Oxetanes: formation, reactivity and total syntheses of natural products

• Peter Gabko,
• Martin Kalník and
• Maroš Bella

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1324–1373, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.101

•  23) based on the rebound triplet mechanism [64]. The stereochemical behaviour of the reaction is controlled by a novel hydrogen-bonding chiral iridium photocatalyst 86, delivering oxetane products 87 in excellent enantiomeric excess. In this unique photocycloaddition mechanism, previously described

Recent advances in amidyl radical-mediated photocatalytic direct intermolecular hydrogen atom transfer

• Hao-Sen Wang,
• Lin Li,
• Xin Chen,
• Jian-Li Wu,
• Kai Sun,
• Xiao-Lan Chen,
• Ling-Bo Qu and
• Bing Yu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1306–1323, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.100

• pathway initiates with ground-state complexation 90 between HRP-12 and HFIP via hydrogen bonding. Following visible-light excitation of 90, intersystem crossing (ISC) from the S1(LE) to T2 state generates the catalytically competent triplet excited state 91. This N-centered radical species subsequently

Gold extraction at the molecular level using α- and β-cyclodextrins

• Susana Santos Braga

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1116–1125, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.89

• organic compounds, with the driving forces leading to inclusion being van der Waals and hydrophobic interactions for apolar guests, and/or hydrogen bonding when the guest features H-bond accepting groups that interact with the hydroxy groups of the cyclodextrins. Interactions with metal ions/complexes and

Supramolecular assembly of hypervalent iodine macrocycles and alkali metals

• Krishna Pandey,
• Lucas X. Orton,
• Grayson Venus,
• Waseem A. Hussain,
• Toby Woods,
• Lichang Wang and
• Kyle N. Plunkett

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1095–1103, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.87

• devices or therapeutics [1], drug delivery [2], supramolecular sensing [3], purification [4], and separation [5][6]. The interactions in supramolecular assemblies are driven by well-known hydrogen-bonding, hydrophobic interactions, electrostatic interactions and π–π stacking [7][8]. The supramolecular

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

•  41B) [78]. Shankarling and co-workers (2020) directly prepared amide 12 from cinnamic acid (7) under solvent-free conditions catalyzed by graphene oxide via hydrogen-bonding activation (139) (Scheme 42A) [79]. The catalyst could be recycled multiple times without significant activity loss. Similarly

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

Recent advances in controllable/divergent synthesis

• Jilei Cao,
• Leiyang Bai and
• Xuefeng Jiang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 890–914, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.73

• profound influence through multifaceted solute–solvent interactions [5]. Solvent polarity, hydrogen-bonding propensity, and dielectric characteristics collectively orchestrate stereodivergent pathways through dynamic coordination effects and differential stabilization of transition states. Notably, these

Dicarboxylate recognition based on ultracycle hosts through cooperative hydrogen bonding and anion–π interactions

• Wen-Hui Mi,
• Teng-Yu Huang,
• Xu-Dong Wang,
• Yu-Fei Ao,
• Qi-Qiang Wang and
• De-Xian Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 884–889, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.72

• selectivity for heptanedioate (C72−) was attributed to cooperative hydrogen bonding, anion–π interactions, and a size-matching effect, as supported by DFT optimizations. Keywords: anion–π interactions; anion recognition; hydrogen bonding; dicarboxylates; ultracycles; Introduction Macrocycles containing more

• , we report the design of ultracycles constructed from functional tetraoxacalix[2]arene[2]triazine submacrocycles. These submacrocycles feature hydroxy groups as hydrogen-bonding (HB) donors on the lower rim, which, in combination with electron-deficient triazines, create cooperative HB and anion–π

• , while the glycol chains are oriented along the long axis in the opposite orientations. In packing mode, the submacrocycle units form close contacts through intermolecular hydrogen bonding, C–H···π, and lone pair–π interactions, resulting in a 1D linear assembly. Anion recognition With the functional

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

• hydrogen bonding with Cys200. These results underscore the potential of 4-(1-methylamino)ethylidenepyrrolidine-2,3-diones, especially compound 5e, as promising scaffolds for the development of anti-inflammatory agents targeting iNOS-related pathologies. Keywords: anti-inflammatory pyrrolidine-2,3-dione

• group (Table S2 in Supporting Information File 1). The N and C atoms of the 1-methylamino)ethylidene group are coplanar with the pyrrolidine ring (max. deviation of 0.074(2) Å for atom C17). The molecules form inversion dimers through N–H···O hydrogen bonding. Despite the presence of aromatic rings, no

• docking scores (DS) revealed a range of binding affinities, with values ranging from −8.55 kcal/mol (iNOS–DEX) to −9.51 kcal/mol (iNOS–5e). Notably, iNOS–5e exhibited the most favorable binding energy, suggesting it has the strongest interaction with the iNOS enzyme. Hydrogen bonding analysis demonstrated

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

• neutral pH, and the partially negative fluorine atom (I, Figure 11) [96]. This attraction has the outcome of favouring a gauche F–C–C–N+ alignment. This gauche alignment can be further stabilised by two additional interactions: hyperconjugation (II, Figure 11) [148], and intramolecular hydrogen bonding

Asymmetric synthesis of β-amino cyanoesters with contiguous tetrasubstituted carbon centers by halogen-bonding catalysis with chiral halonium salt

• Yasushi Yoshida,
• Maho Aono,
• Takashi Mino and
• Masami Sakamoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 547–555, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.43

• importance of halogen bonding in the catalyst for the present reaction, chiral amide 9d and tetrabutylammonium bromide (9e) were applied as catalysts. The results indicate that 9d with only hydrogen bonding provided 17b in a lower yield than without catalyst maybe due to the deactivation of base by acidic

Vinylogous functionalization of 4-alkylidene-5-aminopyrazoles with methyl trifluoropyruvates

• Judit Hostalet-Romero,
• Laura Carceller-Ferrer,
• Gonzalo Blay,
• Amparo Sanz-Marco,
• José R. Pedro and
• Carlos Vila

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 533–540, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.41

• . Considering the high diastereoselectivity observed both in the presence and absence of the squaramide catalyst, we propose a plausible mechanism (Scheme 3) that involves hydrogen bonding activation of the methyl trifluoropyruvate by the NH₂ group of the aminopyrazole. This interaction directs the attack of

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

• in P-1 and the molecules pack in a different arrangement, where the double bonds are neither coplanar nor parallel. This product was obtained from propan-2-ol, which may have influenced the crystallization kinetics. The reactive packing mode of Cl2B is enhanced by the hydrogen bonding where the ester

• reported bimane, syn-(H,Cl)bimane (BIYGUL), reveals a ribbon-like packing pattern, which arises from a hydrogen-bonding network [23], which also features a coplanar and parallel arrangement of the potentially reactive double bonds. Due to these characteristics, the reaction site can be represented by a

Organocatalytic kinetic resolution of 1,5-dicarbonyl compounds through a retro-Michael reaction

• James Guevara-Pulido,
• Fernando González-Pérez,
• José M. Andrés and
• Rafael Pedrosa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 473–482, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.34

• organometallic catalysis [15], enzymatic catalysis [16], aminocatalysis [17][18][19], and hydrogen-bonding catalysis [20][21][22]. The Michael addition reaction is a versatile synthetic methodology that allows the formation of new carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds through the coupling of electron-poor

The effect of neighbouring group participation and possible long range remote group participation in O-glycosylation

• Rituparna Das and
• Balaram Mukhopadhyay

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 369–406, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.27

• temperature or the activation entropy, hydrogen bonding, solvent [24], nature of the leaving groups and the promoter used [25]. The mechanism of glycosylation reactions has long been categorised mostly as dissociative SN1 reactions proceeding through stabilised oxocarbenium ions with the role of counterions

• , Scheme 18) gave product 108 with higher 1,2-cis selectivity. In protocol A, the tosylamide forms an intramolecular hydrogen bonding with the benzylic oxygen forming a quasi-bicyclic intermediate acting as a 1,2-trans directing protecting group. Thus, following subsequent formation of the oxocarbenium ion

• disturbs the intramolecular hydrogen bonding, as in 107 thereby generating a non-participating form as an intermediate. Thus, the acceptor easily attacks from the α-face of the sugar ring, and thereby, leading to the product with higher 1,2-cis stereoselectivity (87:13). A similar bimodal protocol was also

Quantifying the ability of the CF₂H group as a hydrogen bond donor

• Matthew E. Paolella,
• Daniel S. Honeycutt,
• Bradley M. Lipka,
• Jacob M. Goldberg and
• Fang Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 189–199, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.11

• (CF2H); fluorine; hydrogen bond donors; hydrogen bond strength; Introduction Hydrogen bonding interactions are ubiquitous non-covalent forces in chemistry and biology [1][2][3][4]. In canonical hydrogen bond (HB) donor–acceptor pairs, the donor typically comprises an electronegative heteroatom, such as

• constructs. Although many of the CF2H HB donors studied here can promote relatively strong hydrogen bonding interactions with n-Bu3PO, even the strongest CF2H HB donor (3b) is still 30 times weaker than phenol (10), corresponding to about a 2 kcal/mol reduction in binding energy at 25 °C. These results

• oxygen lone pairs (LPs) of Me3PO with the H–CF2Ar antibonding orbital (σ*). Such hyperconjugative interactions indicate the magnitudes of the charge transfer from the LPs to the σ* orbitals and are considered the major contributors to hydrogen bonding [57]. Using this analysis, strong linear correlations

Hydrogen-bonded macrocycle-mediated dimerization for orthogonal supramolecular polymerization

• Wentao Yu,
• Zhiyao Yang,
• Chengkan Yu,
• Xiaowei Li and
• Lihua Yuan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 179–188, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.10

• ., metal coordination interactions and hydrogen bonding), providing access to various multiresponsive orthogonal self-assemblies or smart supramolecular polymers [24][25]. For example, the discovery of cucurbit[8]uril complexation in a 1:2 and 2:2 host–guest stoichiometry leads to a wide spectrum of

• upon increasing the concentration of each component. Conclusion We have introduced a new recognition motif based on a hydrogen-bonded aramide macrocycle, which drives the linear polymerization of a heterodifunctional monomer in the presence of zinc ions. In addition to hydrogen bonding interactions

• -ray structure of the complex H2 ⊃ G1. a) Dimeric structure formed by cyclo[6]aramide H2 and cationic guest G1, with each guest molecule threading one molecule of H2 at its end. b) A portion of the dimeric structure showing an array of hydrogen bonding interactions between the amide oxygen atoms of H2

Recent advances in organocatalytic atroposelective reactions

• Henrich Szabados and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 55–121, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.6

• , previous findings from the literature, and experimental results, a reaction mechanism was proposed [46]. Hydrogen bonding as well as π–π interaction with the catalyst (R)-C22 activates both substrates in the stable intermediate Int-35. This stabilized state ensures the concerted control of

• reported. However, the reaction did not tolerate a variety of substitutions on the amide group, probably because of its involvement in hydrogen bonding with the organocatalyst (R)-C23. Expanding on earlier methodologies of Chen et al. [60][61] and Wang et al. [62] utilizing indole derivatives instead of β

• indole nitrogen in control experiments led to halted reactivity or loss of enantiocontrol. These results suggest the importance of hydrogen bonding between the NH group and the organocatalyst. Bisindoles 142 reacted with ninhydrin-derived 3-indoylmethanol 143 in the presence of the CPA (S)-C22 to afford

Non-covalent organocatalyzed enantioselective cyclization reactions of α,β-unsaturated imines

• Sergio Torres-Oya and
• Mercedes Zurro

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3221–3255, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.268

• ]. Although quite important in all organocatalytic processes, there are specific organocatalysts which activate reactants through non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonding. These interactions are crucial to obtain high enantioselectivity in the reaction. The 1-azadienes possess an electronegative

• covered in this review are hydrogen-bond donors such as thioureas and squaramides, Brønsted bases such as tertiary amines, and Brønsted acids such as chiral phosphoric acids. As depicted in Figure 4, a bifunctional squaramide is able to activate both an α,β-unsaturated imine through hydrogen bonding with

• Michael addition product was obtained with low diastereoselectivity. The mechanism is described in Scheme 4: the bifunctional squaramide activates the azadiene through hydrogen bonding while the malononitrile is deprotonated by the tertiary amine present in the backbone of the catalyst, establishing

Advances in the use of metal-free tetrapyrrolic macrocycles as catalysts

• Mandeep K. Chahal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3085–3112, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.257

• second-sphere interactions with a multipoint hydrogen-bonding pattern enhance CO2 reduction in organic solvents, improving stability, facilitating proton transfer, reducing energy barriers, and increasing selectivity [20]. Apart from advances in synthetic methodologies [2][21][22][23], the exploration of

• active groups for a variety of substrates, making their use as supramolecular organocatalysts based on bifunctional activation mechanism (hydrogen-bonding/Lewis basicity) highly promising. At the same time, additional functional groups that are required for the catalysis can be easily installed on the

• addition of furan-based silyloxydiene synthons to a variety of achiral aldehydes using four different calix[4]pyrrole macrocycles (3, 4, 11, and 12) as organocatalysts (Figure 3) [38]. These calixpyrrole macrocycles acted as hydrogen-bond donors, activating substrate aldehydes through hydrogen-bonding

Synthesis of the 1,5-disubstituted tetrazole-methanesulfonylindole hybrid system via high-order multicomponent reaction

• Cesia M. Aguilar-Morales,
• América A. Frías-López,
• Nadia V. Emilio-Velázquez,
• Alejandro Islas-Jácome,
• Angelica Judith Granados-López,
• Jorge Gustavo Araujo-Huitrado,
• Yamilé López-Hernández,
• Hiram Hernández-López,
• Luis Chacón-García,
• Jesús Adrián López and
• Carlos J. Cortés-García

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3077–3084, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.256

• combining the indole moiety with the 1,5-disusbtituted tetrazole pharmacophore could increase the non-covalent interactions, including π–π stacking, hydrogen bonding, and hydrophobic interactions. This combination may improve the pharmacodynamic profile, providing a solid foundation for developing compounds

Cyclodextrin-based rotaxanes for polymer materials: challenge on simultaneous realization of inexpensive production and defined structures

• Yosuke Akae

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3026–3049, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.252

• the hydrogen bonding by the primary- or secondary-alcohol groups, as confirmed by theoretical analyses. This structure was consistent with a previously reported X-ray crystal structure analysis of the complex structure comprising α-CD, polyion, and Li+ or Cd2+ [45]. Regarding the small rotaxane

• , or 24 methylene units as the axle component. The results revealed that the weakened hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic interaction by PMα-CD was the key to the formation of rotaxane molecules with an odd number of wheel components as well as their much lower yields than the native-CD-based rotaxanes

• component, is not so easy because of the strong hydrogen bonding between the CD units. Beckham and Zhao reported that an increase in the molecular weight of the axle polymer caused a decrease in the coverage ratio, although the coverage ratio in the same molecular weight polymer could not be controlled at

C–C Coupling in sterically demanding porphyrin environments

• Liam Cribbin,
• Brendan Twamley,
• Nicolae Buga,
• John E. O’ Brien,
• Raphael Bühler,
• Roland A. Fischer and
• Mathias O. Senge

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2784–2798, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.234

• porphyrins Nonplanar porphyrins are known to form supramolecular assemblies [6], either through hydrogen-bonding networks or through π–π interactions. Examples of this can be seen in the trapping of Keggin-type heteropolyoxometalate (POM) through nonplanar Mo(V)–porphyrin complexes [58], or porphyrin

Transition-metal-free decarbonylation–oxidation of 3-arylbenzofuran-2(3H)-ones: access to 2-hydroxybenzophenones

• Bhaskar B. Dhotare,
• Seema V. Kanojia,
• Chahna K. Sakhiya,
• Amey Wadawale and
• Dibakar Goswami

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2655–2667, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.223

• presence of a strong-electron donating substituent, e.g., a -OCH3 on the benzene ring attached to the carbonyl center has a more pronounced effect on the UV-protection abilities (4bb, 4cb, 4eb and 4fb) since it increases the electron density on the carbonyl center, and hence the hydrogen bonding between

Deciphering the mechanism of γ-cyclodextrin’s hydrophobic cavity hydration: an integrated experimental and theoretical study

• Stiliyana Pereva,
• Stefan Dobrev,
• Tsveta Sarafska,
• Valya Nikolova,
• Silvia Angelova,
• Tony Spassov and
• Todor Dudev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2635–2643, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.221

• hydrogen bonding, although generally not dominant, can influence the complex formation as well [5]. Cyclodextrins form inclusion complexes with polar and non-polar substances of various aggregate states. This incredible versatility, combined with the enhanced stability against oxidation, as well as

• enlarging the aperture (“open” configuration). In the “open” configuration, the primary hydroxy groups are not involved in the intramolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions with neighboring OH groups. Relatively weak hydrogen bonds are formed between the secondary hydroxy groups at the wider/lower rim of the

• water molecules and the CD host system: β-CD hydration is dominated by water–water hydrogen bonding interactions rather than water–CD interactions. In contrast, the interactions between water guests and the cavity walls are more significant at α-CD and γ-CD, favoring a consecutive water release process