assisted direct amidation reaction of cinnamic acid (7) catalyzed by N-fluorobenzenesulfonimide (NFSi) via halogen bonding activation (Scheme 42B) [80]. In addition, the method has been successfully scaled up to a gram scale. Activating a nucleophile

Biobased carbon dots as photoreductants – an investigation by using triarylsulfonium salts

• Valentina Benazzi,
• Arianna Bini,
• Ilaria Bertuol,
• Mariangela Novello,
• Federica Baldi,
• Matteo Hoch,
• Alvise Perosa and
• Stefano Protti

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1024–1030, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.84

• recourse to treatments such as pyrolysis, ultrasonic carbonization, hydrothermal, solvothermal, or microwave irradiation [13][14][15][16][17]. The properties of CDs can be tuned by doping them with various elements, which influence photophysical and electrochemical properties, stability, and

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

• technologies [37][38], and microwave irradiation [39][40][41][42] have been developed. The electrochemical synthetic method is a creative, simple, and new process for preparing organophosphorus compounds [43]. In recent years, various articles have been reported on the electrochemical synthesis of

Sequential two-step, one-pot microwave-assisted Urech synthesis of 5-monosubstituted hydantoins from L-amino acids in water

• Wei-Jin Chang,
• Sook Yee Liew,
• Thomas Kurz and
• Siow-Ping Tan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 596–600, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.46

• this study, we present an innovative, sustainable approach to synthesizing hydantoins (H2a–j) directly from amino acids. This method employs a column chromatography-free, two-step, one-pot microwave-assisted synthesis that delivers hydantoins in yields ranging from 34% to 89%. The protocol demonstrates

• accessibility of these bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical applications. Keywords: amino acids; hydantoin; microwave-assisted; one-pot reaction; Urech synthesis; Introduction The hydantoin moiety is a scaffold found in many biologically active compounds exhibiting a diverse range of properties, including

• (63–86%) [16]. As many of these protocols employ toxic, highly reactive and moisture-sensitive reagents, our work will exploit microwave technology and the environmentally benign nature of amino acids to construct the hydantoin scaffold. Microwave irradiation technology has proven significant

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

• notably. Later, the same group developed an alternative method by using glyoxylic acid immobilized on silica, and the reaction conditions were optimized using microwave irradiation and avoiding the use of solvent or additional catalysts [93]. In this way, derivatives of 42a were obtained in good yields

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

• -workers in 2003 (Scheme 13) [28]. Working in acetonitrile at room temperature, very high yields were obtained with recycling of the catalyst with negligible loss of activity. The reaction is successful also by operating it in ethanol as a solvent under microwave irradiation [29]. More recently, the

• reaction is facilitated under microwave irradiation and can be extended to the preparation of an imidazo-fused (benzo)thiazole skeleton 34 starting from (benzo)thiazol-2-ones instead of pyridin-2-ones. Moreover, the Cu(OTf)2 in [bmim]BF4 can be recovered and reused for multiple processes. The key step of

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

• spaces dedicated to either high temperature reactions, cryogenic/microwave reactions, or reaction workup. On each bench, a translational combination of robotic arms performs the specific experiments using the modular platforms, while consumables and samples are transferred between benches through a

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

•  1, entries 9–12). We attempted to decrease the reaction time by increasing the temperature, but these changes resulted in decreased yields of 3a (Table 1, entries 13 and 14). Surprisingly, when using microwave (MW) heating at 70 ⁰C for 10 min in ACN, product 3a was formed in 74% yield (Table 1

• , entry 15). An additional solvent screen under microwave conditions offered no improvement (Table 1, entries 16–18). Finally, multivariate screening ultimately showed that 3a could be obtained in 79% 1H NMR yield (75% isolated yield, Table 1, entry 19) when using 1a (1.0 equiv), 2a (2.0 equiv) in ACN (1

• M) with Cs2CO3 (1.0 equiv) under microwave irradiation at 70 °C for 10 min. Though the yield only improved by 5% compared with using 1.3 equiv of 2a, these were nonetheless adopted as the optimal reaction conditions. Once the optimal reaction conditions were established, we then investigated the

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

• quinazolinone scaffold. They have obtained new benzochromenopyrimidinones, abbreviated as BCPOs, whose synthesis has been accomplished in two steps. First, a microwave-assisted reaction of ethyl cyanoacetate, selected aromatic aldehydes, and 2-naphthol was performed. The second step was the condensation of the

• obtained intermediates with the appropriate commercial lactams, under microwave irradiation (Scheme 8). As a result, compound 8a has been identified as a promising derivative potentially useful in further AD drug discovery for its antioxidant activity (4.7 TE in ORAC-FL assay), moderate hAChE inhibition

• eliminated through microwave-assisted treatment under acidic conditions, resulting in the intramolecular cyclization of the amine onto the ketone derived from glyoxaldehyde (Scheme 14). Vézina-Dawod and co-workers [60] introduced a strategy, which consists of two reactions, for synthesizing highly

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

• -dinitrophenylboronic acid has a marginally lower pKa than pentafluorophenyl boronic acid [46]; however, it undergoes protodeboronation, several orders of magnitude slower [47]. The synthesis of porphyrin 31 with a benzothiophene moiety, proved challenging (Table 1, entries 14–19). Use of a microwave-assisted procedure

• (Table 3, entries 7 and 8). The same success could not be replicated for OET-o-BrPPs with no reactivity being observed by TLC or by mass spectrometry. Likewise, a microwave-assisted coupling [48], resulted in no product formation (Table 3, entry 9). Thiophene-3-ylboronic acid (21) was also chosen for

Interaction of a pyrene derivative with cationic [60]fullerene in phospholipid membranes and its effects on photodynamic actions

• Hayato Takagi,
• Çetin Çelik,
• Ryosuke Fukuda,
• Qi Guo,
• Tomohiro Higashino,
• Hiroshi Imahori,
• Yoko Yamakoshi and
• Tatsuya Murakami

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2732–2738, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.231

• (LUMITRONIX LED-Technik GmbH, Hechingen, Germany) containing 120 LED lamps assembled in an aluminium cylindrical container with a diameter of 8.5 cm. ESR measurements conditions: microwave frequency 9.78 GHz, microwave power 10 mW, receiver gain 5.02 × 104, modulation amplitude 1.00 G, modulation frequency

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

• ), 0.1 M, 135 h at rt, 43%, (b) 1.5 equiv mCPBA, 3.0 equiv TfOH (at 0 °C), (DCM), 0.1 M, 20 h at rt, 85%, (c) 1.0 equiv NaBArF24, (acetone), 0.5 M, 2 h at 50 °C under microwave irradiation, 72%. Gold(I)-catalyzed cyclization of propargylic amide 11 as benchmark reaction for Au–Cl activation. Determined

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

• new methodology used bench-stable allyl-1,3,2-dioxaborinane (27) in the reaction with preformed crude N-aryl-, N-benzyl- and N-allylimines in the presence of 2–8 mol % of the relatively simple 3,3’-Ph2-BINOL catalyst 3 at 50 °C in a microwave reactor at 10 W irradiation for 1 hour to afford amines 26

• crystal XRD of the corresponding hydrochloride salt. Microwave-induced one-pot asymmetric allylation of in situ-formed arylimines, catalysed by (R)-3,3’-diphenyl-BINOL. Aldehyde and amine scope [26]. aThe reaction was conventionally heated at 50 °C for 24 hours instead of microwave irradiation. b1.0 equiv

• amine was used. c8 mol % BINOL catalyst was used. d4 mol % BINOL catalyst was used. Microwave-induced one-pot asymmetric allylation of in situ-formed arylimines, catalysed by (R)-3,3’-diphenyl-BINOL. Crotylation studies [26]. aNot determined, but estimated to be high; racemate did not produce 4 clear

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

• deuteration of formamide product while increasing formamide equivalents increases the yield at the cost of deuterated %. Excess reaction time increases side product formation and thermal degradation of the aldehyde starting material. To combat this, microwave irradiation was employed which dramatically

• increased the overall yield of the reaction (Table 1, entry 5). In summary, minimal formamide (1–2 equiv), excess [D2]-formic acid, and heating to 170 °C in a microwave reactor for 5 minutes is expected to give excellent yields in good deuteration %. A tentative mechanism to [D3]-formamides is shown in