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

• aldehyde 1, activated by protonation of the oxygen atom through structure ii, forming the intermediate aldol iii. In the presence of EDDA, water elimination occurs in intermediate iv, yielding the Knoevenagel adducts 3 or 4. Synthesis of novel imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine–thiazolidinone hybrids To further

• band around 350 nm was observed. This increase can be explained by deprotonation of the structures, which facilitates solvation effects by water molecules. The cause for the tautomerism effect at acidic pH may be due to the protonation of the basic site of the amino group present in the derivatives

• -TZVPP single point calculations in CPCM water of compounds 3n and 4n in protonated, deprotonated, and neutral forms showed that there is a degree of charge transfer between a HOMO–LUMO excitation in their neutral and deprotonated forms [98]. Protonation of the nitrogen atom in the donor region shifts

Rotaxanes with integrated photoswitches: design principles, functional behavior, and emerging applications

• Jullyane Emi Matsushima,
• Khushbu,
• Zuliah Abdulsalam,
• Udyogi Navodya Kulathilaka Conthagamage and
• Víctor García-López

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2345–2366, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.179

• macrocycle occurs along a thread containing fumaramide and succinic amide ester units as recognition sites, with highly fluorescent perylene bisimide and pyrene serving as stoppers [67]. The macrocycle features two pyridine units that, upon protonation, effectively quench the fluorescence of both

Comparative analysis of complanadine A total syntheses

• Reem Al-Ahmad and
• Mingji Dai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2334–2344, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.178

• in four steps. Subsequent conjugate addition of the lithium anion of TMS-acetonitrile to 15, followed by careful one-pot protonation of the resulting enolate with ethyl salicylate and TMS removal with CsF, gave 16 bearing three properly arranged substituents. Grignard 1,2-addition to ketone 16

Pathway economy in cyclization of 1,n-enynes

• Hezhen Han,
• Wenjie Mao,
• Bin Lin,
• Maosheng Cheng,
• Lu Yang and
• Yongxiang Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2260–2282, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.173

•  2, path b). In the following years, Liu and co-workers discovered that the protonation of intermediate 2 triggered its conversion to intermediate 3, which subsequently underwent oxidation with oxygen, resulting in the generation of an indenone skeleton 6 [9]. This tunability achieved efficient and

• pathway-controlled approach using tryptamine ynamides bearing Michael acceptor moieties as substrates (Scheme 27) [38][39]. Under strong Brønsted acid catalysis, protonation of the carbonyl group was achieved, which facilitated a Michael addition between the electron-rich indole C3-position and the

Electrochemical cyclization of alkynes to construct five-membered nitrogen-heterocyclic rings

• Lifen Peng,
• Ting Wang,
• Zhiwen Yuan,
• Bin Li,
• Zilong Tang,
• Xirong Liu,
• Hui Li,
• Guofang Jiang,
• Chunling Zeng,
• Henry N. C. Wong and
• Xiao-Shui Peng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2173–2201, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.166

• generation of 12a in Cu rod electrodes, the Cu anode was expected to liberate Cu+ into the reaction mixture. The reaction of this Cu+ with DMSO and I− afforded (DMSO)nCuI, which was coordinated with C≡C to give B. The intermediate C was obtained by cyclization of B and deprotonation. Further protonation of C

• -exo-dig N-radical addition into the C≡C bond to generate the cyclic species C. The radical anion D was then obtained via single electron reduction of C at the cathode. The subsequent protonation of D gave α-aminyl radical E [215][216][217], which was converted into the anion F by further cathodic

• reduction. The subsequent protonation of F occurred to complete the formation of 28. This approach, applying electrolyte as the proton sources, avoided the use of reductants and metal catalysts efficiently. In 2022, Guo developed an electrochemical intramolecular 1,2-amino oxygenation of alkyne to access

Enantioselective desymmetrization strategy of prochiral 1,3-diols in natural product synthesis

• Lihua Wei,
• Rui Yang,
• Zhifeng Shi and
• Zhiqiang Ma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1932–1963, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.151

• with the desired C6 chiral center was constructed via intermediate 229, where the sulfinyl group induced K+–oxygen chelation to form a six-membered transition state prior to protonation from the less hindered face. Acid-mediated epimerization at C9 of 230 yielded compound 231, which was transformed

Stereoselective electrochemical intramolecular imino-pinacol reaction: a straightforward entry to enantiopure piperazines

• Margherita Gazzotti,
• Fabrizio Medici,
• Valerio Chiroli,
• Laura Raimondi,
• Sergio Rossi and
• Maurizio Benaglia

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1897–1908, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.147

• methanesulfonic acid, which acts as a strong Brønsted acid to selectively protonate the imine nitrogen atoms. This protonation step increases the electrophilicity of the adjacent imine carbons by inductive effect, leading to the formation of a highly reactive diiminium intermediate 4a. When formed, compound 4a is

Photoswitches beyond azobenzene: a beginner’s guide

• Michela Marcon,
• Christoph Haag and
• Burkhard König

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1808–1853, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.143

• between hydrazone and pyridine can be broken by protonation with an acid and even by metal coordination, rendering these compounds photo- and acidochromic (Scheme 31) [102]. The equilibrium can also be modulated by introducing hydrogen-bond acceptors in R1 [107] or by introducing substituents to the

Research progress on calixarene/pillararene-based controlled drug release systems

• Liu-Huan Yi,
• Jian Qin,
• Si-Ran Lu,
• Liu-Pan Yang,
• Li-Li Wang and
• Huan Yao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1757–1785, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.139

• of supramolecular vesicles using WP6 and pyridine derivatives (G1) (Figure 4). This supramolecular system achieves controllable assembly and disassembly through pH responsiveness: under acidic conditions (pH 6.0), protonation of the WP6 carboxyl groups leads to vesicle disassembly; whereas in a

• hydrophobic alkyl chain core. The assembly driving force directly relies on the host–guest interaction between WP6 and FC. Further studies have shown that by regulating the deprotonation/protonation state of the WP6 carboxyl groups through pH control, the reversible dissociation and reassembly of the vesicle

Influence of the cation in hypophosphite-mediated catalyst-free reductive amination

• Natalia Lebedeva,
• Fedor Kliuev,
• Olesya Zvereva,
• Klim Biriukov,
• Evgeniya Podyacheva,
• Maria Godovikova,
• Oleg I. Afanasyev and
• Denis Chusov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1661–1670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.130

• the DFT calculations (Scheme 5, Figure 2). Firstly, reductive amination of an aldehyde started from a nucleophilic addition of the amine to the carbonyl group of the aldehyde. In the presence of acid, this step could occur via acidic catalysis involving a protonation step of an amine (Step_2) or

• protonation of an aldehyde (Step_2’). Due to the higher basicity of the secondary amine compared with the carbonyl group of benzaldehyde, protonation of dimethylamine was the main reaction pathway (30.9 vs −2.6 kcal/mol). However, it was found that the protonation of the carbonyl group led to a great

• weakly nucleophilic secondary ammonium cation to the carbonyl group occurred with ΔEa = 11.5 kcal/mol (TS2→3). In recent DFT [39] and experimental [40] studies on the reductive amination reaction it was postulated that this protonation of amine played a key role in the catalytic cycle especially in the

pH-Controlled isomerization kinetics of ortho-disubstituted benzamidines: E/Z isomerism and axial chirality

• Ryota Kimura,
• Satoshi Ichikawa and
• Akira Katsuyama

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1568–1576, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.120

• barriers by protonation, providing a novel approach to control the kinetics of isomerization via pH adjustment. The results showed that protonation of the amidine moiety significantly suppresses both C–N bond rotation and C–N/C–C concerted rotation, demonstrating the potential of ortho-disubstituted

• triggered by protonation and deprotonation [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]. This class of molecules has the capacity to regulate three-dimensional structures and motions of molecules through simple acid–base stimuli. This provides a high degree of control over their

• switches [19]. For example, hydrazone-based molecular switches undergo reversible E/Z isomerization around the C=N bond [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], with protonation significantly shifting the equilibrium. Beyond double-bond isomerization, pH stimuli have also been employed to modulate rotational barriers in

General method for the synthesis of enaminones via photocatalysis

• Paula Pérez-Ramos,
• Raquel G. Soengas and
• Humberto Rodríguez-Solla

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1535–1543, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.116

• bond of I is cleaved by PC1•, generating a C-centered radical II, which can be further reduced to give an enolate III, that ultimately evolves to the more stable anion IV and undergoes protonation to afford the final enaminone product 9a. Conclusion In summary, a simple and effective nickel-assisted

Azobenzene protonation as a tool for temperature sensing

• Antti Siiskonen,
• Sami Vesamäki and
• Arri Priimagi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1528–1534, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.115

• changes in their absorption and photochemical properties. While azobenzene protonation has been recently used as a tool in photoswitching studies, the factors influencing protonation itself have received little attention. Here, we report a strong temperature dependence of azobenzene protonation in 1,2

• . Keywords: azobenzene; protonation; sensing; spectral changes; temperature; Introduction Molecular switches are molecules that can reversibly shift between distinct (meta)stable states in response to external stimuli such as light, pH changes, or electric fields [1]. Over the past decades, they have

• other transformations that can offer useful functionalities. These include ionization via protonation of one of the nitrogens forming the azo bond [12][13], azo–hydrazone tautomerization [14][15], and binding of analytes to side groups [16]. Such transformations depend on the azobenzene structure but

Ambident reactivity of enolizable 5-mercapto-1H-tetrazoles in trapping reactions with in situ-generated thiocarbonyl S-methanides derived from sterically crowded cycloaliphatic thioketones

• Grzegorz Mlostoń,
• Małgorzata Celeda,
• Marcin Palusiak,
• Heinz Heimgartner,
• Marta Denel-Bobrowska and
• Agnieszka B. Olejniczak

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1508–1519, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.113

• publications [15], or/and from secondary processes, like an intramolecular rearrangement. Taking into account the postulated basicity (and nucleophilicity) of thiocarbonyl S-methanides 1 derived from cycloaliphatic thioketones [6], the initiating step of these processes can be presented as protonation of the

Advances in nitrogen-containing helicenes: synthesis, chiroptical properties, and optoelectronic applications

• Meng Qiu,
• Jing Du,
• Nai-Te Yao,
• Xin-Yue Wang and
• Han-Yuan Gong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1422–1453, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.106

• 6 exhibiting enhanced chiroptical performance and protonation-induced CPL amplification [19]. Meanwhile, Audisio’s team developed heterohelicenes via regioselective [3 + 2]-cycloadditions, with compound 7 displaying pH-responsive CPL sign inversion (|glum| = +1.1 × 10−3 at 430 nm, −1.2 × 10−3 at 585

• length. Protonation further induced red-shifted emission, with compound 14d-H+ emitting at 542 nm. However, PLQYs decreased significantly from 0.078 to 0.006 with longer helicenes. The CD spectra of 14c and 14d were found to resemble their carbohelicene analogues, underscoring the structural fidelity and

• excellent UV stability and solvent-dependent fluorescence [91]. Protonation significantly enhanced their emission intensity, and the presence of nitrogen facilitated further structural derivatization. In the same year, Alcarazo’s group reported an enantioselective gold-catalyzed synthesis of compound 78

Tautomerism and switching in 7-hydroxy-8-(azophenyl)quinoline and similar compounds

• Lidia Zaharieva,
• Vera Deneva,
• Fadhil S. Kamounah,
• Nikolay Vassilev,
• Ivan Angelov,
• Michael Pittelkow and
• Liudmil Antonov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1404–1421, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.105

• OH functionality in compound 2 gives possibility to influence the tautomerism in this compound dynamically by protonation/deprotonation. The tautomeric and switching properties of compounds 1 and 2 have been revealed by using quantum-chemical calculations, UV–vis and NMR spectroscopy and UV

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

Recent advances in amidyl radical-mediated photocatalytic direct intermolecular hydrogen atom transfer

• Hao-Sen Wang,
• Lin Li,
• Xin Chen,
• Jian-Li Wu,
• Kai Sun,
• Xiao-Lan Chen,
• Ling-Bo Qu and
• Bing Yu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1306–1323, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.100

• , resulting in the formation of radical 21. Radical 21 then oxidized the photocatalyst radical anion to its ground state while simultaneously generating anion 22. Ultimately, anion 22 yielded product 19 through protonation. This system demonstrated good applicability, achieving yields of 53% to 60% for

• promoted by the PC radical anion. The resulting anion 32 ultimately produced product 27 through protonation. This system demonstrated the significant HAT capability of amidyl radical 29, as evidenced by the synthesis of products 33, 34, and 35 with yields reaching 70% to 78%. Amidyl radical from N–N bond

• carbanion, which undergoes either solvent-mediated protonation or direct proton transfer from the acridiniumamide, ultimately delivering product 89 while regenerating the zwitterionic HRP-12 catalyst. This catalytic platform demonstrated exceptional site selectivity in aliphatic C–H bromination under

Recent advances and future challenges in the bottom-up synthesis of azulene-embedded nanographenes

• Bartłomiej Pigulski

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1272–1305, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.99

• using FeCl3 as the oxidant (Scheme 14) [70]. The use of K2CO3 as an additional base was necessary because residual moisture, in the presence of FeCl3, led to the protonation of the starting azulenes. Interestingly, when azulenes were substituted exclusively with phenyl groups, no desired product was

• was employed by Xin and co-workers in the synthesis of isomeric π-scaffolds (Scheme 19) [96]. Precursors 144a–c were annulated using PtCl2, yielding target PAHs 145–147 in yields ranging from 26% to 46%. Compounds 141–143 and 145–147 can undergo a two-fold protonation process, resulting in the

• optical absorption. The UV–vis absorption spectra, fluorescence properties and 1H NMR spectroscopy, indicate that 150 and 151 can be protonated to form the corresponding tropylium cation and consecutive dication under acidic conditions, with reversible protonation−deprotonation capabilities. Additionally

Recent advances in oxidative radical difunctionalization of N-arylacrylamides enabled by carbon radical reagents

• Jiangfei Chen,
• Yi-Lin Qu,
• Ming Yuan,
• Xiang-Mei Wu,
• Heng-Pei Jiang,
• Ying Fu and
• Shengrong Guo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1207–1271, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.98

• ) catalyst is then regenerated at the Pt cathode. Protonation of D gives intermediate E, and subsequent deprotonation at the anode yields the target compound 35a. N-Arylalkenes: difluoroalkyl/trifluoroalkyl radicals While the majority of radical cyclizations involve hydrocarbon-based radicals, the

Enhancing chemical synthesis planning: automated quantum mechanics-based regioselectivity prediction for C–H activation with directing groups

• Julius Seumer,
• Nicolai Ree and
• Jan H. Jensen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1171–1182, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.94

• simulating different solvent effects or examining the impact of different catalysts and ligands, extending beyond Pd(OAc)2. Additionally, accounting for varying reaction conditions, like conducting the reaction in acidic or basic environments, is possible by adjustments to the substrate-SMILES. Protonation

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

• intermediate 7, the carbonyl oxygen interacts with AlCl₃, enhancing the electrophilicity and promoting the rearrangement to form stable oxonium ions. The removal of water from 7 is facilitated by protonation, producing reactive carbocations which undergo dehydrative aromatization to produce products 8

A versatile route towards 6-arylpipecolic acids

• Erich Gebel,
• Cornelia Göcke,
• Carolin Gruner and
• Norbert Sewald

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1104–1115, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.88

• to investigate how the configuration of the stereocenter in C2 position influences diastereoselectivity. In the first approach, NaBH3CN was used under acidic conditions to reduce the acyliminium intermediate formed from the N-acyl enamine upon protonation at C5, while in the second approach

Recent total synthesis of natural products leveraging a strategy of enamide cyclization

• Chun-Yu Mi,
• Jia-Yuan Zhai and
• Xiao-Ming Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 999–1009, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.81

• cephalotaxine, cephalezomine H, (−)-cephalotaxine, (−)-cephalotine B, (−)-fortuneicyclidin A, (−)-fortuneicyclidin B, and (−)-cephalocyclidin A. Unlike enamines, tertiary enamides can participate in cyclization reactions initial as nucleophiles, and upon protonation, alkenylation, or alkylation, the resultant

• , these methods offer promising strategies for the total synthesis of complex natural products. Review Aza-Prins cyclization – total synthesis of (−)-dihydrolycopodine and (−)-lycopodine Cyclizations of enamides can proceed via several distinct pathways. If protonation of the enamide occurs first, the

• quaternary center in a single step. As depicted in Scheme 1, key enamide 1 was prepared from (R)-pulegone in 6 steps. In the presence of the weak acid H3PO4, protonation of 1 generates a stabilized iminium ion 2, which then undergoes a 6-exo-trig cyclization to deliver 4 after hydration of cation 3. Notably

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

• Friedel–Crafts-type addition and protonation to complete ortho-position cyclization. In contrast, para-position cyclization was exclusively achieved through π–π interactions between the electron-rich X-phos ligand and the substrate, compensating for the electron-deficient nature of the aromatic system and

• is used as the inorganic base, bromine radicals abstract hydrogen to form product 75; whereas when Na2HPO4 is used as the inorganic base, its weaker basicity leads to protonation of complex Int-72 to form intermediate Int-73, which then preferentially undergoes single-electron transfer with the DPZ

• into the carbenoid unit, providing heptacyclic ruthenium ring intermediate Int-77. Intermediate Int-78 is then formed via ruthenium migration insertion into the C=N bond from Ru–C(alkyl). For diazoketoester substrates, the final product 81 is released from Int-78 through protonation, intramolecular