Synthesis of photo- and ionochromic N-acylated 2-(aminomethylene)benzo[b]thiophene-3(2Н)-ones with a terminal phenanthroline group

• Vladimir P. Rybalkin,
• Sofiya Yu. Zmeeva,
• Lidiya L. Popova,
• Irina V. Dubonosova,
• Olga Yu. Karlutova,
• Oleg P. Demidov,
• Alexander D. Dubonosov and
• Vladimir A. Bren

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 552–560, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.47

• resulting O-acylated isomers 3a–c were nonemissive. According to previous findings, the 2a–c→3a–c transformation is a two-step process: 1) Z–E photoisomerization and 2) extremely fast nonadiabatic N→O acyl group transfer (Scheme 2) [14][16]. These two stages occur almost simultaneously, and hence the term

• photoisomerization of the C=C bond, followed by very fast thermal N→O migration of the acyl group and the formation of O-acylated isomers. This rearrangement was accompanied by a decrease of the initial fluorescence intensity at 465–468 nm up to zero, since the resulting OAc− form was nonemissive. The reverse

• alternate addition of Fe2+ and AcO−. Synthesis of compound 1 and N-acylated compounds 2a–c. Photoisomerization of N-acylated ketoenamines 2a–c. Sequential interaction of compounds 2a–c with Fe2+ and AcO−. Absorption and fluorescence spectra of compounds 1, 2a and 2b in acetonitrile and compound 2c in DMSO

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

Photochromic derivatives of indigo: historical overview of development, challenges and applications

• Gökhan Kaplan,
• Zeynel Seferoğlu and
• Daria V. Berdnikova

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 228–242, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.23

• 1956: first report on the photochromism of N,N'-dimethylindigo 1956–1978: extension of the range of photochromic N,N'-dialkyl and N,N'-diacetylindigos and development of experimental and theoretical approaches towards the characterisation of the photoisomerization of indigo 1979–1984: development of

• –E isomerization of N,N'-substituted indigos Since 1980s: detailed mechanistic and structural studies of the photoisomerization of indigo 2015: first report on photochromism of N,N'-diBOC indigos (follow-up studies in 2019, 2021) 2017: rationalisation of the design of indigo photochromes: symmetrical

• , indigo exists in a planar E-form, which is more stable than the overcrowded and non-planar Z-form (Figure 6a) [23]. Irradiation of E-indigo, however, does not result in the photoisomerization into the Z-form due to the rapid proton transfer occurring in the excited state (ESPT) from the N atom towards

Photoredox catalysis harvesting multiple photon or electrochemical energies

• Mattia Lepori,
• Simon Schmid and
• Joshua P. Barham

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1055–1145, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.81

Light-responsive rotaxane-based materials: inducing motion in the solid state

• Adrian Saura-Sanmartin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 873–880, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.64

• azobenzene and ferrocene motifs (Figure 1a). The azobenzene scaffolds play a dual role, both as the engine transforming photoenergy into mechanical motion via trans/cis photoisomerization upon UV light input and as a modulator of the crystalline packing by varying the para-substituent R1, which leads to

Borylated norbornadiene derivatives: Synthesis and application in Pd-catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura coupling reactions

• Robin Schulte and
• Heiko Ihmels

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 368–373, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.41

• the borylation reaction (see above). Photochromism of naphthylnorbornadiene 6b The photoisomerization reaction of substrate 5b was monitored by absorption spectroscopy (Figure 1) and by 1H NMR-spectroscopic analysis (see Supporting Information File 1, Figure S51). In MeCN solution, norbornadiene 5b

• photoisomerization of 2-(1-naphthyl)norbornadiene (5b) in MeCN, c = 20 µM, T = 20 °C, λex = 315 nm. The arrows indicate the development of the absorption bands with reaction time. Inset: Thermally induced back conversion of quadricyclane 6b into norbornadiene 5b at 60 °C as monitored by the increase of the

Multiswitchable photoacid–hydroxyflavylium–polyelectrolyte nano-assemblies

• Alexander Zika and
• Franziska Gröhn

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 166–185, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.17

• photodimerization [55][56][57], photocleavage [58][59], and cis–trans photoisomerization [60][61][62][63][64][65]. While it had been well-established to access oligomer formation and gelation, a light-switchable particle size has remained a challenge until realized through the mentioned electrostatic self-assembly

Insight into functionalized-macrocycles-guided supramolecular photocatalysis

• Minzan Zuo,
• Krishnasamy Velmurugan,
• Kaiya Wang,
• Xueqi Tian and
• Xiao-Yu Hu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 139–155, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.15

• photochemical reactions, including photoisomerization, photocyclodimerization, and H2 evolution [7][23]. Chirality induction in a prochiral guest via photochemical reactions is a delightful approach. This can not only transfer the chirality of the host cavity to the molecular photoproduct via excited-state

• supramolecular chiral interactions but can also improve the photoenantiodifferentiating proficiency of the host. To prove this concept, Inoue et al. investigated the photoisomerization of (Z)-cyclooctene ((Z)-6) to the chiral E-isomer (E)-6 in an aqueous methanol solution through host–guest interactions between

• . Cibulka et al., Catalytic Photooxidation of 4‐Methoxybenzyl Alcohol with a Flavin–Zinc(II)‐Cyclen Complex, Chemistry – A European Journal, John Wiley and Sons. Enantiodifferentiating Z–E photoisomerization of cyclooctene sensitized by a chiral sensitizer as the host. Adapted with permission from [24

Vicinal difluorination as a C=C surrogate: an analog of piperine with enhanced solubility, photostability, and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity

• Yuvixza Lizarme-Salas,
• Alexandra Daryl Ariawan,
• Ranjala Ratnayake,
• Hendrik Luesch,
• Angela Finch and
• Luke Hunter

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2663–2670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.216

• dual mechanism-of-action treatment for Alzheimer’s disease [4][10][11][12][13]. However, piperine (1) has some limitations as a drug lead. For example, it has poor solubility, and it is susceptible to photoisomerization of the conjugated system [15][16][17]. This prompted us to consider whether there

Synthesis of 4-substituted azopyridine-functionalized Ni(II)-porphyrins as molecular spin switches

• Jannis Ludwig,
• Tobias Moje,
• Fynn Röhricht and
• Rainer Herges

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2589–2597, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.210

• . Photoisomerization of the azo unit between cis and trans is achieved upon irradiation with 505 nm (trans→cis) and 435 nm (cis→trans). Concurrently with the isomerization and coordination/decoordination, the spin state of the Ni ion switches between singlet (low-spin) and triplet (high-spin). Previous studies have

Formation of an exceptionally stable ketene during phototransformations of bicyclo[2.2.2]oct-5-en-2-ones having mixed chromophores

• Asitanga Ghosh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2297–2303, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.190

• primarily engaged in synthesizing various types of such multichromophoric systems to compare their photochemistry in detail [9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Since in acyclic enones like C, E/Z-photoisomerization becomes one of the major energy dissipation pathways, we selected rigid bicyclic multichromophoric

• in acetonitrile at rt. Quantitative photoisomerization of 1 to 2 in all types of solvents. Accepted mechanistic pathway for the photochemical transformations of 1. Photochemical reactions of 3a–g. Irradiation using a Hanovia medium pressure 450 W lamp with a pyrex filter; a) conditions and yields are

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

• -epoxypropane to propylene carbonate using an aluminum porphyrin and a photoresponsive ligand. The catalytic activity of the metal porphyrin depended on the axial coordination of an azostilbene and coordination of the latter ligand was controlled by photoisomerization of the stilbene unit [9]. Hecht et al

Synthesis and highly efficient light-induced rearrangements of diphenylmethylene(2-benzo[b]thienyl)fulgides and fulgimides

• Vladimir P. Rybalkin,
• Sofiya Yu. Zmeeva,
• Lidiya L. Popova,
• Valerii V. Tkachev,
• Andrey N. Utenyshev,
• Olga Yu. Karlutova,
• Alexander D. Dubonosov,
• Vladimir A. Bren,
• Sergey M. Aldoshin and
• Vladimir I. Minkin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1820–1829, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.149

• obtained in earlier studies [5][6][14][15][16]. Moreover, the occurrence of the Z/E-photoisomerization concomitant of the first stage of the rearrangement can be traced at small irradiation times (less than 1–2 min) of fulgide 3Z in acetonitrile solution with light of 436 nm. As shown in Figure 4 a slight

• ) (2.5 × 10−5 M, T = 293 K). Electronic absorption spectra of fulgimide 8E in acetonitrile solution before (1) and after irradiation with light of 365 nm for 10 (2), 20 (3), 30 (4), 60 (5), 90 (6), 120 (7), 180 (8), 260 (9) and 320 s (10) (2.5 × 10−5 M, T = 293 K). Photoisomerization of 2-benzo[b]thienyl

Recent synthesis of thietanes

• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1357–1410, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.116

A simple and easy to perform synthetic route to functionalized thienyl bicyclo[3.2.1]octadienes

• Dragana Vuk,
• Irena Škorić,
• Valentina Milašinović,
• Krešimir Molčanov and
• Željko Marinić

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1092–1099, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.96

• . Further, the separated isomers of 3–7 were irradiated and the reaction course followed by UV spectroscopy. In all cases, the longest wavelength absorption band gradually disappeared upon irradiation. Based on previous research, it was assumed, that the preliminary process could be a photoisomerization

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

• peptides or small molecules, thereby controlling geometry and functionality. E-to-Z photoisomerization usually is achieved upon irradiation at 350 nm (π–π* transition), while the Z-to-E isomerization proceeds photochemically upon irradiation at >400 nm (n–π* transition) or thermally. Photoswitchable

• )phenyl)azophenylacetic acid, as the linker between two Im/Py polyamide strands. Only the (Z)-azobenzene-containing polyamides bound to the minor groove of double-stranded DNA hairpins. Photoisomerization was exemplarily evaluated by 1H NMR experiments, while minor groove binding of the (Z)-azobenzene

Light-controllable dithienylethene-modified cyclic peptides: photoswitching the in vivo toxicity in zebrafish embryos

• Sergii Afonin,
• Oleg Babii,
• Aline Reuter,
• Volker Middel,
• Masanari Takamiya,
• Uwe Strähle,
• Igor V. Komarov and
• Anne S. Ulrich

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 39–49, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.6

• embryotoxicity of dithienylethene-modified peptides upon photoswitching, using 19 analogues based on the β-hairpin scaffold of the natural membranolytic peptide gramicidin S. We established an in vivo assay in two variations (with ex vivo and in situ photoisomerization), using larvae of the model organism Danio

• photoswitchable peptides explored in this study. (A) The reversible photoisomerization of the dithienylethene photoswitch core. (B) Photoconversion between ring-open and ring-closed photoforms of DAE-derived peptides. (C) Structures of the non-photoswitchable cytotoxic peptide GS (1), and one of our first

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

• at 365 nm with a high-power LED (see Supporting Information File 1 for specifications) to induce E-to-Z photoisomerization. For the cyano-substituted tris(arylazo)benzene species 3a, the π→π* absorption band decreased only to a relatively small extent, while for starazo 3b, the expected switching

• could be reached after only 20 and 7 s of irradiation, respectively, which was significantly faster than the E→Z photoisomerization. All in all, the irradiation experiments revealed that the methoxy-substituted derivative 3b shows reversible photoisomerization, while cyano-substituted tris(arylazo

• )benzene 3a could only be marginally isomerized. To get deeper insight into the photoisomerization, 1H NMR spectroscopy was applied to monitor the isomerization process. For both 3a and 3b, complex spectra were obtained after irradiation at 365 nm (see Figure S2 and Figure S3, Supporting Information File 1

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

• conditions (pH < 1). While the low pKa makes the azonium form unsuitable, the neutral versions of these compounds undergo trans-to-cis photoisomerization with blue-green light and exhibit slow (τ1/2 ≈ 10 min) thermal reversion and so may find applications under physiological conditions. Keywords: azobenzene

• ; azonium; molecular switches; ortho substitution; photoisomerization; photoswitch; visible light; Introduction The application of photoswitches to control biological targets has been a driving force for the development of photoswitches that operate at wavelengths that are compatible with cells and tissues

• in an aqueous solution, it is useful as a photoswitch for the photocontrol of biomolecules [6]. It absorbs red light, undergoes trans-to-cis photoisomerization, and relaxes to the trans isomer in the dark on the timescale of seconds so that pulses of red light can be used to drive multiple

Design, synthesis and investigation of water-soluble hemi-indigo photoswitches for bioapplications

• Daria V. Berdnikova

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2822–2829, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.275

• , the photoisomerization quantum yields as well as the half-lifes of the photoinduced forms appeared to be almost independent of the presence of the alkylamino substituent. Interestingly, a comparison with the data obtained for Z-2 in aqueous 10 mM Na-phosphate buffer containing 0.1 M NaCl, pH 7.0 [12

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

• alternative approach to generate calcium release, where deforming an ion-binding site would render it less well-adapted to bind a guest. Photoisomerization of the azobenzene moiety has previously been successfully used to modulate the affinity of crown ethers [29], lariats [30], and foldamers [31] for various

• observed in the 1H NMR spectra of the azobenzene-containing macrocycles 1f and 1 at 25 °C (Supporting Information File 1, Figures S13 and S14). Next, in the absence of Ca2+ ions, 1E was subjected to irradiation into the π–π* band (λmax = 362 nm) and photoisomerization of 1E to 1Z took place, as evidenced

• state (PSS) for the E→Z photoisomerization at 365 nm was 88:12 in favor of the cis-form (Figure 4). The reversibility of the photoswitching of the supramolecular host was tested over several isomerization cycles with little evidence of fatigue (Figure 5). Thermal isomerization Z→E resulted in the

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

• dynamically control the shape and function of SCCs is a very promising strategy as it is a noninvasive stimulus that can be easily applied with high spatiotemporal control, without producing any waste. Systems have been reported where photoisomerization of azobenzene-derived anions encapsulated in

• metal centers has been used to control host–guest interactions [25][26][27][28], structural composition [29], and sol–gel transition [30]. However, dithienylethene undergoes a limited structural change upon photoisomerization and, up to now, photoswitchable ligands based on other types of photochromic

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

• –Z photoisomerization is achieved by irradiating in the region of the high-energy π–π* band for the E-isomer, whereas Z–E photoisomerization occurs through irradiation in the low-energy n–π* band of the Z-isomer. However, an overlap in the absorbances between E/Z isomers causes incomplete

• in Supporting Information File 1). Compared to 4pzMe, photoswitches 4pzMe-Cl2 and 4pzMe-OMe2 show smaller π–π* band separations, which supports the reduced E–Z photoisomerization efficiency (80 and 81%, respectively) upon E–Z switching (Table 3). In contrast, 4pzMe-F2 and 4pzH-F2 still provide

• excellent E–Z photoisomerization of 93% and 92%, respectively, despite the relatively small π–π* band separation (30 and 33 nm, respectively). Conversely, the experimental n–π* band separation is very small (near complete band overlap) for the 4pzMe-X family (Figure 8), in contrast to the theoretical

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

• spatial disposition similar to the original biaryl unit and, therefore, a similar biological activity that might change upon isomerization of the azobenzene [8]. The second reason for the success of azobenzene in the photopharmacology field is the robust photoisomerization. It provides typically high

• 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

• , Supporting Information File 1) and the photoisomerization are observed. When the substituent Y is a halogen atom, we observe a slight bathochromic shift of the π–π* band to higher wavelengths with increasing size of the heteroatom, from 323 nm for Y = H (3e) to 339 nm for Y = I (6e) (Table 3, Figure 4A

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

• even upon excitation at 350 nm, because of the induced E/Z photoisomerization process occurring within the experiment. Finally, the kinetics of the fluorescence decay of the Z-isomer has also been determined in acetonitrile, upon excitation at 400 nm, resulting in a lifetime of 479 ps (Figure S2

• photodegradation and limit the photoisomerization processes, the pump energy on the sample was reduced to 0.8 μJ/pulse at 400 nm and 4 μJ/pulse at 350 nm. Emission from the sample, collected at right angle with a 1 mm slit, was focused by means of a system of lenses into the spectrograph slit. Streak images were