Strategies to access the [5-8] bicyclic core encountered in the sesquiterpene, diterpene and sesterterpene series

• Cécile Alleman,
• Charlène Gadais,
• Laurent Legentil and
• François-Hugues Porée

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 245–281, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.23

Germacrene B – a central intermediate in sesquiterpene biosynthesis

• Houchao Xu and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 186–203, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.18

• Sharpless epoxidation of its derivative 15-hydroxygermacrene (17) showed that this material was racemic, indicating a rapid interconversion between the enantiomers of 17. Consequently, also the enantiomers of 1 may undergo a fast interconversion [52]. The 1H and 13C NMR data of 1 have been reported [26

• synthesis from β-eudesmol (30) through epoxidation to 31, dehydration to 32 and epoxide opening with LiAlH4 yielded (−)-11 (Scheme 9C) [77], contradicting this assignment. Notably, Šorm and co-workers noticed that 11 was racemic, because neither 11 nor any of its degradation products showed optical activity

Total synthesis of grayanane natural products

• Nicolas Fay,
• Rémi Blieck,
• Cyrille Kouklovsky and
• Aurélien de la Torre

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1707–1719, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.181

• the PMB protecting group, Dess–Martin oxidation, and SmI2-induced cyclization. This last step was highly selective, giving solely the intermediate 17. The synthesis was then pursued by the hydroboration–oxidation of the monosubstituted alkene, followed by stereoselective epoxidation of the 1,1

• group on C6 was introduced after cyclopropane ring-opening, ketone protection, epoxidation and reductive ring-opening of the resulting epoxide. A one-pot β-keto phosphonate formation/Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons reaction with formaldehyde afforded 38, a precursor for the key oxidative dearomatization-induced

• reagent and DMDO could induce an epoxidation on the strained olefin. From intermediate 40, the key reductive epoxide opening/Dowd–Beckwith rearrangement cascade could be performed in the presence of an in situ-generated Ti(III) catalyst. The main side-product of this reaction was due to a simple reductive

Redox-active molecules as organocatalysts for selective oxidative transformations – an unperceived organocatalysis field

• Elena R. Lopat’eva,
• Igor B. Krylov,
• Dmitry A. Lapshin and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1672–1695, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.179

• addition to the electron-rich C=C bond [58] or proton loss followed by β-functionalization [59][60][61]. The iminium cation catalysis is used in the activation of electrophilic properties of enones for the nucleophilic epoxidation by hydroperoxides (Scheme 2B). N-Heterocyclic carbene (NHC) organocatalysis

• active oxidative agent. Asymmetric quaternary ammonium phase-transfer catalysts proved to be effective in the asymmetric nucleophilic epoxidation of electron-poor alkenes by hydroperoxides [70] and the asymmetric hydroxylation of enolizable carbonyl compounds employing O2 or H2O2 as terminal oxidants [71

• –H2O2 system the adducts of H2O2 and ketones (perhydrates) can also be active oxidative species [51]. Dioxiranes formed from ketones and hydroperoxides are electrophilic oxygen transferring agents used in epoxidation (including asymmetric variants) [131][132], CH-hydroxylation, and other oxidation

Cytochrome P450 monooxygenase-mediated tailoring of triterpenoids and steroids in plants

• Karan Malhotra and
• Jakob Franke

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1289–1310, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.135

• that performs hydroxylation and epoxidation reactions of the β-amyrin (6) scaffold to produce 12,13β-epoxy-16β-hydroxy-β-amyrin [1][99]. Thus, CYP51H10 is an example of a neofunctionalised CYP recruited from primary sterol metabolism. Two members of the CYP87D subfamily decorate the tetracyclic

Anti-inflammatory aromadendrane- and cadinane-type sesquiterpenoids from the South China Sea sponge Acanthella cavernosa

• Shou-Mao Shen,
• Qing Yang,
• Yi Zang,
• Jia Li,
• Xueting Liu and
• Yue-Wei Guo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 916–925, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.91

• α-corocalene (O) [35]. An epoxidation at C-4/C-5 of O resulted in the formation of α-corocalene epoxide (P) [35], which was further hydrolyzed to generate the final product 7 [36]. In the anti-inflammatory assay, the transcriptional expression level of the representative inflammatory genes such as

The stereochemical course of 2-methylisoborneol biosynthesis

• Binbin Gu,
• Anwei Hou and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 818–824, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.82

• Sharpless epoxidation as a key step and purification of enantiomerically enriched intermediates through HPLC separation on a chiral stationary phase. Their enzymatic conversion with 2-methylisoborneol synthase (2MIBS) demonstrates that (R)-2-Me-LPP is the on-pathway intermediate, while a minor formation of

• comparison in these analyses. Conclusion Both enantiomers of 2-Me-LPP can be selectively prepared using a Sharpless epoxidation strategy in high enantiomeric purity of >75% ee. HPLC purification of the synthetic precursor 2-methyllinalool using a chiral stationary phase can make the pure enantiomers

Rapid gas–liquid reaction in flow. Continuous synthesis and production of cyclohexene oxide

• Kyoko Mandai,
• Tetsuya Yamamoto,
• Hiroki Mandai and
• Aiichiro Nagaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 660–668, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.67

• Medical Science, Nijigaoka, Kani-city, Gifu Prefecture, 509-0293, Japan 10.3762/bjoc.18.67 Abstract The enhanced reaction rate in the epoxidation of cyclohexene with air as an oxidant was discovered without any added catalyst utilizing a continuous flow reactor constructed with readily available

• with good operational stability, evaluated by a constant high yield of cyclohexene oxide, to obtain the desired product with high productivity. Keywords: air; continuous flow; cyclohexene oxide; flow epoxidation; rapid gas–liquid reaction; Introduction From the past to the present, organic synthesis

• method for the production of cyclohexene oxide is highly desired to be developed, taking sustainability for the environment and our society into consideration. The general synthetic procedure for cyclohexene oxide is the epoxidation of cyclohexene [7][8]. Among various oxidizing agents used in the

Menadione: a platform and a target to valuable compounds synthesis

• Acácio S. de Souza,
• Ruan Carlos B. Ribeiro,
• Dora C. S. Costa,
• Fernanda P. Pauli,
• David R. Pinho,
• Matheus G. de Moraes,
• Fernando de C. da Silva,
• Luana da S. M. Forezi and
• Vitor F. Ferreira

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 381–419, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.43

• nucleus, due to its greater reactivity when compared to the adjacent aromatic ring, which depends on previous modifications in the menadione intermediates [95]. Epoxidation reactions The use of menadione in the preparation of epoxides is widely reported in the scientific literature. In nature, menadione

• ]. The authors studied a broad range of quinone derivatives among which compound 39 was obtained through reaction of menadione (10) and hydroperoxide 38 in 71% yield and 45% ee (Scheme 11A). Analogously, Kosnik and co-workers described a similar epoxidation methodology using a series of pyranose-derived

• anomeric hydroperoxides (HPO) to obtain epoxides 40 with moderate ees (Scheme 11B) [100][101]. Bunge and co-workers used the enantiomerically pure dihydroperoxide 41 in the DBU-mediated epoxidation of menadione (10) for the enantioselective synthesis of epoxide 42 (92% yield and 45–66% ee) (Scheme 11C

Efficient and regioselective synthesis of dihydroxy-substituted 2-aminocyclooctane-1-carboxylic acid and its bicyclic derivatives

• İlknur Polat,
• Selçuk Eşsiz,
• Uğur Bozkaya and
• Emine Salamci

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 77–85, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.7

• . Synthesis of cyclic β-amino acid 6. Epoxidation of Boc-protected amino ester 4 and hydrolysis of epoxide 7 with HCl(g)–MeOH. Reaction of epoxide 7 with NaHSO4 in methylene chloride/MeOH. Synthesis of cyclic β-amino acid derivative 8. Suggested mechanism for the reaction of epoxide 7 with NaHSO4. Supporting

Highly stereocontrolled total synthesis of racemic codonopsinol B through isoxazolidine-4,5-diol vinylation

• Lukáš Ďurina,
• Anna Ďurinová,
• František Trejtnar,
• Ľuboš Janotka,
• Lucia Messingerová,
• Jana Doháňošová,
• Ján Moncol and
• Róbert Fischer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2781–2786, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.188

• -stereoselective epoxidation of 2,3-dihydroisoxazole with in situ-generated DMDO, the syn-selective α-chelation-controlled addition of vinyl-MgBr/CeCl3 to the isoxazolidine-4,5-diol intermediate, and the substrate-directed epoxidation of the terminal double bond of the corresponding γ-amino-α,β-diol with aqueous

• methodology based on the trans-stereoselective epoxidation reaction of 2,3-dihydroisoxazoles followed by the regioselective hydrolysis of the corresponding isoxazolidinyl epoxide [15][16]. Very recently, we have reported the synthesis of γ-(hydroxyamino)-α,β-diols by the addition of Grignard reagents to

• be prepared by substrate-directed epoxidation. A subsequent SN2 intramolecular epoxide ring-opening cyclization could provide an N-Cbz-protected pyrrolidine derivative with a hydroxymethyl group at C-5 and with trans configuration relative to the hydroxy group at C-4. Finally, (±)-codonopsinol B (1

Strategies for the synthesis of brevipolides

• Yudhi D. Kurniawan and
• A'liyatur Rosyidah

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2399–2416, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.157

• commercially available (E)-p-methoxycinnamic acid (17). The vital intermediate 16 is expected from cyclopropyl epoxy alcohol 18, which in turn can be prepared from allylic alcohol 19 via the Furukawa-modified Simmons–Smith cyclopropanation and VO-mediated epoxidation. Acetylfuran (20) is chosen as the six

• isolated in 80% yield over two steps. Reduction of the ester provided allylic alcohol 29 (92%) ready for later epoxidation. After considerable optimizations, the authors found that the dropwise addition of TBHP to 29 in refluxing benzene solution containing a catalytic amount of VO(acac)2 afforded the

• . Eventually, trans-crotonaldehyde (62) is selected as the precursor for this study. The study began with the enantioselective epoxidation of trans-crotonaldehyde (62) under Jørgensen conditions using organocatalyst 63, followed by a two-carbon homologation to obtain α,β-unsaturated epoxy ester 64 in 78% yield

Asymmetric organocatalyzed synthesis of coumarin derivatives

• Natália M. Moreira,
• Lorena S. R. Martelli and
• Arlene G. Corrêa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1952–1980, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.128

• , tolerates electron-donating and -withdrawing groups and maintains its performance in gram scale (Scheme 36). Page et al. developed a total synthesis of the natural product (+)-scuteflorin A (119), being the key step an asymmetric epoxidation of xanthyletin (115) employing biphenylazepinium 120 as PTC

• together with tetraphenylphosphonium monoperoxysulfate (TPPP) as the stoichiometric oxidant [76]. The authors mentioned that this epoxidation had been previously reported using Jacoben’s (S,S)-(+)-salen-Mn(III) catalyst with 78–83% yield and 95% ee, and via organocatalysis they obtained 98% yield and ≥99

Double-headed nucleosides: Synthesis and applications

• Vineet Verma,
• Jyotirmoy Maity,
• Vipin K. Maikhuri,
• Ritika Sharma,
• Himal K. Ganguly and
• Ashok K. Prasad

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1392–1439, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.98

• . The convergent synthesis of the double-headed nucleosides was achieved from uridine, which was first converted to the 3′,5′-(1,1,3,3-tetraisopropyldisiloxan-1,3-diyl)-protected (TIPDS) ketonucleoside 1 following a standard procedure [40]. The subsequent Corey–Chaykovsky epoxidation [41] of 2

• following the literature procedure [14][62]. The epoxide 109 so formed was reacted with thymine to afford nucleoside 107, which on pixylation and removal of the tert-butyldimethylsilyl-protecting group in the presence of TBAF give double-headed nucleoside 110 (Scheme 25) [30][31][65]. The epoxidation of the

A comprehensive review of flow chemistry techniques tailored to the flavours and fragrances industries

• Guido Gambacorta,
• James S. Sharley and
• Ian R. Baxendale

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1181–1312, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.90

N-tert-Butanesulfinyl imines in the asymmetric synthesis of nitrogen-containing heterocycles

• Joseane A. Mendes,
• Paulo R. R. Costa,
• Miguel Yus,
• Francisco Foubelo and
• Camilla D. Buarque

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1096–1140, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.86

• trimethylsilyl cyanide (TMSCN) in THF at −10 °C. The reaction product 142 was obtained in quantitative yield and good diastereomeric ratio. Further hydrolysis of the cyclic acetal, and subsequent epoxidation of the resulting diol under typical Mitsunobu conditions led to epoxide derivative 143. The piperidine

Stereoselective synthesis and transformation of pinane-based 2-amino-1,3-diols

• Ákos Bajtel,
• Mounir Raji,
• Matti Haukka,
• Ferenc Fülöp and
• Zsolt Szakonyi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 983–990, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.80

• epoxidation of (−)-α-pinene (6), carried out with meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid (MCPBA), followed by a base-catalyzed allylic rearrangement mediated by aluminium isopropoxide (Al(OiPr)3). The resulting allylic alcohol 7 was reacted with trichloroacetyl isocyanate, followed by alkaline treatment, delivering

Stereoselective syntheses of 3-aminocyclooctanetriols and halocyclooctanetriols

• Emine Salamci and
• Yunus Zozik

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 705–710, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.59

• prepared by epoxidation of the cyclooctenediol with m-chloroperbenzoic acid followed by hydrolysis with HBr(g) in methanol. Treatment of bromotriol with NaN3 and the reduction of the azide group yielded the other desired 3-aminocyclooctanetriol. Hydrolysis of the epoxides with HCl(g) in methanol gave

A new and efficient methodology for olefin epoxidation catalyzed by supported cobalt nanoparticles

• Lucía Rossi-Fernández,
• Viviana Dorn and
• Gabriel Radivoy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 519–526, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.46

• MgO and tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP) as oxidant is presented. This CoNPs@MgO/t-BuOOH catalytic combination allowed the epoxidation of a variety of olefins with good to excellent yield and high selectivity. The catalyst preparation is simple and straightforward from commercially available starting

• and industrial applications [1]. Among them, allylic oxidation and olefin epoxidation constitute fundamental tools for the synthesis of homoallylic alcohols or α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds, and epoxides, respectively. In particular, epoxides are pivotal building blocks for the synthetic chemists

• been reported, efficient and selective epoxidation of olefins remains a challenge. Due to safety and environmental issues, traditional methods involving the use of stoichiometric amounts of harmful oxidants (for example, peroxosulfates [13] or organic peracids [14]) have been replaced by the use of

Synthesis of legonmycins A and B, C(7a)-hydroxylated bacterial pyrrolizidines

• Wilfred J. M. Lewis,
• David M. Shaw and
• Jeremy Robertson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 334–342, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.31

• that Snider’s attempt to oxidize, by epoxidation, the N,O-diacetyl derivative of compound 14 was not successful. Indeed, in our own work, the use of either NBS, MCPBA, or O2 with a transition-metal catalyst also gave unpromising results in attempts to oxidize compound 17. Future work will explore

Diels–Alder reaction of β-fluoro-β-nitrostyrenes with cyclic dienes

• Savva A. Ponomarev,
• Roman V. Larkovich,
• Alexander S. Aldoshin,
• Andrey A. Tabolin,
• Sema L. Ioffe,
• Jonathan Groß,
• Till Opatz and
• Valentine G. Nenajdenko

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 283–292, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.27

• ratios similar to those of the starting mixture 2. We believe that this is a result of an exo-epoxidation which is preferred in norbornene systems [78][79]. Such a functionalization is very attractive to produce new reactive building blocks bearing the norbornane scaffold. This approach can pave a

The preparation and properties of 1,1-difluorocyclopropane derivatives

• Kymbat S. Adekenova,
• Peter B. Wyatt and
• Sergazy M. Adekenov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 245–272, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.25

• the corresponding cyclopropane 76 [77]. Caution is advised in view of a recent report that NaBH4 lowers the onset temperature for the thermal decomposition of DMSO [78]. The asymmetric difluorocyclopropanation has not yet been developed to the extent achieved for the epoxidation. Consequently, the

All-carbon [3 + 2] cycloaddition in natural product synthesis

• Zhuo Wang and
• Junyang Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 3015–3031, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.251

• upon refluxing in toluene and subsequent epoxidation afforded 51 [32], which was converted to (−)-crinipelline A (15) in two steps. The synthesis of waihoensene (16) commenced with the conversion of aldehyde 52a to the corresponding hydrazone 52b, which was treated with sodium hydride under reflux to

Recent developments in enantioselective photocatalysis

• Callum Prentice,
• James Morrisson,
• Andrew D. Smith and
• Eli Zysman-Colman

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2363–2441, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.197

Syntheses of spliceostatins and thailanstatins: a review

• William A. Donaldson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1991–2006, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.166

• manipulation of the C-4 and C-6 protecting groups gave the secondary allylic alcohol 71, which underwent an epoxidation with mCPBA to give 72. A second sequence of C-4/C-6 protection, manipulation, and oxidation gave the aldehyde 73. The disadvantages of this route include the overall length (13 or 14 steps

• cleavage of the secondary triisopropylsilyl ether were prerequisites for a vanadium-catalyzed stereoselective epoxidation of the exocyclic double bond to give 90. The C-4 hydroxy group was eventually protected as a triethylsilyl ether. Through abortive attempts, Jacobsen found that the generation of the

• exocyclic epoxide prior to the formation of the C-6–C-9 conjugated diene was necessary in order to avoid the unwanted epoxidation of the C-6–C-7 olefin. Koide employed a unique strategy in which the exocyclic epoxide was generated as the initial stereocenter (Scheme 15) [12][13]. The Sharpless asymmetric