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

• (Scheme 21C) [55]. Kawabata and co-workers (2020) prepared the β-glycoside 66 from α-ᴅ-glucose and cinnamic acid (7) in good yield through the Mitsunobu reaction (Scheme 22) [56]. The 13C kinetic isotope effect experiment (KIE = 1.028) showed that the glycosylation proceeded via SN2 substitution (67). Sun

Pd-Catalyzed asymmetric allylic amination with isatin using a P,olefin-type chiral ligand with C–N bond axial chirality

• Natsume Akimoto,
• Kaho Takaya,
• Yoshio Kasashima,
• Kohei Watanabe,
• Yasushi Yoshida and
• Takashi Mino

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1018–1023, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.83

• palladium catalysts with amines as nucleophiles have been reported [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25], there have been only a few reports on the N-substitution of isatin using asymmetric methods. Recently, Wolf’s group reported a transition-metal-catalyzed (Pd-catalyzed) asymmetric allylic

• ligands with axial chirality for Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reactions. For example, the Zhou group reported a P,olefin-type chiral ligand 3 with C–C bond axial chirality for this reaction (Figure 2) [27]. Additionally, we have recently reported chiral ligands with C–N bond axial

• chirality, such as N-alkyl-N-cinnamyl-type chiral ligands 4 [28][29] and 5 [30], and a P,olefin-type chiral ligand 6 [31] with a cinnamoyl group instead of a cinnamyl group. In particular, the chiral ligand 6 is effective in the Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reaction of allylic esters with

Synthesis of pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidine-2,4(3H)-diones by domino C–N coupling/hydroamination reactions

• Ruben Manuel Figueira de Abreu,
• Robin Tiedemann,
• Peter Ehlers and
• Peter Langer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1010–1017, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.82

• Abstract A variety of pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidine-2,4(3H)-diones were prepared by a combination of Sonogashira reaction and subsequent cyclization by domino C–N coupling/hydroamination reaction. The optical properties (UV–vis absorption and fluorescence) depend on the substitution pattern of the compounds

• ]pyrimidine-2,4(3H)-diones 4 were investigated by steady-state absorption and photoluminescence spectroscopy (Figure 2, Table 2). The wavelength and intensity of absorption and emission depended on the substitution pattern. The methyl-substituted compound 4a showed one broad absorption band at ≈290 nm. A

• amino group. The corresponding fluorescence quantum yields were also strongly affected by the substitution pattern of the pyrrolouracils. Compounds 4k and 4l show very high fluorescence quantum yields of 83% and 71%, respectively, what might be reasoned by the strong donor ability of the NMe2-functional

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

• incorporated into cyclization reactions. The iminium species generated from enamides via nucleophilic addition or substitution are capable of engaging in further electrophilic additions or isomerization processes. Exploiting the multiple reactivities of enamides facilitates the development of diverse

• nucleophilic addition or substitution, the resulting iminium ions often undergo direct hydrolysis, preventing further use in a cascade nucleophilic addition. As a result, enamines are not ideal partners in tandem reactions for the synthesis of nitrogen-containing products. As analogues to enamines, the

On the photoluminescence in triarylmethyl-centered mono-, di-, and multiradicals

• Daniel Straub,
• Markus Gross,
• Mona E. Arnold,
• Julia Zolg and
• Alexander J. C. Kuehne

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 964–998, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.80

• comparison to triarylmethyl units that have been symmetry broken by the single substitution with a donor. However, simple symmetry arguments cannot explain why threefold-substituted triarylmethyl radicals have often comparable or higher ϕ than their monofunctionalized homologues. Also, the concept of

• the time that they remain in their enantiopure state. The glum as a measure for the strength of CPL is of order 8 × 10−4 for PTM and 5 × 10−4 for TTM. Mixed halide triarylmethyl radicals Substitution of all para-positions in PTM with iodine atoms yields the 3I-PTM radical with a red-shifted emission

• strong increase in ϕ; however, no further information is given to support this claim. While substitution of all para-positions with hetero-halogens or chalcogens does not induce a different symmetry in the ground state of the molecule, substitution of only one of the para-chlorines of PTM with bromine or

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

• isocyanides, followed by a silver(I) triflate-catalyzed intramolecular heteroannulation of the resulting pyrazole-tethered propargylamides occurring in a 7-endo-dig fashion. The approach is scalable and tolerates a diverse range of substitution patterns. Keywords: heterocycles; post-MCR transformations

• carboxylic acid component 3 and additional keto-carbonyl group in aryl glyoxal 1. This approach was further advanced by Ding's group to produce a broader range of benzodiazepines with diverse substitution patterns by shuffling the necessary functional groups within the Ugi reaction components [34][35][36

• of post-Ugi transformations leading to the formation of fused seven-membered heterocycles. A series of target pyrazolodiazepines were generated through the variation of substitution patterns on all components of the Ugi reaction while several limitations of the methodology were also identified. In

Light-enabled intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition via photoactivation of simple alkenylboronic esters

• Lewis McGhie,
• Hannah M. Kortman,
• Jenna Rumpf,
• Peter H. Seeberger and
• John J. Molloy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 854–863, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.69

• isomerization of alkenes [18][19], [2 + 2] cycloadditions [20][21][22][23][24], and dearomative [4 + 2] cycloadditions [25][26][27]. When considering conjugated alkenes, the triplet excited state energy and excited state lifetime are intrinsically linked to the degree of conjugation and substitution of a

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

• medicine. Despite their potential, their structural diversity is still limited and a larger pool of substitution patterns remains to be systematically investigated. This is paramount as electronic effects play a crucial role in the behavior of photoswitches and a deeper understanding enables their

• relative position of the absorption bands in the azobenzene derivatives depends on the substitution pattern on the aromatic rings, which can act as a handle to affect the absorption properties of the compound class [3]. For instance, push–pull systems or the introduction of tetra-ortho substituents were

• investigated in detail and allowed to correlate thermal relaxation rates and steric or electronic effects as well as mechanistic peculiarities, which has been in the spotlight recently for different classes of azobenzenes [34]. Despite these studies, the variety of substitution patterns in PAPs is limited

4-(1-Methylamino)ethylidene-1,5-disubstituted pyrrolidine-2,3-diones: synthesis, anti-inflammatory effect and in silico approaches

• Nguyen Tran Nguyen,
• Vo Viet Dai,
• Luc Van Meervelt,
• Do Thi Thao and
• Nguyen Minh Thong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 817–829, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.65

• ) has occurred at the exocyclic sp2-hybridized carbon atom, leading to the substitution of the 4-methoxybenzylamino group by a methylamino group. Therefore, the presence of substituents (electron-donating or electron-withdrawing groups) on the benzene rings attached to the 1- and 5-positions of the

Synthesis and photoinduced switching properties of C₇-heteroatom containing push–pull norbornadiene derivatives

• Daniel Krappmann and
• Andreas Hirsch

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 807–816, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.64

• ) derivatives. Push–pull substitution on the 2 and 3 position as well as introduction of oxygen or nitrogen at position 7 of the NBD scaffold have led to the development of a new family of photoswitches. We studied the potential conversion of norbornadiene to quadricyclane (QC) isomers. As main investigation

• variations in the switching properties. However, it is important to note that altering one property typically impacts other characteristics as well [21][22]. In this regard, both the substitution of the NBD periphery to produce push–pull derivatives and the variation of the central scaffold itself have been

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

• )(OR)2. The final product was formed by a simple nucleophilic substitution of the phosphorus center (Scheme 20). The N–P bond formation is a critical process in organic synthesis due to the preparation of various materials with different biological and medicinal activities. In 2021 Wang et al. [65

• reaction proceeded with anodic oxidation of iodide to iodine, followed by a reaction with dialkyl phosphite to give I–P(O)(OR)2. The final product was formed by a simple nucleophilic substitution of phenols with I–P(O)(OR)2. In 2021, Wang et al. [65] presented a report on electrochemical P–O bond formation

• the rings contained electron-withdrawing groups. It is suggested that the reaction proceeded via single-electron oxidation of thiocyanate at the anode. DBU was used in the reaction for a simple nucleophilic substitution of phosphonate with a cyanide group in the formed intermediate (Scheme 28). In

Development and mechanistic studies of calcium–BINOL phosphate-catalyzed hydrocyanation of hydrazones

• Carola Tortora,
• Christian A. Fischer,
• Sascha Kohlbauer,
• Alexandru Zamfir,
• Gerd M. Ballmann,
• Jürgen Pahl,
• Sjoerd Harder and
• Svetlana B. Tsogoeva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 755–765, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.59

• internal rotation in 11 via TS8 and reaction with TMSCN to give adduct 13 (see Figure 3). Distances and bond lengths are given in pm. Catalyst 7 is replaced in TS 11-12 by concerted electrophilic intramolecular substitution with formal trimethylsilyl cation as electrophile. Please note the surprisingly

Orthogonal photoswitching of heterobivalent azobenzene glycoclusters: the effect of glycoligand orientation in bacterial adhesion

• Leon M. Friedrich and
• Thisbe K. Lindhorst

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 736–748, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.57

• azobenzene derivative 9 [34] to furnish 10. This reaction had to be carried out at −78 °C in order to suppress nucleophilic substitution of the ortho-fluorine substituents in 9 by the thiol 8, a reaction that competes with the desired cross-coupling. For the second Buchwald–Hartwig–Migita cross-coupling, the

Synthesis of HBC fluorophores with an electrophilic handle for covalent attachment to Pepper RNA

• Raphael Bereiter and
• Ronald Micura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 727–735, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.56

• nucleophilic aromatic substitution of 4-fluorobenzaldehyde with 2-(methylamino)ethanol, 3-methylamino-1-propanol or 2-[2-(methylamino)ethoxy]ethan-1-ol in the presence of potassium carbonate to afford benzaldehyde derivatives 1, 2, and 3 in excellent yields. Next, the piperidine-induced condensation with 4

Acyclic cucurbit[n]uril bearing alkyl sulfate ionic groups

• Christian Akakpo,
• Peter Y. Zavalij and
• Lyle Isaacs

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 717–726, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.55

• to a sulfate group. The synthetic route to C1 starts with the double electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction of methylene-bridged glycoluril tetramer (TetBCE) with W1 in TFA/Ac2O 1:1 which adds the sidewalls and transforms the OH groups into OAc groups to give TetW1OAc in 71% yield as described

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

Photochemically assisted synthesis of phenacenes fluorinated at the terminal benzene rings and their electronic spectra

• Yuuki Ishii,
• Minoru Yamaji,
• Fumito Tani,
• Kenta Goto,
• Yoshihiro Kubozono and
• Hideki Okamoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 670–679, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.53

• -extension (ΔλABS = ca. 6 nm per increment of one benzene ring) and the spectral profiles resemble each other irrespective of the length of the phenacene π conjugation and the fluorine substitution. The results suggest that these factors could provide insignificant effects on the apparent electronic spectral

• that, through the fluorination, one can tune the MO energy levels without changing the apparent electronic spectral features in solution, such as, electronic spectral shapes, wavelengths, and fluorescence quantum yields. Such fluorine-substitution effects on electronic spectra and MO levels were

• the fluorination. By contrast, in the solid phase, F8PIC, F8FUL, and F87PHEN showed significantly broadened and red-shifted fluorescence bands indicating that the intermolecular interactions in the solid phase were modified by the fluorine substitution. The present results could provide a strategy for

Recent advances in allylation of chiral secondary alkylcopper species

• Minjae Kim,
• Gwanggyun Kim,
• Doyoon Kim,
• Jun Hee Lee and
• Seung Hwan Cho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 639–658, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.51

• Abstract The transition-metal-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution represents a pivotal methodology in organic synthesis, providing remarkable versatility for complex molecule construction. Particularly, the generation and utilization of chiral secondary alkylcopper species have received considerable

• attention due to their unique properties in stereoselective allylic substitution. This review highlights recent advances in copper-catalyzed asymmetric allylic substitution reactions with chiral secondary alkylcopper species, encompassing several key strategies for their generation: stereospecific

• transmetalation of organolithium and organoboron compounds, copper hydride catalysis, and enantiotopic-group-selective transformations of 1,1-diborylalkanes. Detailed mechanistic insights into stereochemical control and current challenges in this field are also discussed. Keywords: allylic substitution; chiral

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

• 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

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

• decompose into DMS (dimethyl sulfide), which then can act as a nucleophile in several MCRs (Scheme 4) [19][20][21][22]. In this context, DMSO can be used as a source of the methylsulfanyl (-SCH3) group after DMS follows a nucleophilic addition or substitution, allowing one to obtain different types of

• various substitution patterns in the aromatic ring, allowing a high variety of quinolines of general structure I and II. In a related work, quinolines of structure I (Scheme 8) could be obtained by similar reaction pathways. Jadhav et al. proposed a three-component cascade reaction between anilines

• reaction works very well for a wide variety of functional groups and substitution patterns in the aryl methyl ketone substrate, affording the desired heterocycle with good yields. Even heteroaryl methyl ketone and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds work very well under these reaction conditions, leading to more

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

• higher selectivity with milder reaction temperatures. The weaker C(sp2)–Br bond is easier to cleave than a C(sp2)–H bond, resulting in a higher likelihood of radical substitution at those positions. To the best of our knowledge, there are no previous examples of perfluorobenzyl substitution of any PAH(Br

• ratio was found to be 1.74 (theoretical = 1.75), confirming the composition to be ANTH(BnF)2. Slow evaporation of a CH2Cl2 solution of 9,10-ANTH(BnF)2 at 2 °C afforded off-white plates suitable for X-ray diffraction. The structure shown in Figure 2 (top panel) confirmed the 9,10-substitution pattern

Unprecedented visible light-initiated topochemical [2 + 2] cycloaddition in a functionalized bimane dye

• Metodej Dvoracek,
• Brendan Twamley,
• Mathias O. Senge and
• Mikhail A. Filatov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 500–509, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.37

• with the Schmidt criteria for topochemical cycloaddition. Additionally, two other bimane derivatives with different substitution patterns were synthesized and investigated. Our findings suggest that functionalizing bimanes to redshift their absorption maxima into the visible-light spectrum provides a

Synthesis of N-acetyl diazocine derivatives via cross-coupling reaction

• Thomas Brandt,
• Pascal Lentes,
• Jeremy Rudtke,
• Michael Hösgen,
• Christian Näther and
• Rainer Herges

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 490–499, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.36

• ]. Moreover, the parent diazocine is insoluble in water (precipitation in water/DMSO > 9:1). Substitution with polar substituents such as CH2NH2 provides water solubility, however, it does not restore the high Z → E conversion rates of the parent system in organic solvents, which is a disadvantage, since

• biochemical reactions usually take place in aqueous environments [13]. The substitution of one CH2 group in the CH2CH2 bridge by N–C(=O)–CH3 leads to an intrinsic water solubility of the N-acetyl diazocine 1 (Figure 1) [3]. Furthermore the photoconversion of 1 shows no significant drop in pure water in

• substitution. Substituents such as halogen atoms must be introduced into the N-acetyl diazocine structure during the synthesis of the building blocks. In the present work we start from mono- and dihalogenated N-acetyl diazocine 2–4 (Figure 2) and focus on the further derivatization via cross-coupling reactions

Electrochemical synthesis of cyclic biaryl λ³-bromanes from 2,2’-dibromobiphenyls

• Andrejs Savkins and
• Igors Sokolovs

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 451–457, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.32

• Br(II) followed by subsequent deprotonation to generate radical B. A following disproportionation of radical B would lead to the formation of Br(III) species C (anodic oxidation cannot be fully excluded), which undergoes intramolecular SNAr-type substitution to form cyclic λ3-bromane 1a and

Beyond symmetric self-assembly and effective molarity: unlocking functional enzyme mimics with robust organic cages

• Keith G. Andrews

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 421–443, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.30

• generated large electrostatic effects by functionalizing the capsule exteriors with charged groups (Figure 4D) [136][137]. Observed rate accelerations for capsule-promoted nucleophilic substitution reactions demonstrate significant enthalpic stabilization of the transition state attributable due to the

• nucleophile and electrophile in a glycosylation reaction [105]. (D) An externally charged cavitand promotes charge-stabilized nucleophilic substitution reactions of hydrophobically encapsulated substrates [136][137]. (A) Metal-organic cages and key modes in catalysis. (B) Charged metals or ligands can result