Recent advances in total synthesis of illisimonin A

• Juan Huang and
• Ming Yang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2571–2583, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.199

• introduce another side chain, affording a diene intermediate. A subsequent ring-closing metathesis (RCM) reaction formed the cyclopentene ring, and one pot protection of both carbonyl groups with ethylene glycol provided bis-ketal 55. Notably, due to steric hindrance, only one carbonyl group could be

Synthesis of the tetracyclic skeleton of Aspidosperma alkaloids via PET-initiated cationic radical-derived interrupted [2 + 2]/retro-Mannich reaction

• Ru-Dong Liu,
• Jian-Yu Long,
• Zhi-Lin Song,
• Zhen Yang and
• Zhong-Chao Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2470–2478, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.189

• , which indicates that steric hindrance at C2 has a limited effect on the reactivity. However, when the steric hindrance of the protecting group was increased by replacing –Cbz with –Boc, the activity of the PET reaction decreased, which resulted in a lower yield of 10f (45%). In the case of substrate 9g

• the formation of benzyl radical IN2, which has a boat-like seven-membered ring. This structural feature may facilitate formation of the C19–C12 bond, even in the presence of critical steric hindrance between the C5 quaternary carbon and the indole moiety. Further DFT investigation proved challenging

An Fe(II)-catalyzed synthesis of spiro[indoline-3,2'-pyrrolidine] derivatives

• Elizaveta V. Gradova,
• Nikita A. Ozhegov,
• Roman O. Shcherbakov,
• Alexander G. Tkachenko,
• Larisa Y. Nesterova,
• Elena Y. Mendogralo and
• Maxim G. Uchuskin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2383–2388, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.183

• . Third, the introduction of an ortho-methyl substituent on the ketone moiety (3m) likewise suppressed product formation, likely due to steric hindrance interfering with cyclization at the C3 position of the indole ring. Based on literature precedents [15][16], we propose a mechanism involving a radical

• only minor limitations attributable to steric hindrance or functional group sensitivity. Antimicrobial evaluation of the synthesized spirocyclic compounds revealed no significant activity against the tested microbial strains. However, the synthetic versatility and broad substrate scope of developed

Conformational effects on iodide binding: a comparative study of flexible and rigid carbazole macrocyclic analogs

• Guang-Wei Zhang,
• Yong Zhang,
• Le Shi,
• Chuang Gao,
• Hong-Yu Li and
• Lei Xue

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2369–2375, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.181

• variations in fluorescence properties, leading to deviations from the linear Stern–Volmer relationship governing the quenching mechanism. The flexible benzene ring of the PBG allows the cavity to be conformationally adjusted to fit the size of I−, while the rigid fluorenyl group of the WDG results in steric

• hindrance, with a 95.6% lower binding constant of KWDG/KPBG = 0.044, a difference that can be attributed to the synergistic effect of induced fit (PBG) and conformational selection (WDG). Fluorescence emission spectra further corroborated the response of PBG and WDG to iodide ions (Figure 3c and 3d). When

Recent advances in Norrish–Yang cyclization and dicarbonyl photoredox reactions for natural product synthesis

• Peng-Xi Luo,
• Jin-Xuan Yang,
• Shao-Min Fu and
• Bo Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2315–2333, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.177

• -strain between the methyl group at C10 and the substituent at C8 restricts the free rotation of the C8–C13 bond (although this steric hindrance can be circumvented through chair–boat isomerization of the six-membered ring, the barrier for this isomerization is relatively high), resulting in a

• conformational preference at C8 that favors 1,5-HAT occurring at C9. (2) In terms of stereoselectivity, the steric hindrance between the spin center at C14 and the axial methyl group at C10 restricts the rotation around the C13–C14 bond, thereby enabling the diradical to undergo coupling stereoselectively. As a

• , substituent effects, and steric hindrance. Meanwhile, for multi-functional group substrates, the presence of potential competitive hydrogen transfer sites tends to lead to the formation of non-target cyclized products, further reducing the reaction specificity. Dicarbonyls are excellent substrates for Norrish

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

• could be further derivatized (e.g., via borylation, epoxidation), establishing a versatile platform for accessing fused-ring natural products. Substituent-controlled cyclization of 1,n-enynes In transition metal-catalyzed cyclization reactions, the electronic properties and steric hindrance of

Pd-catalyzed dehydrogenative arylation of arylhydrazines to access non-symmetric azobenzenes, including tetra-ortho derivatives

• Loris Geminiani,
• Kathrin Junge,
• Matthias Beller and
• Jean-François Soulé

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2234–2242, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.170

• -catalyzed side-reaction. As shown above, the steric hindrance plays a significant role in driving the reaction. For this reason, we have applied our novel Pd methodology to synthesize a series of tetra-, tri-, and di-ortho-substituted azobenzenes (Scheme 3). Notably, this method demonstrates remarkable

• (allyl)2 in DME with strong base (Cs2CO3) favors C–N-bond coupling, which may yield products resulting from arylation at either the terminal or internal nitrogen atoms. The selectivity can be influenced by the steric hindrance of the phosphine ligands and/or the substrates. Once N,N-diarylhydrazine is

The application of desymmetric enantioselective reduction of cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds in the total synthesis of terpenoid and alkaloid natural products

• Dong-Xing Tan and
• Fu-She Han

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2085–2102, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.164

• and transformations of 43 produced hydroxyketone 44. Due to the steric hindrance of this substrate, the subsequent Suzuki cross coupling reaction with 3-boronophenol proceeded in low yield. To address this issue, Han′s group employed a novel palladacycle catalyst 45, previously developed by their

Bioinspired total syntheses of natural products: a personal adventure

• Zhengyi Qin,
• Yuting Yang,
• Nuran Yan,
• Xinyu Liang,
• Zhiyu Zhang,
• Yaxuan Duan,
• Huilin Li and
• Xuegong She

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2048–2061, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.160

• bioinspired synthetic approach [44]. Initially, we prepared a bicyclic precursor similar with toussaintine C to react with α-phellandrene to mimic the bioinspired Diels–Alder reaction, which, however, showed no reactivity due to the strong steric hindrance. To decrease the steric effect, we finally used

Solar thermal fuels: azobenzene as a cyclic photon–heat transduction platform

• Jie Yan,
• Shaodong Sun,
• Minghao Wang and
• Si Wu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2036–2047, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.159

• -molecule azobenzene derivatives achieve gravimetric energy densities of 300–400 J/g with long-term storage stability. However, solvent dependence or steric hindrance in multiazobenzene units remains an inherent challenge dictated by material type. These materials show promising applications in device

Understanding the origin of stereoselectivity in the photochemical denitrogenation of 2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.1]heptene and its derivatives with non-adiabatic molecular dynamics

• Leticia A. Gomes and
• Steven A. Lopez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2007–2020, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.156

• may arise from increased steric hindrance imposed by the methyl group on the methylene bridge of the derivatives. Two clusters represent the partially inverted hopping point, depending on which σCN breaks first. The second type, referred to as the inverted hopping point, occurs when both dihedral

Aryl iodane-induced cascade arylation–1,2-silyl shift–heterocyclization of propargylsilanes under copper catalysis

• Rasma Kroņkalne,
• Rūdolfs Beļaunieks,
• Armands Sebris,
• Anatoly Mishnev and
• Māris Turks

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1984–1994, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.154

• (CN ≈ COR >> NO2) reacted poorly. Iodanes, containing electron-withdrawing groups with low nucleophilicity (CF3), however, gave fair yields. We also found that ortho-substituted iodanes did not provide arylation products, which can be attributed to the unfavorable steric hindrance [30]. Iodanes

Asymmetric total synthesis of tricyclic prostaglandin D2 metabolite methyl ester via oxidative radical cyclization

• Miao Xiao,
• Liuyang Pu,
• Qiaoli Shang,
• Lei Zhu and
• Jun Huang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1964–1972, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.152

• , compounds 14 and 20 were evaluated for the cross-metathesis of the olefin moiety in 14. No reaction occurred and the desired product was not detected (not shown), presumably because of the steric hindrance from the TBS group. Following the removal of the silyl group, cyclopentanol 19 underwent the cross

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

• . Interestingly, for the cyclization of 3b, only compound MC3 was obtained in 85% yield, which is probably attributed to larger steric hindrance deriving from bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl groups. These macrocycles show good solubility in common solvents, and their chemical structures have been unambiguously

Chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of helically chiral, planarly chiral and inherently chiral molecules

• Wei Liu and
• Xiaoyu Yang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1864–1889, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.145

• reaction mechanisms and applications of the chiral products for selected examples. Review Helical chirality Helicenes are a group of rigid polycyclic aromatic compounds composed of ortho-fused aromatic (hetero)cyclic rings, with their helically twisted conformation enforced by steric hindrance between

• enantioselectivity, with an s-factor up to >259 (Scheme 7). Notably, this reaction did not produce the typical arene C–H amination products but instead the dearomative amination products 26, which is believed to be due to the significant steric hindrance surrounding the amination site that impeded the subsequent

• demonstrated the successful construction of planarly chiral macrocycles with 12- to 14-membered ansa chains with high enantioselectivity when using NH2 as the directing group (see 33a,b). However, extending the ansa chain to 15 members led to the loss of planar chirality due to insufficient steric hindrance to

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

• , bottom), the thermal lifetimes drop significantly [38]. It is thus crucial to take into account the asymmetric nature of the imine bond and the steric hindrance of the substituents in the design of these photoswitches. For a detailed analysis of the structure–property relationship of these compounds we

• with bulky N-substitution suggest that the conformation is twisted, with reduced conjugation. Steric hindrance at the indoxyl nitrogen also provides higher thermal stability of the E-isomer, with mixtures of E and Z found at thermal equilibrium [77]. Heteroaromatic substitution in hemiindigo generates

• , which, combined with additional steric hindrance to the stilbene moiety and on the double bond, induces a helical twisting around the double bond in 71, thus generating a molecular motor, capable of unidirectional movement upon photoswitching (Figure 16, right) [84][85]. Sulphone hemithioindigos 70 have

Fe-catalyzed efficient synthesis of 2,4- and 4-substituted quinolines via C(sp²)–C(sp²) bond scission of styrenes

• Prafull A. Jagtap,
• Manish M. Petkar,
• Vaishnavi R. Sawant and
• Bhalchandra M. Bhanage

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1799–1807, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.142

• consistently high combined yields, ranging from 92% to 95%. Probably due to steric hindrance, when the phenyl group was attached to the para-position of the aniline (1e), the corresponding products 3e along with 3e′ could be obtained in 75% yields. Electron-deficient groups at the para-position, such as -Cl

• steric hindrance, leading to a moderate combined yield. Moreover, when the meta-substituted arylamine 1k was reacted under standard conditions, regioisomeric forms of quinolines were observed during GC and GC–MS analysis. Nearly identical results were obtained when 3,4-dimethylaniline (1l) was used. An

Synthesis of chiral cyclohexane-linked bisimidazolines

• Changmeng Xi,
• Qingshan Sun and
• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1786–1790, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.140

• )-N1,N2-bis((1R,2R)-2-(tert-butoxycarbonyl)-1,2-diphenylethyl)cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxamide (4h) in 65% yield through the reaction with (1S,2S)-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid (3). However, compound 4h did not undergo cyclization possibly due to weak nucleophilicity and steric hindrance of the Boc

Approaches to stereoselective 1,1'-glycosylation

• Daniele Zucchetta and
• Alla Zamyatina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1700–1718, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.133

• formation of an α-glycoside on the donor side [54]. On the acceptor side, the β-configuration was favored due to steric hindrance from the C-2 phthalimido group in the triacetylated GalN-lactol acceptors 6 or 3,4-di-O-benzylated acceptors 8, resulting in kinetically controlled formation of β,α-1,1

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

• substrate scope of the developed synthetic approach was investigated. Aromatic and aliphatic carbonyl compounds reacted with primary and secondary amines. The reductive amination efficiently proceeded with both cyclic and acyclic secondary amines. Steric hindrance in ortho-position in carbonyl compound 13

Synthesis of an aza[5]helicene-incorporated macrocyclic heteroarene via oxidation of an o-phenylene-pyrrole-thiophene icosamer

• Yusuke Matsuo,
• Aoi Nakagawa,
• Shu Seki and
• Takayuki Tanaka

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1561–1567, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.119

• two NH sites remained uncoordinated due to steric hindrance. Non-covalent interaction (NCI) plot analysis revealed distinct intramolecular π–π dispersion interactions between the two aza[5]helicene moieties (green surface in Figure 4b) [29][30][31]. Optical properties The electronic absorption and

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

• moieties, respectively, since they could enable further chemical transformations. Unfortunately, when 2-methyl-3-bromochromone was employed as the substrate, the process failed to afford the desired enaminone product, which was possibly caused by a combination of increased steric hindrance and decreased

• 9k was obtained, albeit in low yield. Regrettably, this transformation failed to provide the corresponding enaminone products by replacing alicyclic amines by diisopropylamine, probably due to steric hindrance. Steric factors could also explain the lack of reactivity of seven-membered azepane. In

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

• depends on both steric factors in 11 and the electronic structure of the reactive anion 12. In general, growing steric hindrance prefers the S-attack and, very likely, hinders rearrangement leading to thioaminals 9. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that no formation of products 9 is observed with

• hindered) suggests that the steric hindrance can play an important role in the trapping process. It is worth of emphasizing that thioaminals [33] and dithioacetals [34] constitute important groups of building blocks, which are of interest not only for pharmaceutically oriented studies [35] but also for

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

• efficiently, affording good-to-excellent yields. The Boc-protecting group proved to be stable under the reaction conditions, underlining the importance of avoiding the addition of acidic additives. Steric hindrance exerted a moderate influence on the reaction, and branched aliphatic amines yielded the

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

• acceptors is more pronounced. The effect of the amino group is stronger comparing to NMe2 due to the steric hindrance in the latter. Since in 1 the azo group, an acceptor, is placed on position 8, it is also expended to bring additional inherent stabilization of the 1K tautomer. The effect of the