Enantioselective synthesis of β-aryl-γ-lactam derivatives via Heck–Matsuda desymmetrization of N-protected 2,5-dihydro-1H-pyrroles

• Arnaldo G. de Oliveira Jr.,
• Martí F. Wang,
• Rafaela C. Carmona,
• Danilo M. Lustosa,
• Sergei A. Gorbatov and
• Carlos R. D. Correia

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 940–949, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.84

• preclude chirality as in the transformation of a prochiral molecular entity into a chiral one [1]. It is a powerful and elegant strategy in asymmetric synthesis [2], which combined with the use of chiral ligands and transition-metal catalysts enabled many valuable transformations to increase molecular

• complexity in a synthetic route. The palladium-catalyzed coupling of arenediazonium salts with olefins, the Heck–Matsuda reaction, has been instrumental in this strategy involving the desymmetrization of cyclic systems [3], especially five-membered substrates [4][5][6][7]. As we have demonstrated previously

SOMOphilic alkyne vs radical-polar crossover approaches: The full story of the azido-alkynylation of alkenes

• Julien Borrel and
• Jerome Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 701–713, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.64

• , greatly increasing the molecular complexity of the starting substrate. Using radical chemistry would lead to a regioselective addition of azide radicals to the alkene, forming selectively the most stabilized C-centered radical. A prominent method for the generation of azide radicals relies on hypervalent

Catalytic multi-step domino and one-pot reactions

• Svetlana B. Tsogoeva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 254–256, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.25

• atom efficiency, step and pot economies, decreased number of purification steps, or protecting-group-free synthesis. Multi-step domino [1][2] and one-pot [3] reactions represent a new powerful toolbox in organic synthesis to install molecular complexity economically and sustainably, starting from

Acetaldehyde in the Enders triple cascade reaction via acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal

• Alessandro Brusa,
• Debora Iapadre,
• Maria Edith Casacchia,
• Alessio Carioscia,
• Giuliana Giorgianni,
• Giandomenico Magagnano,
• Fabio Pesciaioli and
• Armando Carlone

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1243–1250, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.92

• tool for achieving molecular complexity. Their synthetic potential has been demonstrated by their application in the total synthesis of complex natural compounds [2][4][9][10][11][12]. A remarkable example of an amino-catalyzed cascade process was reported by Enders [11], a three-component cascade

Aromatic C–H bond functionalization through organocatalyzed asymmetric intermolecular aza-Friedel–Crafts reaction: a recent update

• Anup Biswas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 956–981, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.72

• acyclic, carbocyclic, heterocyclic, and polycyclic molecular architectures with high molecular complexity. In particular, asymmetric organocatalysis plays a pivotal role in the construction of optically active, bioactive, and natural products. The main advantages of organocatalyzed stereoselective

Enolates ambushed – asymmetric tandem conjugate addition and subsequent enolate trapping with conventional and less traditional electrophiles

• Péter Kisszékelyi and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 593–634, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.44

• α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds [2]. In particular, the last-mentioned method is highly synthetically relevant. This approach has the advantage of being more selective and affording more molecular complexity in one step. In addition, transition-metal catalysis allows the introduction of

Combining the best of both worlds: radical-based divergent total synthesis

• Kyriaki Gennaiou,
• Antonios Kelesidis,
• Maria Kourgiantaki and
• Alexandros L. Zografos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1–26, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.1

• –2022. Review Radical-based divergent synthesis Commonly, the most successful divergent plans apply where the natural molecular complexity is rich. Not surprisingly, most of the divergent total syntheses carried out thus far are performed on terpenoid and alkaloid targets, utilizing common synthetic

Asymmetric organocatalytic Michael addition of cyclopentane-1,2-dione to alkylidene oxindole

• Estelle Silm,
• Ivar Järving and
• Tõnis Kanger

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 167–173, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.18

• molecular complexity. There are many examples of the organocatalytic synthesis of fused cycles starting from the cyclohexane-1,3-dione. For example, Rueping et al. demonstrated that the cyclohexane-1,3-dione undergoes a cascade reaction with α,β-unsaturated aldehydes [4] and they later employed the method

Iron-catalyzed domino coupling reactions of π-systems

• Austin Pounder and
• William Tam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2848–2893, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.196

Methodologies for the synthesis of quaternary carbon centers via hydroalkylation of unactivated olefins: twenty years of advances

• Thiago S. Silva and
• Fernando Coelho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1565–1590, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.112

• reactions an ideal platform for the synthesis of molecules with increased molecular complexity. Keywords: hydroalkylation; hydrogen atom transfer; quaternary carbon center; radical addition; unactivated olefins; Introduction Natural product structures remain some of the main sources of inspiration for the

• synthesis of new bioactive compounds [1][2]. A careful view of the carbon backbone of these natural molecules reveals their high molecular complexity [3][4][5], which can be described by the presence of multiple stereogenic centers in the same molecule, a substantial fraction of sp3 hybridized carbons (Fsp3

• molecular complexity of drugs in drug discovery programs, aiming at molecules with better selectivity for biological targets [6][15][16]. One ideal way to achieve more complex molecular architectures is by hydroalkylation of olefins, a reaction that forms new C(sp3)–C(sp3) and C(sp3)–H bonds at the expense

Metal-free visible-light-enabled vicinal trifluoromethyl dithiolation of unactivated alkenes

• Xiaojuan Li,
• Qiang Zhang,
• Weigang Zhang,
• Jinzhu Ma,
• Yi Wang and
• Yi Pan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 551–557, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.49

• ][16][17]. The vicinal difunctionalization of olefins to introduce two functional groups across a double bond has appeared as a powerful transformation to rapidly increase molecular complexity in synthetic chemistry with improved efficiency [18][19][20][21][22]. Various transition-metal-mediated

Silver-catalyzed synthesis of β-fluorovinylphosphonates by phosphonofluorination of aromatic alkynes

• Yajing Zhang,
• Qingshan Tian,
• Guozhu Zhang and
• Dayong Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 3086–3092, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.258

• vinylphosphonates from simple and commercially available alkynes proceeds under mild conditions with high stereoselectivity, and thus enabling the rapid construction of molecular complexity. Results and Discussion We investigated the reaction of phenylacetylene (1a), Selectfluor®, and diethyl phosphite to afford β

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

• routes to afford molecular complexity from simple precursors, while concomitantly limiting the number of steps and waste generation. Following this general key objective, the landscape of organic synthesis has been clearly changed by the development of ecofriendly methodologies such as metal-catalyzed C

• motif, have also attracted significant scientific interest [103]. Such couplings allowed constructing molecular complexity from very simple arenes such as benzene, toluene or mesitylene. However, such transformations frequently required rather harsh reaction conditions as well as the addition of strong

Copper-catalyzed enantioselective conjugate addition of organometallic reagents to challenging Michael acceptors

• Delphine Pichon,
• Jennifer Morvan,
• Christophe Crévisy and
• Marc Mauduit

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 212–232, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.24

• accomplished in this stimulating field. Keywords: acylimidazole; N-acyloxazolidinone; N-acylpyrrole; N-acylpyrrolidinone; aldehyde; amide; copper catalysis; electron-deficient alkenes; enantioselective conjugate addition; Michael acceptor; thioester; Introduction Generating high molecular complexity and

Doebner-type pyrazolopyridine carboxylic acids in an Ugi four-component reaction

• Maryna V. Murlykina,
• Oleksandr V. Kolomiets,
• Maryna M. Kornet,
• Yana I. Sakhno,
• Sergey M. Desenko,
• Victoriya V. Dyakonenko,
• Svetlana V. Shishkina,
• Oleksandr A. Brazhko,
• Vladimir I. Musatov,
• Alexander V. Tsygankov,
• Erik V. Van der Eycken and
• Valentyn A. Chebanov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 1281–1288, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.126

• compounds characterized by several important features, e.g., molecular complexity and diversity at different levels, high variability and easy accessibility from relatively simple reagents. These challenges can be overcome by using multicomponent reactions (MCRs) but also other strategies can be applied in

Synthesis of (macro)heterocycles by consecutive/repetitive isocyanide-based multicomponent reactions

• Angélica de Fátima S. Barreto and
• Carlos Kleber Z. Andrade

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 906–930, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.88

• of the starting materials in an atom-economic process [9][10][11]. A high level of molecular complexity can be generated in a single step and, by varying the structure of each component, different libraries of molecules can be easily obtained. Compared to a sequential synthesis, this strategy

• of nonsymmetric cryptands by two sequential double Ugi-4CR-based macrocyclizations (Scheme 28). The approach also relies on MiBs strategy [45]. The main focus was on the use of the Ugi four-component reaction (Ugi-4CR) due to the tremendous capability of this process to generate molecular complexity

Domino ring-opening–ring-closing enyne metathesis vs enyne metathesis of norbornene derivatives with alkynyl side chains. Construction of condensed polycarbocycles

• Ritabrata Datta and
• Subrata Ghosh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2708–2714, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.248

• ] of norbornene derivatives with a suitably located alkynyl side-chain on the nucleus (path 2, Scheme 1) to form carbocycles has been less explored. The greatest advantage of this protocol lies in its potential in increasing the molecular complexity through Diels–Alder reaction of the resulting ring

Synthesis of indolo[1,2-c]quinazolines from 2-alkynylaniline derivatives through Pd-catalyzed indole formation/cyclization with N,N-dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal

• Antonio Arcadi,
• Sandro Cacchi,
• Giancarlo Fabrizi,
• Francesca Ghirga,
• Antonella Goggiamani,
• Antonia Iazzetti and
• Fabio Marinelli

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 2411–2417, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.218

• product (Table 1, entry 10). Products substituted in the indole and quinazoline frameworks were also obtained (Table 1, entries 12–16). It is worth noting that the reaction tolerates a -Br substituent (Table 1, entries 8 and 16) which may serve as a useful handle for increasing molecular complexity

Host–guest complexes of conformationally flexible C-hexyl-2-bromoresorcinarene and aromatic N-oxides: solid-state, solution and computational studies

• Rakesh Puttreddy,
• Ngong Kodiah Beyeh,
• S. Maryamdokht Taimoory,
• Daniel Meister,
• John F. Trant and
• Kari Rissanen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 1723–1733, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.146

• understanding of the particular interactions is required. The N-oxide oxygen atoms potential to act as a HB acceptor for multiple simultaneous N–O···(O–H)host interactions raises the molecular complexity. These are the dominant non-covalent interactions, in both the solid and solution state, compared to endo

Chlorination of phenylallene derivatives with 1-chloro-1,2-benziodoxol-3-one: synthesis of vicinal-dichlorides and chlorodienes

• Zhensheng Zhao and
• Graham K. Murphy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 796–802, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.67

• -chlorostyrene groups, installing them in close proximity (as shown in 3) provides two handles for rapidly achieving high-density molecular complexity. Thus, the development of strategies for their synthesis is an important endeavour. We envisioned accomplishing this by developing a chemo- and regioselective

Latest development in the synthesis of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA): a critical review

• Fabio Tonin and
• Isabel W. C. E. Arends

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2018, 14, 470–483, doi:10.3762/bjoc.14.33

• ) in the treatment against biliary calculus, since it possesses high efficacy and total absence of side effects [11]. UDCA is commonly produced by transformation of cholic acid (CA), which is the most abundant and least expensive bile acid available. Because of the molecular complexity of bile acids

Framing major prebiotic transitions as stages of protocell development: three challenges for origins-of-life research

• Ben Shirt-Ediss,
• Sara Murillo-Sánchez and
• Kepa Ruiz-Mirazo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 1388–1395, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.135

• compartmentalised chemistries run by poly-nucleotides (e.g., the ‘ribocell’ model), protocell systems with molecular components of much lower molecular complexity should be investigated as units of pre-Darwinian evolution. The overarching question then becomes: how can far-from-equilibrium chemical assemblies that

Synthesis of polyhydroxylated decalins via two consecutive one-pot reactions: 1,4-addition/aldol reaction followed by RCM/syn-dihydroxylation

• Michał Malik and
• Sławomir Jarosz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 2602–2608, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.255

• ]. Although this approach is challenging in terms of diastereoselectivity (up to eight possible diastereoisomers), it enables a rapid increase of molecular complexity. The major diastereoisomer of 11 can be then subjected to the assisted tandem catalytic sequence: RCM reaction, followed by the reuse of the

• efficient way for the preparation of highly oxygenated trans-decalins. It offers a possibility to significantly increase molecular complexity in just two steps. General structures of mono- and bicyclic carbasugars. Possible course of the syn-dihydroxylation leading to 27, 28, and 29. Approach to the

Application of heterocyclic aldehydes as components in Ugi–Smiles couplings

• Katelynn M. Mason,
• Michael S. Meyers,
• Abbie M. Fox and
• Sarah B. Luesse

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 2032–2037, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.191

• nitrogen-containing heterocyclic systems [11][12][13]. Multicomponent coupling reactions (MCRs) have been combined with IMDA approaches to efficiently increase molecular complexity [14] and prepare complex molecular scaffolds for the synthesis of natural products [15][16]. While the Ugi–Smiles condensation

(Thio)urea-mediated synthesis of functionalized six-membered rings with multiple chiral centers

• Giorgos Koutoulogenis,
• Nikolaos Kaplaneris and
• Christoforos G. Kokotos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2016, 12, 462–495, doi:10.3762/bjoc.12.48

• in the production of 93 and 94 in moderate to excellent enantioselectivities, considering the high molecular complexity achieved in only one step. Recently, Bugaut, Constantieux and co-workers described the enantioselective organocatalytic multicomponent synthesis of 2,6-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octanones

• good yield and stereoselectivity, given the high molecular complexity that is being achieved in one step (Scheme 64). The researchers suggested that diketone 204 and benzaldehyde 205 reacts through Knoevenagel condensation, to produce 2-arylidene-1,3-indanediones, which is subsequently attacked by the

• tertiary chiral amine-thioureas, or a combination of catalysts. Products were obtained in one-pot or step-economic domino processes, achieving high increase of molecular complexity in step-economy transformations. There is no doubt that this scientific field will grow in the near future, providing more