Oxetanes: formation, reactivity and total syntheses of natural products

• Peter Gabko,
• Martin Kalník and
• Maroš Bella

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1324–1373, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.101

• oxygen and a subsequent proton transfer affords the aromatic heterocycle. The authors also devised a modification to this procedure for olefin precursors which were difficult to prepare: this alternative uses cross-aldol adducts 180 between 3-oxetanone and a ketone, and the ring opening and dehydration

Optimized synthesis of aroyl-S,N-ketene acetals by omission of solubilizing alcohol cosolvents

• Julius Krenzer and
• Thomas J. J. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1201–1206, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.97

• rise to the formation of aroyl-S,N-ketene acetals in mostly excellent yield. The modification of this condensation synthesis is conceptualized on the basis of relative reactivities of intermediary formed acylammonium salts (electrophilicity) and S,N-ketene acetals (nucleophilicity). In addition

Study of tribenzo[b,d,f]azepine as donor in D–A photocatalysts

• Katy Medrano-Uribe,
• Jorge Humbrías-Martín and
• Luca Dell’Amico

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 935–944, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.76

• of D–A structures makes them the ideal structures to further understand the structure–property relationship of D–A molecules for optimizing their photocatalytic performance by simpler modification of the different D–A subunits. In particular, D–A structures featuring sulfur-based acceptors and

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

• molecules could be synthesized from diol 9 through a late-stage modification involving adjustment of the oxidation state and regioselective acylation. The formation of 9 was envisioned to proceed via an intramolecular pinacol coupling [30][31] of [5,5,6,6]-tetracycle 10, which forges the A2 ring while

Silver(I) triflate-catalyzed post-Ugi synthesis of pyrazolodiazepines

• Muhammad Hasan,
• Anatoly A. Peshkov,
• Syed Anis Ali Shah,
• Andrey Belyaev,
• Chang-Keun Lim,
• Shunyi Wang and
• Vsevolod A. Peshkov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 915–925, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.74

• ) [46]. In 2019, Li, Yang, Van der Eycken and co-workers reported a modification of this strategy relying on thermal activation instead of cationic gold catalysis [47]. The approach worked particularly well with substrates featuring terminal alkynes. Inspired by these developments and taking into

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

• . However, when the reaction was carried out with KOt-Bu, we observed the selective conversion of 9 into product 20 featuring a different cyclopropane scaffold. Slight modification of the reaction conditions allowed us to obtain product 20 in 56% yield as a single diastereomer (Scheme 5a). Taking advantage

Data accessibility in the chemical sciences: an analysis of recent practice in organic chemistry journals

• Sally Bloodworth,
• Cerys Willoughby and
• Simon J. Coles

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 864–876, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.70

• ?’ assess if there are enough metadata to understand how the data have been produced and whether they have been subject to any modification. Around half of the primary data files gave metadata describing instrument and software specifications, and we note that instrument and experimental parameters are

Substituent effects in N-acetylated phenylazopyrazole photoswitches

• Radek Tovtik,
• Dennis Marzin,
• Pia Weigel,
• Stefano Crespi and
• Nadja A. Simeth

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 830–838, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.66

• bathochromic shift of the n→π* absorption band further moving their UV–vis absorption spectrum towards the therapeutic window [35]. Moreover, a similar modification in stilbene-based photoswitches and molecular motors showed an increase in performance and photoisomerization quantum yield [36][37]. Consequently

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

• , this electrode is one of the inexpensive electrodes. Usually, the carbon electrode needs to modify the surface, which allows for more straightforward chemical modification by installing it on other electrodes. The high fragility of the carbon electrodes and the difficulty of their cleaning are

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

• ubiquitous molecules in biology. Their functions permeate every aspect of life, including as essential components of oligonucleotide structure; as principal players in metabolism and energy storage; as motifs for the post-translational modification of proteins; and as partners in myriad supramolecular

Asymmetric synthesis of fluorinated derivatives of aromatic and γ-branched amino acids via a chiral Ni(II) complex

• Maurizio Iannuzzi,
• Thomas Hohmann,
• Michael Dyrks,
• Kilian Haoues,
• Katarzyna Salamon-Krokosz and
• Beate Koksch

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 659–669, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.52

• -trifluoromethylphenylalanine ([2.3.5.6F]TfMePhe, 2) and bis(trifluoromethyl)phenylalanine (bisTfMePhe, 3) (Scheme 1). Neither amino acid has, to our knowledge, been described in the context of peptide chemistry yet. In general, fluorinated aromatic amino acids are essential building blocks that allow a modification of

• , which have yet to be described in the context of peptide chemistry. The several CF3 groups employ a strong inductive effect on the aromatic ring structure, making these amino acids highly interesting building blocks for modification of aromatic–aromatic interactions in the context of protein folding

Photocatalyzed elaboration of antibody-based bioconjugates

• Marine Le Stum,
• Eugénie Romero and
• Gary A. Molander

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 616–629, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.49

• expertise required to carry out these transformations is constrained to a very limited number of laboratories, particularly in the field of antibodies. Given the challenges of bioengineering antibodies with non-canonical amino acids, the direct and chemoselective modification of native antibodies is most

• function. Their chemical modification has been developed using iminoxyl radicals [28]. Although numerous methods exist for the functionalization of Trp in proteins, their application in the elaboration of ADCs is limited [29]. Given the many challenges in antibody modification as outlined above, it is

• summary of the limited photoredox approaches reported for antibodies. Finally, the potential benefits and cautionary details these chemical strategies possess for creating ADCs with well-defined DAR and enhanced selectivity are discussed. Photocatalytic modification of proteins Photoredox chemistry has

Semisynthetic derivatives of massarilactone D with cytotoxic and nematicidal activities

• Rémy B. Teponno,
• Sara R. Noumeur and
• Marc Stadler

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 607–615, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.48

• exhibit significant antimicrobial or cytotoxic activities upon testing [16]. This led us to hypothesize that possible chemical modification might enhance its biological activity. Therefore, the present research work aimed to investigate whether structural modifications could improve the biological

• groups, including an additional substitution on C-7, showed potent activity against nematodes. These acyl substituents, particularly the third cinnamoyl group on C-7, may significantly enhance the biological activity. This modification likely represents a key structural feature influencing its activity

Deep-blue emitting 9,10-bis(perfluorobenzyl)anthracene

• Long K. San,
• Sebastian Balser,
• Brian J. Reeves,
• Tyler T. Clikeman,
• Yu-Sheng Chen,
• Steven H. Strauss and
• Olga V. Boltalina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 515–525, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.39

• achieved due to chemical modification of ANTH [25][32]. Changes in the UV–vis spectra were typically used as an indication of the compounds’ decomposition. It is well established that ANTH is rapidly oxidized to form anthraquinone upon exposure to light in the presence of oxygen. Furthermore, endoperoxides

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

• transcription or translation of the mRNA and results in altered transcript and/or protein levels [5]. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the modification of preQ1. preQ1 derivatives, preQ1 analogs and mimics of preQ1 have greatly expanded our understanding of preQ1-binding biomolecules, such

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

• significantly spurred the scientific curiosity of researchers over the past few decades [1]. Intensive studies revealed that this subtle code of cell surface glycans is extensively responsible for monitoring a plethora of diverse biological phenomena like post-translational modification of proteins [2][3

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

• remarkable redox versatility, enabling them to participate in both oxidation and reduction reactions and few of them are naturally occurring such as Betanin and Musca-Aurin II (Figure 9). Their relatively stable excited states, combined with their low toxicity and ease of chemical modification, make them a

Streamlined modular synthesis of saframycin substructure via copper-catalyzed three-component assembly and gold-promoted 6-endo cyclization

• Asahi Kanno,
• Ryo Tanifuji,
• Satoshi Yoshida,
• Sota Sato,
• Saori Maki-Yonekura,
• Kiyofumi Takaba,
• Jungmin Kang,
• Kensuke Tono,
• Koji Yonekura and
• Hiroki Oguri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 226–233, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.14

• of lower oxidation state aromatic rings at the A- and E-rings of saframycins. Rational and systematic modification of both ends of the THIQ scaffolds would facilitate the development of reversible covalent DNA binders with tailored sequence preferences. Biosynthetically, the pentacyclic core scaffold

Facile one-pot reduction of β-nitrostyrenes to phenethylamines using sodium borohydride and copper(II) chloride

• Laura D’Andrea and
• Simon Jademyr

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 39–46, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.4

• prepared as described in the literature [41]. 9a was prepared by modification of the literature [42]. General procedure The desired substrate (1a–9a) (2 mmol, 1 equiv) was added in small portions to a stirring suspension of NaBH4 (15 mmol, 7.5 equiv) in 2-PrOH/H2O (8 mL, 2:1). 0.1 mL of a freshly prepared

Giese-type alkylation of dehydroalanine derivatives via silane-mediated alkyl bromide activation

• Perry van der Heide,
• Michele Retini,
• Fabiola Fanini,
• Giovanni Piersanti,
• Francesco Secci,
• Daniele Mazzarella,
• Timothy Noël and
• Alberto Luridiana

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3274–3280, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.271

• ]. Amid the growing popularity of biomolecular drug candidates, the late-stage modification of peptide scaffolds has gained significant importance [28]. A particularly interesting class of amino acids for late-stage diversification consists of dehydroamino acids (Dha). Dha derivatives have shown

• modification potential by means of polar, metal-, or organo-catalyzed and radical additions [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36]. As such, Dha derivatives make an excellent candidate for exploring a photochemical Giese-type reaction [37]. To foster a physiological reaction environment, reactions can be conducted

• of primary, secondary, and tertiary alkyl bromides and different Dha derivatives was investigated (Figure 2). A slight modification of the reaction protocol was used in regard to primary and tertiary alkyl bromides, requiring a longer reaction time (4 hours instead of 3 hours) to achieve full

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

• post-modification reactions. Examples of these reactions include the Ugi/Dieckmann reactions, Ugi/Robinson–Gabriel reactions, Ugi/Buchwald–Hartwig reactions, Ugi reaction followed by a catalytic aza-Wittig cyclization, Ugi reaction followed by SNAr strategy, Ugi/Heck reactions, Ugi/Huisgen

Surprising acidity for the methylene of 1,3-indenocorannulenes?

• Shi Liu,
• Märt Lõkov,
• Sofja Tshepelevitsh,
• Ivo Leito,
• Kim K. Baldridge and
• Jay S. Siegel

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3144–3150, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.260

• connections. A simple modification of the triphenylene graph is the replacement of benzene by Cp anion (Scheme 2, middle). From the CL graph perspective, the anion of cyclopentaphenanthrene is related to that of dibenzofluorene the same way as the Cp anion is related to that of indene. Therefore

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

• macrocycles as photoredox catalysts Supramolecular photocatalysis using different metal-free macrocyclic hosts, including cyclodextrins, cucurbiturils, porphyrins, and calixarenes has been extensively explored due to their unique characteristics, such as ease of modification, presence of hydrophobic cavities

• batteries, due to the ease of their structural modification, rich redox chemistry, and robust coordination M–N4 environment [100][101][102][103][104][105]. The key processes employed in energy transfer and storage are the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR), hydrogen evolution reaction (HER), and oxygen

Synthesis of the 1,5-disubstituted tetrazole-methanesulfonylindole hybrid system via high-order multicomponent reaction

• Cesia M. Aguilar-Morales,
• América A. Frías-López,
• Nadia V. Emilio-Velázquez,
• Alejandro Islas-Jácome,
• Angelica Judith Granados-López,
• Jorge Gustavo Araujo-Huitrado,
• Yamilé López-Hernández,
• Hiram Hernández-López,
• Luis Chacón-García,
• Jesús Adrián López and
• Carlos J. Cortés-García

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3077–3084, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.256

• , which show moderate and low activity, respectively. The modification of this substituent is seen when comparing the analogous derivatives 18d and 18c; 18h and 18g; 18b and 18a; 18f and 18e, where the replacement of cyclohexyl by tert-butyl leads to a loss of activity in each case. Concerning the

Extension of the π-system of monoaryl-substituted norbornadienes with acetylene bridges: influence on the photochemical conversion and storage of light energy

• Robin Schulte,
• Dustin Schade,
• Thomas Paululat,
• Till J. B. Zähringer,
• Christoph Kerzig and
• Heiko Ihmels

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3061–3068, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.254

• generations of modified norbornadiene derivatives with diverse variations of donor and acceptor substituents [25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. However, such a modification often leads to higher molar masses and thus to lower energy densities [7][25][33]. Consequently, further fine tuning of the substituents

• UV range [30]. Therefore, we aimed at further modification of the core structure of bis-and tris-norbornadienes, which may lead to a more pronounced red shift of the absorption while maintaining the high energy density. As this has been shown in other cases already [34], we anticipated that the