New advances in asymmetric organocatalysis

• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 240–242, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.28

• Radovan Sebesta Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, Mlynská dolina, Ilkovičova 6, 842 15 Bratislava, Slovakia 10.3762/bjoc.18.28 Keywords: asymmetric organocatalysis; covalent activation; noncovalent activation; Asymmetric catalysis is

• [12]. The recent culmination of the rapid advent of organocatalysis was the Nobel prize in 2021, which was awarded to Benjamin List and David MacMillan for their pioneering discoveries. Organocatalysis outgrew its initial inspiration by enzymatic catalysis, but the analogy with nature can be seen

• repertoire of chemical transformations that are amenable to organocatalysis [14]. Within the realm of covalent activation, chiral carbenes and phosphines are diverse and structurally rich groups of catalysts. The synthetic scope was greatly expanded by noncovalent activation via a range of proton-mediated

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

• presence of a multifunctional squaramide catalyst. Michael adducts were obtained in high enantioselectivities and in moderate diastereoselectivities. Keywords: cyclopentane-1,2-dione; enantioselective catalysis; Michael addition; organocatalysis; squaramide; Introduction Diketones are generally very

The ethoxycarbonyl group as both activating and protective group in N-acyl-Pictet–Spengler reactions using methoxystyrenes. A short approach to racemic 1-benzyltetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids

• Marco Keller,
• Karl Sauvageot-Witzku,
• Franz Geisslinger,
• Nicole Urban,
• Michael Schaefer,
• Karin Bartel and
• Franz Bracher

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2716–2725, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.183

• arylacetaldimines of phenylethylamines [2] (Figure 1). Especially the Pictet–Spengler reaction has attracted considerable interest in chemistry and drug development in recent years, and modern methods like enantioselective approaches, organocatalysis, and enzymatic methods have been introduced by numerous groups [3

• enantioselective organocatalysis based on Jacobsen’s pioneering work [56]. Since we had recently identified substituted 1-benzyltetrahydroisoquinolines as truncated analogues of bioactive bisbenzylisoquinoline alkaloids (SG-005 and SG-094) as TPC2 blockers with antiproliferative activity, we tested our alkaloids

Solvent-free synthesis of enantioenriched β-silyl nitroalkanes under organocatalytic conditions

• Akhil K. Dubey and
• Raghunath Chowdhury

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2642–2649, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.177

• experiments reveal that the presence of a β-silyl group in the enones is crucial for high reactivity under the optimized reaction conditions. Keywords: β-silyl α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds; β-silyl nitroalkanes; chiral organosilanes; organocatalysis; solvent-free synthesis; Introduction

N-Sulfinylpyrrolidine-containing ureas and thioureas as bifunctional organocatalysts

• Viera Poláčková,
• Dominika Krištofíková,
• Boglárka Némethová,
• Renata Górová,
• Mária Mečiarová and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2629–2641, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.176

• aldehydes and hydrogen-bond activation of nitroalkenes. Keywords: asymmetric organocatalysis; hydrogen bond; Michael addition; pyrrolidine; thiourea; urea; Introduction Asymmetric organocatalysis became one of the strategic ways for the efficient synthesis of chiral compounds [1]. Bifunctional catalysis

• has proven to be a successful concept in asymmetric organocatalysis [2][3][4][5][6][7][8]. An amine unit with a hydrogen-bond donating skeleton is highly efficient from among various possible combinations of catalytic moieties within an organocatalyst. This idea has been inspired by proline catalysis

• organocatalysis can benefit and accommodate many sustainability techniques [29]. Mechanochemistry can increase the sustainability profile of a chemical process by reducing potentially harmful organic solvents and bring other benefits such as substantially shortened reaction times. A handful of asymmetric

Recent advances in organocatalytic asymmetric aza-Michael reactions of amines and amides

• Pratibha Sharma,
• Raakhi Gupta and
• Raj K. Bansal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2585–2610, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.173

• organocatalysts in asymmetric aza-MR. Keywords: asymmetric aza-Michael reaction; covalent bonding catalysis; nitrogen heterocycles; non-covalent bonding catalysis; organocatalysis; Introduction The Michael reaction though discovered about 135 years ago [1][2] continues to attract attention of the chemists owing

• the non-covalent and covalent organocatalysis. It is intended to overview the literature of the last 10 years, i.e., from 2011 through 2020 only. Nevertheless, wherever necessary, earlier references may also be cited to maintain coherence. Furthermore, nitrogen nucleophiles comprise a large variety of

• -2,3-dihydro-4-quinolones 99 were obtained in good yields of up to 95% and good ee (58–72%) (Table 22) [61]. 2. Covalent-bonding organocatalysis of aza-Michael reactions This category of organocatalysts includes N-heterocyclic carbenes and pyrrolidine derivatives. 2.1 Catalysis by N-heterocyclic

Enantioselective PCCP Brønsted acid-catalyzed aminalization of aldehydes

• Martin Kamlar,
• Robert Reiberger,
• Martin Nigríni,
• Ivana Císařová and
• Jan Veselý

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2433–2440, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.160

• stereogenic carbon center with good enantioselectivity (ee up to 80%) and excellent yields (up to 97%). Keywords: aminalization; Brønsted acid; organocatalysis; PCCP; pentacarboxycyclopentadiene; Introduction Nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds are commonly occurring in nature and constitute the core

Halides as versatile anions in asymmetric anion-binding organocatalysis

• Lukas Schifferer,
• Martin Stinglhamer,
• Kirandeep Kaur and
• Olga García Macheño

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2270–2286, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.145

• development of the research area of asymmetric anion-binding organocatalysis. Key early elucidation studies with chloride as counter-anion confirmed this type of alternative activation, which was then exploited in several processes and contributed to the advance and consolidation of anion-binding catalysis as

• catalysts’ designs Basic/nucleophilic – H-donor bifunctional catalysts: Over the past decades, chiral bifunctional catalysts bearing a thiourea as HB-donor and a basic or nucleophilic group such as an amine have emerged as a powerful tool in organocatalysis by assisting to enhance the catalyst performance

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

• , the advances in asymmetric organocatalyzed synthesis of coumarin derivatives are discussed in this review, according to the mode of activation of the catalyst. Keywords: asymmetric synthesis; green chemistry; 2H-chromen-2-one; organocatalysis; Introduction Coumarins are important naturally occurring

• a specific target, i.e., it gives access to a greater diversity of compounds to be explored [26]. In this work, a compilation of the enantioselective synthesis of coumarin derivatives using asymmetric organocatalysis is presented, highlighting the proposed mechanism pathways for the formation of the

• described by Herrera et al. for the first time using primary aromatic diamines 31 as organocatalysts. The application of this class of catalysts for the Michael asymmetric addition of 4-hydroxycoumarins 1 to enones 2 is interesting from the point of view of organocatalysis, since the presence of two primary

Electron-rich triarylphosphines as nucleophilic catalysts for oxa-Michael reactions

• Susanne M. Fischer,
• Simon Renner,
• A. Daniel Boese and
• Christian Slugovc

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1689–1697, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.117

• Susanne M. Fischer Simon Renner A. Daniel Boese Christian Slugovc Institute for Chemistry and Technology of Materials, Graz University of Technology, Stremayrgasse 9, 8010 Graz, Austria Christian Doppler Laboratory for Organocatalysis in Polymerization, Stremayrgasse 9, 8010 Graz, Austria

• chemistry; organocatalysis; phosphine; solvent-free synthesis; Introduction Phosphines are potent nucleophiles that are used as catalysts in many reactions, like Rauhut–Currier, Morita–Baylis–Hillman or Michael reactions [1][2][3]. The first step of these reactions is a conjugate addition of the phosphine

One-step synthesis of imidazoles from Asmic (anisylsulfanylmethyl isocyanide)

• Louis G. Mueller,
• Allen Chao,
• Embarek AlWedi and
• Fraser F. Fleming

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1499–1502, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.106

• etomidate [4] and the antileukemia agent nilotinib [5]. The outstanding and diverse bioactivity of imidazole-containing pharmaceuticals [6], as well as their role as ligands for transition metals [7], and organocatalysis [8], has stimulated an array of creative syntheses [9][10]. Among the numerous routes

Organocatalytic asymmetric Michael/acyl transfer reaction between α-nitroketones and 4-arylidenepyrrolidine-2,3-diones

• Chandrakanta Parida and
• Subhas Chandra Pan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1447–1452, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.100

• reported. A bifunctional thiourea catalyst was found to be effective for this reaction. With 10 mol % of the catalyst, good results were attained for a variety of 1,5-dihydro-2H-pyrrol-2-ones under mild reaction conditions. Keywords: acyl transfer; enantioselectivity; Michael reaction; organocatalysis

• ; pyrrolidine-2,3-dione; Introduction The Michael reaction is a powerful reaction that has been so far applied for the formation of carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds in organic synthesis [1][2]. After the renaissance of organocatalysis in the year 2000, this field has been applied tremendously for 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

The synthesis of chiral β-naphthyl-β-sulfanyl ketones via enantioselective sulfa-Michael reaction in the presence of a bifunctional cinchona/sulfonamide organocatalyst

• Deniz Tözendemir and
• Cihangir Tanyeli

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 494–503, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.43

• %) catalyst loading. Selected enantiomerically enriched sulfa-Michael addition products were subjected to oxidation to obtain the corresponding sulfones. Keywords: asymmetric synthesis; bifunctional catalysis; cinchona alkaloids; organocatalysis; sulfa-Michael reaction; Introduction Derivatives of the

Synthesis, crystal structures and properties of carbazole-based [6]helicenes fused with an azine ring

• Daria I. Tonkoglazova,
• Anna V. Gulevskaya,
• Konstantin A. Chistyakov and
• Olga I. Askalepova

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 11–21, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.2

• have led to promising applications of helicenes. The latter have been studied with respect to conductivity [12][13][14][15], nonlinear optics [16][17], circularly polarized luminescence [18][19][20][21][22][23][24], organocatalysis [25][26][27][28][29], conformational analysis [30], chirality sensing

Synthetic approaches to bowl-shaped π-conjugated sumanene and its congeners

• Shakeel Alvi and
• Rashid Ali

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 2212–2259, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.186

• ][22][23]. On the other hands, further extension of these molecules leads to homochiral carbon nanotubes which can produce innovative perception in chiral sensing, chiral catalysis, separation techniques and chiral ligands for organocatalysis [24]. Additionally, control on the bowl-to-bowl inversion

Polarity effects in 4-fluoro- and 4-(trifluoromethyl)prolines

• Vladimir Kubyshkin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1837–1852, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.151

• ], organocatalysis [102], drug discovery [103] and more. A) Three types of the backbone amino acid structures that are included in protein translation: glycine, alanine, and the set of its structural derivatives, proline. B) The portfolio of the fluorinated amino acids developed to date. The set of amino acids

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

• catalysis with a second catalytic system has sparked significant interest from the scientific community. Accordingly, numerous unprecedented reactions involving photoredox catalysis in synergy with other activation modes including Brønsted/Lewis acid catalysis, organocatalysis, enzymatic biocatalysis, or

Fluorohydration of alkynes via I(I)/I(III) catalysis

• Jessica Neufeld,
• Constantin G. Daniliuc and
• Ryan Gilmour

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1627–1635, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.135

• suppressed catalysis. The prerequisite for this substructure was established by molecular editing and was complemented with a physical organic investigation of possible determinants. Keywords: α-fluoroketone; alkyne; fluorination; hypervalent iodine; organocatalysis; Introduction The venerable role of

Heterogeneous photocatalysis in flow chemical reactors

• Christopher G. Thomson,
• Ai-Lan Lee and
• Filipe Vilela

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1495–1549, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.125

Photocatalysis with organic dyes: facile access to reactive intermediates for synthesis

• Stephanie G. E. Amos,
• Marion Garreau,
• Luca Buzzetti and
• Jerome Waser

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1163–1187, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.103

Asymmetric synthesis of CF₂-functionalized aziridines by combined strong Brønsted acid catalysis

• Xing-Fa Tan,
• Fa-Guang Zhang and
• Jun-An Ma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 638–644, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.60

• no enantioselectivity at all. As arylboronic acids have been harnessed to enhance the Brønsted acidity in asymmetric organocatalysis in combination with chiral diols or chiral aminoalcohols [40][41][42][43][44], we envisioned that the simultaneous use of arylboronic acids and chiral Brønsted acids

Recent developments in photoredox-catalyzed remote ortho and para C–H bond functionalizations

• Rafia Siddiqui and
• Rashid Ali

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 248–280, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.26

• functionalization has been done either using transition metal catalysis or organocatalysis, through the installation of directing groups next to the targeted C–H bond, or by employing radical tactics based on single-electron transfer (SET) [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. Although

Halogen-bonding-induced diverse aggregation of 4,5-diiodo-1,2,3-triazolium salts with different anions

• Xingyu Xu,
• Shiqing Huang,
• Zengyu Zhang,
• Lei Cao and
• Xiaoyu Yan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 78–87, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.10

• chemistry, anion recognition, organocatalysis, materials science and tuning of biomolecular systems [17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27]. 1,2,3-Triazole-based XB-donors, such as 5-iodo-1,2,3-triazoles A [28][29][30][31][32][33] and 5-iodo-1,2,3-triazolium B [34][35][36][37] (Figure 1), are promising

A review of asymmetric synthetic organic electrochemistry and electrocatalysis: concepts, applications, recent developments and future directions

• Munmun Ghosh,
• Valmik S. Shinde and
• Magnus Rueping

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2710–2746, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.264

• chiral enolates. Organocatalysts: From the outset of electroorganic chemistry, chemists have devoted substantial effort towards applying organocatalysts in electroorganic synthesis. Recent advances integrating organocatalysis and electroorganic synthesis were elegantly presented by Boydston and Ogawa in