Switchable molecular tweezers: design and applications

• Pablo Msellem,
• Maksym Dekthiarenko,
• Nihal Hadj Seyd and
• Guillaume Vives

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 504–539, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.45

Dissecting Mechanochemistry III

• Lars Borchardt and
• José G. Hernández

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1454–1456, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.150

• were also key reagents to develop the mechanochemical halogenation of azobenzenes as studied by Ćurić and co-workers [4]. They demonstrated how, depending on the azobenzene structure, the halogenation of the C–H bonds with NBX occurred in the presence of Pd(II) catalysts or under metal-free conditions

• José G. Hernández Bochum, Medellín, October 2022 ORCID® iDs Lars Borchardt - https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8778-7816 José G. Hernández - https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9064-4456 a) Mechanochemical PEG-400-assisted halogenation of phenols and anilines using NXS. b) Halogenation of azobenzenes with NXS

Continuous flow synthesis of azobenzenes via Baeyer–Mills reaction

• Jan H. Griwatz,
• Anne Kunz and
• Hermann A. Wegner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 781–787, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.78

• Azobenzene, as one of the most prominent molecular switches, is featured in many applications ranging from photopharmacology to information or energy storage. In order to easily and reproducibly synthesize non-symmetric substituted azobenzenes in an efficient way, especially on a large scale, the commonly

• . Keywords: azobenzenes; Baeyer–Mills reaction; continuous flow; molecular switches; solar fuel; Introduction Although the red-colored azobenzenes (AB) have been known for years as dyes, their applications nowadays span from energy and information storage [1][2][3][4][5], organocatalysis [6], photobiology

• reliable synthesis of symmetric ABs in high yields via a Cu-catalyzed oxidative coupling of aniline derivatives [17]. This synthesis can be also used for the formation of non-symmetric AB, however, only for a selected set of anilines. One of the most applied methods to access non-symmetric azobenzenes is

Mechanochemical halogenation of unsymmetrically substituted azobenzenes

• Dajana Barišić,
• Mario Pajić,
• Ivan Halasz,
• Darko Babić and
• Manda Ćurić

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 680–687, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.69

• Dajana Barisic Mario Pajic Ivan Halasz Darko Babic Manda Curic Division of Physical Chemistry, Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, Zagreb, Croatia 10.3762/bjoc.18.69 Abstract The direct and selective mechanochemical halogenation of C–H bonds in unsymmetrically substituted azobenzenes

• proceeds by electrophilic cleavage with neutral NBS or the hydrogen bond complex NBS∙∙∙TsOH as a bromine source. Here we present the mechanochemical selective halogenation of unsymmetrically substituted azobenzenes by NXS (X = Cl, Br, or I). The liquid-assisted grinding of para-halogenated derivatives of

• azobenzene with NXS and Pd(OAc)2 as precatalyst in the presence of TsOH and MeCN as solid and liquid additives, respectively, led to the ortho-halogenated products relative to the azo group of the azobenzenes. In situ Raman monitoring of these reactions confirmed that the most favorable reaction pathway is

Recent advances in the asymmetric phosphoric acid-catalyzed synthesis of axially chiral compounds

• Alemayehu Gashaw Woldegiorgis and
• Xufeng Lin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2729–2764, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.185

• the reaction of 2-substituted indoles with azobenzenes proceeded smoothly in the presence of the chiral phosphoric acid catalyst (R)-CPA 9. At a catalyst loading of 0.2 mol %, the intermediate I-5 was simultaneously cyclized to I-6, followed by β-H elimination and chirality transfer to afford another

On the application of 3d metals for C–H activation toward bioactive compounds: The key step for the synthesis of silver bullets

• Renato L. Carvalho,
• Amanda S. de Miranda,
• Mateus P. Nunes,
• Roberto S. Gomes,
• Guilherme A. M. Jardim and
• Eufrânio N. da Silva Júnior

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1849–1938, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.126

• organometallic chemistry and catalysis [128]. The first example of a stoichiometric manganese-mediated C–H activation, reported by Stone, Bruce, and co-workers (1970) [129], was an ortho-metalation in azobenzenes. In recent years, with the expansion of the C–H activation field, manganese catalysts have been

Sustainable manganese catalysis for late-stage C–H functionalization of bioactive structural motifs

• Jongwoo Son

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1733–1751, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.122

• azobenzenes was unveiled [1], manganese catalysts have exhibited a significant capacity for powerful C–H functionalization, and they have therefore been actively utilized in the area of sustainable organic syntheses [2][3][4][5][6]. Catalytic late-stage C–H functionalization, a highly efficient synthetic

Substituted nitrogen-bridged diazocines

• Pascal Lentes,
• Jeremy Rudtke,
• Thomas Griebenow and
• Rainer Herges

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1503–1508, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.107

• Diazocines (bridged azobenzenes) are frequently used photoswitches with outstanding photophysical properties. Parent diazocine (CH2–CH2-bridged) exhibits well-separated n–π* transitions, which allow excellent photoconversion between the Z and E configurations ((Z→E)385 nm = 92%, (E→Z)525 nm > 99% in n-hexane

• ) with light in the visible region [1]. Moreover, the Z-boat configuration is the thermodynamically stable isomer [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. The latter property (i.e., the inverted stability compared to azobenzenes) makes them promising candidates for applications in photopharmacology. In the majority of

• azobenzene-based photopharmacophores, the bent Z configuration is biologically inactive [10][11][12]. Hence, (and in contrast to azobenzenes) the thermodynamically stable and biologically inactive Z-isomer can be administered and switched on with light at the site of interest with spatiotemporal resolution

Azo-dimethylaminopyridine-functionalized Ni(II)-porphyrin as a photoswitchable nucleophilic catalyst

• Jannis Ludwig,
• Julian Helberg,
• Hendrik Zipse and
• Rainer Herges

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2119–2126, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.179

• following several approaches using a variety of photochromic systems. Feringa et al. recently published a review including systems based on double bond isomerizations [1]. An earlier review from the same group summarized light and redox responsive catalytic systems including azobenzenes, diarylethenes

• of the background reaction without catalyst is low, and the influence of the solvent on the reaction rate is small [10][32]. No catalytic effect for the N=N functional group of azobenzenes was previously observed in similar systems [10]. Ni-porphyrin Ni-TPPF20 8 (without azopyridine substitution

When metal-catalyzed C–H functionalization meets visible-light photocatalysis

• Lucas Guillemard and
• Joanna Wencel-Delord

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1754–1804, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.147

Potent hemithioindigo-based antimitotics photocontrol the microtubule cytoskeleton in cellulo

• Alexander Sailer,
• Franziska Ermer,
• Yvonne Kraus,
• Rebekkah Bingham,
• Ferdinand H. Lutter,
• Julia Ahlfeld and
• Oliver Thorn-Seshold

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 125–134, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.14

• -hydroxyhemistilbene motif, a structural feature which is denied to most azobenzenes due to the negligibly short lifetimes of their metastable Z-isomers, which proved crucial to enhancing the potency and photoswitchability. The HITubs were ten times more potent than previously reported hemithioindigo

• differential potency between isomers of the resulting photopharmaceutical, than peripheral attachment (referred to as azo-extension in the case of azobenzenes [18]). We therefore desired to maintain the embedding strategy, yet to improve potency we chose to break with substitution patterns strictly based on

• azobenzenes or styrylbenzothiazoles) is desirable, in particular for cell-free mechanistic studies [33]. More broadly, this work also shows that the HTI scaffold robustly enables the photoswitchable use of resonance-capable substituents that can establish high-affinity interactions (such as para-hydroxy

Photocontrolled DNA minor groove interactions of imidazole/pyrrole polyamides

• Sabrina Müller,
• Jannik Paulus,
• Jochen Mattay,
• Heiko Ihmels,
• Veronica I. Dodero and
• Norbert Sewald

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 60–70, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.8

• -33501 Bielefeld, Germany Organic Chemistry II, Department Chemistry – Biology, Siegen University, Adolf-Reichwein-Str. 2, D-57068 Siegen, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.16.8 Abstract Azobenzenes are photoswitchable molecules capable of generating significant structural changes upon E-to-Z photoisomerization in

• substance, once located at the DNA target, with an external stimulus. Azobenzenes are photoswitchable molecules capable of generating significant structural changes in peptides or small molecules, thereby controlling their geometry and functionality upon irradiation [10][11][12][13]. While isomerization of

• ]. According to molecular dynamics calculations, the 3,3'-substituted azobenzenes are more suitable as photoswitchable building blocks to induce a hairpin motif than the 4,4'-substituted correlates [35]. For 3,3'-substituted azobenzenes, the Z-form is expected to display higher thermal stability than for the

Starazo triple switches – synthesis of unsymmetrical 1,3,5-tris(arylazo)benzenes

• Andreas H. Heindl and
• Hermann A. Wegner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 22–31, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.4

• ; Introduction The reversible photochemically induced structural change of azobenzenes (ABs) opens various ways towards systems manipulations on the molecular level [1][2]. Upon irradiation with UV light (ca. 350 nm), the thermodynamically more stable (E)-AB isomerizes to the higher-energy Z-isomer [3]. The

Synthesis and characterization of bis(4-amino-2-bromo-6-methoxy)azobenzene derivatives

• David Martínez-López,
• Amirhossein Babalhavaeji,
• Diego Sampedro and
• G. Andrew Woolley

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 3000–3008, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.296

• azobenzenes – have recently been found to exhibit photoswitching properties suitable for in vivo use [8][9][10]. Typically, the formation of azonium ions from aminoazobenzenes occurs at pH < 3.5 [11][12], however, the pKa of the trans-azonium ion 1 is ca. 7.5 in aqueous solution (Figure 1) [9][10]. The

• substituent in an attempt to enhance water solubility. Late-stage functionalization of the ortho-position was carried out through a palladium(II)-catalyzed C–H activation, resulting in ortho-brominated azobenzenes [21]. Photochemical characterization Despite the morpholino substituent, compound 4 was found to

• , which showed half-lives ranging from 50 ms [25] to a few seconds [26][27]. Instead, compounds 4 and 5 exhibited photoswitching properties similar to those reported for tetra-ortho-thiol-substituted azobenzenes [17]. Conclusion Substitution of p-aminoazobenzene with ortho-bromo and ortho-methoxy groups

Chemical tuning of photoswitchable azobenzenes: a photopharmacological case study using nicotinic transmission

• Lorenzo Sansalone,
• Jun Zhao,
• Matthew T. Richers and
• Graham C. R. Ellis-Davies

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2812–2821, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.274

• . Keywords: acetylcholine receptors; bidirectional; photoswitchable drug; tetrafluoroazobenzene; visible light; Introduction Starting in 1937, azobenzenes (ABs) have attracted much attention because they undergo a photoreversible chemical transformation of the thermodynamically favored trans configuration

Photoreversible stretching of a BAPTA chelator marshalling Ca²⁺-binding in aqueous media

• Aurélien Ducrot,
• Arnaud Tron,
• Robin Bofinger,
• Ingrid Sanz Beguer,
• Jean-Luc Pozzo and
• Nathan D. McClenaghan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2801–2811, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.273

• differences between them, which may have consequences on the chelation, energy-minimized (PM6) structures were determined (Figure 2). The trans-form was found to be the lowest energy structure, as is generally observed for azobenzenes [37]. In the trans- versus cis-chelates the following bond lengths were

A chiral self-sorting photoresponsive coordination cage based on overcrowded alkenes

• Constantin Stuckhardt,
• Diederik Roke,
• Wojciech Danowski,
• Edwin Otten,
• Sander J. Wezenberg and
• Ben L. Feringa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2767–2773, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.268

• supramolecular palladium complexes caused immediate crystallization [22]. Moreover, azobenzenes have been used to functionalize both the interior [23] and exterior [24] of SCCs to photochemically control guest binding and release. Furthermore, incorporation of dithienylethene into the ligands connecting the

A combinatorial approach to improving the performance of azoarene photoswitches

• Joaquin Calbo,
• Aditya R. Thawani,
• Rosina S. L. Gibson,
• Andrew J. P. White and
• Matthew J. Fuchter

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2753–2764, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.266

• results therefore define improved designs for high performance azo switches, which will allow for high precision optically addressable applications using such components. Keywords: arylazopyrazoles; azobenzenes; molecular switches; ortho-substitution; photoswitches; thermal half-life; Introduction

• ] is accompanied by large variations in their absorption spectra. However, azobenzenes remain one of the most popular photoswitches owing to their stability, reliability and tunability: azobenzenes provide high extinction coefficients and quantum yields, allowing switching between Z- and E-isomers with

• thermal stability of the Z-isomer. Despite the huge body of structure–property relationship studies known for substituted azobenzenes [8][9], it is still common to observe azo photoswitches that undergo incomplete photoswitching and/or possess low Z-isomer thermal stability. Perhaps the most important

A toolbox of molecular photoswitches to modulate the CXCR3 chemokine receptor with light

• Xavier Gómez-Santacana,
• Sabrina M. de Munnik,
• Tamara A. M. Mocking,
• Niels J. Hauwert,
• Shanliang Sun,
• Prashanna Vijayachandran,
• Iwan J. P. de Esch,
• Henry F. Vischer,
• Maikel Wijtmans and
• Rob Leurs

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2509–2523, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.244

• the binding affinity for the target protein [3][4][5] or the intrinsic functional activity (efficacy) [6][7]. Despite the considerable number of photoswitches reported to date, such as spiropyrans, diarylethenes, fulgides or azobenzenes, the most widely used moiety in the photopharmacology is the

• yields of photoisomerization with relatively low intensity of light and minimal photobleaching even over hundreds of cycles. A third reason is the relatively high synthetic accessibility to azobenzenes. All these properties make azobenzene compounds ideal molecular photoswitches to control protein

• atom of 1e. These calculations indicate that CXCR3 agonism is more likely to be associated with the cis-isomer than with the trans-isomer in our designed azobenzenes. Synthesis of azobenzene analogues and exploration of substitution pattern on the outer aromatic ring In addition to unsubstituted

In search of visible-light photoresponsive peptide nucleic acids (PNAs) for reversible control of DNA hybridization

• Lei Zhang,
• Greta Linden and
• Olalla Vázquez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2500–2508, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.243

• (Figure 1B): 1) second generation azobenzenes based on the tetra-ortho-fluoroazobenze (oF4Azo) developed by Hecht [43] and 2) hemithioindigos (HTI) rediscovered by Rück-Braun [44] and Dube [45], which have not been studied in the context of DNA/RNA as molecular transducer yet. Both compounds were

Ultrafast processes triggered by one- and two-photon excitation of a photochromic and luminescent hydrazone

• Alessandro Iagatti,
• Baihao Shao,
• Alberto Credi,
• Barbara Ventura,
• Ivan Aprahamian and
• Mariangela Di Donato

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2438–2446, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.236

• photoswitches have been developed and successfully employed in many technological fields [20][21][22][23]. Among others, azobenzenes [24], spiropyranes [25], diarylethenes [26] and their derivatives have been intensively applied. Despite the numerous successful applications of several synthetized switches, some

Reversible switching of arylazopyrazole within a metal–organic cage

• Anton I. Hanopolskyi,
• Soumen De,
• Michał J. Białek,
• Yael Diskin-Posner,
• Liat Avram,
• Moran Feller and
• Rafal Klajn

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2398–2407, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.232

• photochromism in the spiropyran switch [18]. Other recent studies of photochromic systems within macrocyclic and supramolecular hosts [19] include dihydroazulene switches [20] and red-shifted azobenzenes [21][22] inside cucurbiturils and cyclodextrins. The behavior of light-responsive compounds can also be

• on the prototypical arylazopyrazole 1 [35] (Scheme 1) and a previously reported [48] metal–organic cage 2 (see Figure 1). We have recently demonstrated that various azobenzenes formed 2:1 inclusion complexes with 2 [49] and hypothesized, based on the structural similarity between azobenzenes and

• 1:1 complexes of 2 with the Z isomers of various azobenzenes are notoriously difficult to crystallize [18]. We believe that the insights by DFT calculations reported here for (Z-1)2 can be extended to the complexes of 2 with other Z-azo guests as well. To gain further insight into the

Azologization and repurposing of a hetero-stilbene-based kinase inhibitor: towards the design of photoswitchable sirtuin inhibitors

• Christoph W. Grathwol,
• Nathalie Wössner,
• Sören Swyter,
• Adam C. Smith,
• Enrico Tapavicza,
• Robert K. Hofstetter,
• Anja Bodtke,
• Manfred Jung and
• Andreas Link

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2170–2183, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.214

• physicochemical properties upon irradiation with light, represent one major approach to this. One of the most common light-driven transformations exploited in molecular photoswitches is the E–Z isomerization of double bonds [18]. In this context, the photochemistry of stilbenes and the closely related azobenzenes

• azobenzenes are more convenient as already proven by their use as photoswitches in countless biological applications [26][27][28][29][30]. However, their heteroaromatic counterparts still seem underrepresented [31]. The approach to new chemotypes for sirtuin inhibition via known adenosine mimicking kinase

Fluorinated azobenzenes as supramolecular halogen-bonding building blocks

• Esther Nieland,
• Oliver Weingart and
• Bernd M. Schmidt

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2013–2019, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.197

• , Universitätsstraße 1, D-40225 Düsseldorf, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.15.197 Abstract ortho-Fluoroazobenzenes are a remarkable example of bistable photoswitches, addressable by visible light. Symmetrical, highly fluorinated azobenzenes bearing an iodine substituent in para-position were shown to be suitable supramolecular

• azobenzenes with different halogen bonding donor properties are discussed in relation to their changing photophysical properties, rationalized by DFT calculations. Keywords: azobenzene; DFT calculations; fluorine chemistry; halogen bonding; photochemistry; Introduction The halogen bond is an attractive

• substituting azobenzenes in the ortho-positions to the N=N bond with electron-withdrawing fluorine substituents [45][46], the red-shifting of the n→π* transitions enables selective addressing of both the E- and Z-isomer using visible light. Stabilization of the n-orbitals in the Z-isomers leads to a very high

Norbornadiene-functionalized triazatriangulenium and trioxatriangulenium platforms

• Roland Löw,
• Talina Rusch,
• Tobias Moje,
• Fynn Röhricht,
• Olaf M. Magnussen and
• Rainer Herges

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1815–1821, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.175

• ; quadricyclane; self-assembled monolayers; TATA platform; thermal isomerization; TOTA platform; Introduction Recently, we discovered that the thermochemically forbidden cis–trans isomerization of azobenzenes can be efficiently catalysed by a very peculiar mechanism on bulk gold [1]. In heterogeneous catalysis

• parameter controlling the cis–trans rate acceleration of azobenzenes and not the length of the spacer [1]. A full conjugation path from the azobenzene on top through the ethynyl spacer and the platform to a bulk gold surface shortens the half-life of the metastable cis-isomer from days to seconds even