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

• of chemoselectivity becomes important when formaldehyde is used. Moreover, primary amines (alkyl- and arylamines) can also react with two equivalents of both the formaldehyde and the P(O)H compound. In this case, a double Kabachnik–Fields condensation gives bis(phosphorylmethyl)amines 34 as possible

Heteroannulations of cyanoacetamide-based MCR scaffolds utilizing formamide

• Marios Zingiridis,
• Danae Papachristodoulou,
• Despoina Menegaki,
• Konstantinos G. Froudas and
• Constantinos G. Neochoritis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 217–225, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.13

• of primary amines was reacted with methyl cyanoacetate [46], giving rise to the corresponding cyanoacetamides 1 (Scheme 2). Subsequently, they were reacted accordingly to yield a variety of the targeted precursors, 2-aminothiophenes 2 [42], 2-aminoquinolines 3 [45] and 2-aminoindoles 4 [44], via

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

• reaction was also fruitful to obtain 1,2-dihydroisoquinolines 25 starting from 2-alkynylbenzaldehydes, primary amines and allylic or benzyl bromide, in the presence of zinc and using the combination of Mg(ClO4)2/Cu(OTf)2 as catalyst. The use of a mixture THF/DCE 1:20 as solvent was mandatory, because THF

• was crucial for the formation of the organozinc reagent (Scheme 19) [36]. Spiro-2,3-dihydroquinazolinones 26 were formed exploiting a one-pot multicomponent reaction, using isatoic anhydride, ketones and primary amines. The isolation of the amide intermediate XXIII obtained by the copper-catalyzed

• process by using α-diazoketones, nitroalkenes and primary amines, in the presence of air as oxidant. The mechanism involved the formation of α-ketocarbene XXVI from α-diazoketone, able to react with the amine affording imine XXV after copper-catalyzed oxidative dehydrogenation. The subsequent [3 + 2

Copper-catalyzed yne-allylic substitutions: concept and recent developments

• Shuang Yang and
• Xinqiang Fang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2739–2775, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.232

• :1 (Scheme 3, 3e). Carbonates with aryl or styryl residue can undergo the reaction smoothly (Scheme 3, 3f–k), but alkyl-substituted substrates showed low yields (Scheme 3, 3l and 3m). Moreover, secondary amines with various substituents, acyclic amines, primary amines, or even the amine moieties in

Improved deconvolution of natural products’ protein targets using diagnostic ions from chemical proteomics linkers

• Andreas Wiest and
• Pavel Kielkowski

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2323–2341, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.199

• analogue, the DMP-tag, which in contrast to standardly used isotopic tags bearing the N-hydroxysuccinimide ester (NHS-ester) reacting with all primary amines of lysine side-chains, allows to selectively label the probe–protein conjugates (Figure 7A) [81][83]. The DMP-tag can be prepared in a six-steps

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

• significant advancement in mechanocatalysis. The stereoselective addition of bisthiomalonates 1–4 to cyclic enones and 4-chlorobenzylideneacetone proceeds stereoselectively under iminium activation conditions secured by chiral primary amines, in contrast to oxo-esters as observed in dibenzyl malonate addition

• time of two days under a pressure of 0.8 GPa [23]. Less reactive benzyl malonates, which allow for the cleavage of a free carboxylic group without the need for harsh base- or acid-mediated conditions [24], undergo additions catalyzed by primary amines [19]. However, these transformations are hampered

• novel approach based on iminium catalysis employing chiral primary amines under ball milling conditions. Ball milling induces localized and transient temperature and pressure increases which could influence changes in the free activation volume [32][33][34], favoring Michael additions [35]. Furthermore

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

• in situ preparation of diazo compounds, as the substances are difficult to handle and toxic [170]. Approaches such as nitrogen transfer with tosylhydrazones, use of the Bestmann–Ohira reagent, or transformation of primary amines or azides, among others, represent viable and practical options. Diazo

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

• oxidation of N-arylhydrazone by electrogenerated iodide radical (Scheme 11) [50]. In parallel, the group of Yuan achieved the electrosynthesis of 1,3,5-trisubstituted 1,2,4-triazoles 67 from arylhydrazines 64, aldehydes 65 and primary amines 66. Iodine-mediated electrooxidation of in situ-generated aldehyde

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

Methyltransferases from RiPP pathways: shaping the landscape of natural product chemistry

• Maria-Paula Schröder,
• Isabel P.-M. Pfeiffer and
• Silja Mordhorst

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1652–1670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.147

• bonds and primary amines of the amino acid chains are available for methylation, leading to poor site selectivity of any methylating reaction [39]. Therefore, either pre-methylated amino acids or short methylated peptides are incorporated into the full-length peptide. Direct O-methylation of an O

Electrocatalytic hydrogenation of cyanoarenes, nitroarenes, quinolines, and pyridines under mild conditions with a proton-exchange membrane reactor

• Koichi Mitsudo,
• Atsushi Osaki,
• Haruka Inoue,
• Eisuke Sato,
• Naoki Shida,
• Mahito Atobe and
• Seiji Suga

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1560–1571, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.139

• cyanoarenes is a straightforward and powerful method for the synthesis of primary amines [5], and the reduction of nitroarenes is useful for the synthesis of aniline derivatives [6][7][8][9][10][11]. Nitrogen-containing aliphatic heterocycles, such as piperidines and tetrahydroquinolines, are key motifs in

Towards an asymmetric β-selective addition of azlactones to allenoates

• Behzad Nasiri,
• Ghaffar Pasdar,
• Paul Zebrowski,
• Katharina Röser,
• David Naderer and
• Mario Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1504–1509, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.134

• derivatives by means of nucleophilic azlactone-opening reactions. Gratifyingly primary amines can be easily utilized under reflux conditions to access the amide derivatives 6a and 6b straightforwardly (Scheme 3), thus demonstrating the versatility of compounds 5 to access more complex acyclic α-AA derivatives

Synthesis of 2-benzyl N-substituted anilines via imine condensation–isoaromatization of (E)-2-arylidene-3-cyclohexenones and primary amines

• Lu Li,
• Na Li,
• Xiao-Tian Mo,
• Ming-Wei Yuan,
• Lin Jiang and
• Ming-Long Yuan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1468–1475, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.130

• additive-free synthesis of 2-benzyl N-substituted anilines from (E)-2-arylidene-3-cyclohexenones and primary amines has been reported. The reaction proceeds smoothly through a sequential imine condensation–isoaromatization pathway, affording a series of synthetically useful aniline derivatives in

• -benzyl-N-substituted anilines. In this work, (E)-2-arylidene-3-cyclohexenones firstly react with primary amines to form cyclohexenylimine intermediates I. Afterward, isoaromatization resulting from imine–enamine tautomerization and exocyclic double bond shift occurs to give rise to stable aniline

• generating a mixture of unidentifiable byproducts. Next, we explored the scope of various primary amines under the optimal conditions (Scheme 4). With 3-cyclohexenones 2a and 2p used, a variety of primary amines 3 successfully participated in the reaction to produce N-substituted anilines 4 in moderate to

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

• the several alcohols and primary amines in the presence of t-BuOK (0.75 equiv) in toluene at 80 °C for 24–48 h and selectively produced the N-alkylated products with good yields (Scheme 3). More interestingly, the first non-noble-metal catalyzed the most challenging N-methylation of amines with

• -methylation of amines with methanol was achieved with lower catalyst and base loading. Sortais et al. reported an elegant example of a manganese-catalyzed N-methylation of primary amines with methanol using catalytic amounts of base. They synthesized a novel Mn(I) complex bearing a bis(diaminopyridine

• bearing bidentate amine-based ligands and studied them in the N-alkylation of aromatic amines with benzylic alcohols (Scheme 17). Under the optimized reaction conditions (140 °C, 24 h), complex Mn8 (2 mol %) was successfully applied for the coupling of various electron-donating and withdrawing primary

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

• and, in terms of gas pressure, took place under mild conditions comparable to the ones reported by Xu et al. (Scheme 31). Chandrasekhar and Sankararaman also tested primary amines under the conditions outlined in Scheme 31, however, the reaction gave the annulated products (as the secondary amines

α-(Aminomethyl)acrylates as acceptors in radical–polar crossover 1,4-additions of dialkylzincs: insights into enolate formation and trapping

• Angel Palillero-Cisneros,
• Paola G. Gordillo-Guerra,
• Fernando García-Alvarez,
• Olivier Jackowski,
• Franck Ferreira,
• Fabrice Chemla,
• Joel L. Terán and
• Alejandro Perez-Luna

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1443–1451, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.103

• primary amines 1–3 with methyl α-(bromomethyl)acrylate was contemplated first under several typical conditions that all afforded non-synthetically useful mixtures of mono- and diallylation, even if excess of the nitrogen nucleophiles was used. An alternative strategy was thus developed relying on the

• of primary amines and tert-butylsulfinamide (preparation of compounds 5–7 and 8a–c). In a round-bottomed flask under argon, n-BuLi (1.0 equiv, soln. in heptane) was added dropwise to a THF (0.2 mol·L−1) solution of the appropriate primary amine or tert-butylsulfinamide (1.0 equiv) at −55 °C. The

Photoredox catalysis harvesting multiple photon or electrochemical energies

• Mattia Lepori,
• Simon Schmid and
• Joshua P. Barham

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1055–1145, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.81

• . Notably, carbonylative amidation of a borylated aryl bromide to 26d proceeded well, where a Pd-catalyzed carbonylative amidation reaction would be plagued by undesired Suzuki coupling. Several secondary cyclic and acyclic amines, as well as primary amines were successfully employed as amine coupling

Copper-catalyzed N-arylation of amines with aryliodonium ylides in water

• Kasturi U. Nabar,
• Bhalchandra M. Bhanage and
• Sudam G. Dawande

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1008–1014, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.76

• .19.76 Abstract Copper sulfate catalyzed an efficient, inexpensive, and environment-friendly protocol that has been developed for N-arylation of amines with 1,3-cyclohexadione-derived aryliodonium ylides in water as a green solvent. Aromatic primary amines substituted with electron-donating as well as

• iodine reagents. N-Arylation of primary amines with iodonium ylide. Reaction conditions: 0.2 mmol aniline 1, 0.24 mmol iodonium ylide 2, CuSO4·5H2O (10 mol %), water (2 mL). N-Arylation of secondary amines with iodonium ylide. Optimization of reaction conditionsa. Supporting Information Supporting

Clauson–Kaas pyrrole synthesis using diverse catalysts: a transition from conventional to greener approach

• Dileep Kumar Singh and
• Rajesh Kumar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 928–955, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.71

• compounds. As a result, this review describes the use of various eco-friendly greener protocols to synthesize N-substituted pyrroles. This synthesis involves the reaction of various aliphatic/aromatic primary amines, and sulfonyl primary amines with 2,5-dimethoxytetrahydrofuran in the presence of numerous

• -assisted reactions in water, solvent-free conditions and in other organic solvents. Clauson–Kaas reaction and its mechanism The Clauson–Kaas reaction refers to the synthesis of various N-substituted pyrroles via an acid-catalyzed reaction between aromatic or aliphatic primary amines and 2,5

• their expectation thus, they synthesized 13 derivatives of pyrroles in good yields in short reaction times (10–45 min). It has been observed that aromatic amines and amides take a longer time compared to the primary amines and sulfonamides. In another study, Rochais et al. [59] reported in 2004 the

Synthesis of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-containing peptidomimetics by tandem of Groebke–Blackburn–Bienaymé and Ugi reactions

• Oleksandr V. Kolomiiets,
• Alexander V. Tsygankov,
• Maryna N. Kornet,
• Aleksander A. Brazhko,
• Vladimir I. Musatov and
• Valentyn A. Chebanov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 727–735, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.53

• temperature and the reaction time. After a series of experiments, it was found that stirring the isocyanides 3a–d, heterocyclic acids 4a–c, aldehydes 5a–e, and primary amines 6a–d at 50 °C in methanol for 24–48 hours (depending on the nature of the starting materials) allowed obtaining the Ugi target products

Redox-active molecules as organocatalysts for selective oxidative transformations – an unperceived organocatalysis field

• Elena R. Lopat’eva,
• Igor B. Krylov,
• Dmitry A. Lapshin and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1672–1695, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.179

• kinetic resolution of racemic alcohols [99] and for the oxidation of benzylic cyclic ethers to lactones [100] was demonstrated. The CuI/9-azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane N-oxyl (ABNO) catalytic system successfully promotes the oxidative coupling of alcohols with primary amines [101] (Scheme 13). The reaction

• electrolysis (2–3 F/mol) until potential rised by 0.5–0.8 V above initial potential; undivided cell, reticulated vitreous carbon (RVC) anode(+):Pt cathode(−). Chemoselective alcohol oxidation catalyzed by TEMPO. ABNO-catalyzed oxidative C–N coupling of primary alcohols with primary amines. ACT-catalyzed

• oxidative coupling of primary amines and benzylic amines. General scheme of dioxirane and oxaziridine oxidative organocatalysis. Dioxirane organocatalyzed CH-hydroxylation involving aliphatic C(sp3)–H bonds. Enantioselective hydroxylation of CH-acids catalyzed by chiral oxaziridines. Iodoarene

Synthesis of (−)-halichonic acid and (−)-halichonic acid B

• Keith P. Reber and
• Emma L. Niner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1629–1635, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.174

• ), as shown in Scheme 1. In 2013, Shenvi and co-workers reported an operationally simple and high-yielding method for converting tertiary alcohols (including 3) to the corresponding primary amines via the intermediacy of an isonitrile [9]. This four-step procedure was conveniently carried out on a

B–N/B–H Transborylation: borane-catalysed nitrile hydroboration

• Filip Meger,
• Alexander C. W. Kwok,
• Franziska Gilch,
• Dominic R. Willcox,
• Alex J. Hendy,
• Kieran Nicholson,
• Andrew D. Bage,
• Thomas Langer,
• Thomas A. Hunt and
• Stephen P. Thomas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1332–1337, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.138

• , Chemical Development U.K., AstraZeneca, Macclesfield, SK10 2NA, United Kingdom Medicinal Chemistry, Early Oncology, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, CB4 0WG, United Kingdom 10.3762/bjoc.18.138 Abstract The reduction of nitriles to primary amines is a useful transformation in organic synthesis, however, it often

• relies upon stoichiometric reagents or transition-metal catalysis. Herein, a borane-catalysed hydroboration of nitriles to give primary amines is reported. Good yields (48–95%) and chemoselectivity (e.g., ester, nitro, sulfone) were observed. DFT calculations and mechanistic studies support the proposal

• of a double B–N/B–H transborylation mechanism. Keywords: boron; catalysis; hydroboration; nitrile; transborylation; Introduction Primary amines are prevalent throughout organic synthesis, finding regular application in materials chemistry, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals (Scheme 1a) [1][2][3

From amines to (form)amides: a simple and successful mechanochemical approach

• Federico Casti,
• Rita Mocci and
• Andrea Porcheddu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1210–1216, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.126

• outstanding results were achieved in the N-formylation of indoline (Scheme 1, formamide 10). The present methodology could also be effectively applied to the synthesis of N-formylmorpholine (Scheme 1, product 11). Aliphatic primary amines can be more challenging substrates [22]. In fact, when the reaction was

A versatile way for the synthesis of monomethylamines by reduction of N-substituted carbonylimidazoles with the NaBH₄/I₂ system

• Lin Chen,
• Xuan Zhou,
• Zhiyong Chen,
• Changxu Wang,
• Shunjie Wang and
• Hanbing Teng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1032–1039, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.104

• monomethylamines by reduction of N-substituted carbonylimidazoles with NaBH4/I2 in THF at reflux temperature is described. This method used no special catalyst and various monomethylamines can be easily obtained in moderate to good yields from a wide range of raw materials including amines (primary amines and

• ][31] and carbon dioxide (CO2) [32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39] have been developed for the N-methylation of amines. However, these N-alkylation methods often require the employment of expensive catalysts, and the N-alkylation of primary amines generally does not stop with monomethylation as expected

• N-substituted carbonylimidazoles. By employing inexpensive and commercially available reagents, a variety of aliphatic and aromatic monomethylamines were obtained in moderate to good yields from a broad substrate scope including not only amines (both primary amines and secondary amines) but also