A convergent synthetic approach to the tetracyclic core framework of khayanolide-type limonoids

• Zhiyang Zhang,
• Jialei Hu,
• Hanfeng Ding,
• Li Zhang and
• Peirong Rao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 926–934, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.75

• these approaches, we then turned to the milder photo-Nazarov cyclization, in which the UV-light sources were found to be critical. While irradiation at 365 or 313 nm failed to induce cyclization and only allowed recovery of the starting material (Table 1, entries 6 and 7), the disrotatory cyclization of

• 11 in the presence of AcOH by exposure to UV-light at 254 nm occurred exclusively to provide an inseparable mixture of 32 and 33 (Table 1, entry 5). Subsequent dehydration of the resultant mixture with SOCl2 and pyridine yielded separable enones 34 (51%) and 10 (9%) over two steps. The structure of

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

• enantiocontrol. Conversely, the bulky tert-butyl-decorated (R)-spirophosphoramidite L5 imposed a confined cavity, steering selectivity toward Si–C(sp2)-bond activation and predominantly afforded the regioisomeric (S)-2-silacyclohexenylarenes 18. In 2025, Gong and co-workers reported a visible-light-mediated

• , Koenigs, and co-workers demonstrated solvent-controlled bifurcation in the light-driven reactivity of cyclic diazo imides 41 with thiols 42, unveiling two mechanistically distinct pathways (Scheme 11) [40]. In dichloromethane (DCM), the reaction proceeds via a carbene intermediate, enabling cascade C(sp2

• mechanistic experiments and DFT calculations, the authors proposed a possible mechanism for the reaction: first, DPZ is excited by light to form the excited state DPZ*, which then oxidizes bromide ions through single-electron transfer to generate corresponding radical anions. These radical anions undergo

Cu–Bpin-mediated dimerization of 4,4-dichloro-2-butenoic acid derivatives enables the synthesis of densely functionalized cyclopropanes

• Patricia Gómez-Roibás,
• Andrea Chaves-Pouso and
• Martín Fañanás-Mastral

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 877–883, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.71

• the copper–boron bond into 1. The dual functionality of this substrate imposed a question related to the regioselectivity of the Cu–Bpin insertion since it can potentially behave as an α,β-unsaturated ester or an allylic substrate [16][17][18][19]. To shed some light into this issue, we ran the

Light-enabled intramolecular [2 + 2] cycloaddition via photoactivation of simple alkenylboronic esters

• Lewis McGhie,
• Hannah M. Kortman,
• Jenna Rumpf,
• Peter H. Seeberger and
• John J. Molloy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 854–863, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.69

• activate organic molecules has had a profound impact on contemporary synthesis, enabling the practitioner to strategically construct molecules that are higher in energy from simple feedstock commodities [1][2][3][4][5]. Indeed, the unique ability to access high energy intermediates leveraging light, has

• contributions have enabled the efficient activation of carbonyl and alkene moieties, the inability of most organic molecules to efficiently absorb photons at longer wavelengths often preclude their use in direct excitation strategies, requiring unique experimental set ups and light sources that are

Unraveling cooperative interactions between complexed ions in dual-host strategy for cesium salt separation

• Zhihua Liu,
• Ya-Zhi Chen,
• Ji Wang,
• Qingling Nie,
• Wei Zhao and
• Biao Wu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 845–853, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.68

• carbonyl (C=O) groups, as well as direct ion-pairing interactions between 18-crown-6-complexed Cs+ and hexaurea-bound PO43−. Single-crystal structural analysis corroborates these interactions, shedding light on the underlying mechanisms and providing valuable guidance for the rational design of advanced

Substituent effects in N-acetylated phenylazopyrazole photoswitches

• Radek Tovtik,
• Dennis Marzin,
• Pia Weigel,
• Stefano Crespi and
• Nadja A. Simeth

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 830–838, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.66

• reported to either bathochromically shift the UV–vis absorption spectrum or lead to a better separation of the n→π* bands of the two photoisomers and allow for visible-light-responsive switches [23][24][25][26]. In recent years, heteroaryl azobenzene derivatives have revealed superior properties to

• light, showing a great photostability of these compounds [32]. We performed the same experiment on our NAc-PAPs (see Table 3 and section 3.2 in Supporting Information File 1) and did not observe any fatigue after 10–20 cycles of photoswitching, showing high photostability also of NAc-PAPs. To quantify

• most cases compared to NH-PAPs. For NMe-PAPs, West et al. attributed this to a pronounced spectral separation between the π→π* bands of E and Z-isomers, which we also found for NAc-PAPs [31]. For the back isomerization with 445 nm light, favoring the E isomer, we observed that the amount of E isomer

Synthesis and photoinduced switching properties of C₇-heteroatom containing push–pull norbornadiene derivatives

• Daniel Krappmann and
• Andreas Hirsch

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 807–816, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.64

• , various light-, heat-, and acid-induced rearrangements have been reported [35], complicating the distinct structural determination of these compounds. In comparison to published NMR and UV–vis data, formation of neither known species can be assumed with certainty. Last, through addition of mono-carboxylic

Recent advances in the electrochemical synthesis of organophosphorus compounds

• Babak Kaboudin,
• Milad Behroozi,
• Sepideh Sadighi and
• Fatemeh Asgharzadeh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 770–797, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.61

• that controls reaction selectivity by adjusting voltage or current [13]. Simple synthetic systems in electrochemical methods are limited to electrodes, cells, electrolytes, and power supplies. Today, in addition to the above, light, metallic, and organic catalysts are also used to increase the

New advances in asymmetric organocatalysis II

• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 766–769, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.60

• , carbohydrates, or thiourea [5][6][7][8]. Going even more back in time, we shall recognize the work of Eder, Sauer, Wiechert, Hajos, and Parrish on the proline-catalyzed Robinson annulation in the 1970s [9][10]. In light of this, organocatalysis appears to be 50 rather than 25 years old. But is even that correct

Orthogonal photoswitching of heterobivalent azobenzene glycoclusters: the effect of glycoligand orientation in bacterial adhesion

• Leon M. Friedrich and
• Thisbe K. Lindhorst

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 736–748, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.57

• (Scheme 2B). Photochromic properties Irradiation of the glycoazobenzene-functionalized mannosides 6αMan 3, 6βGlc 4, and 3αMan 5 with light of 365, 435, and 520 nm, respectively, led to three photostationary states (PSS) in each case of which the E/Z ratios were determined by integration of the anomeric

• proton of the terminal sugar units in the 1H NMR spectrum (Table 1 and Supporting Information File 1, Figures S8, S10, and S12). Irradiation with 365 nm light excites the π–π* band of the ortho-fluorinated S-azobenzene units (ABF4) of both 3 and 4 and the π–π* band of the O-azobenzene (AB) unit of 5

• leading to PSS with E/Z ratios of 18:82 for 3 and 4 and 3:97 for 5. Back switching occurs upon irradiation with 435 nm light that excites the n–π* band of the Z isomers and leads to almost identical E/Z ratios (64:36 and 65:35) in all three cases (3, 4, and 5). Irradiation of 5 with 520 nm light, on the

Synthesis of HBC fluorophores with an electrophilic handle for covalent attachment to Pepper RNA

• Raphael Bereiter and
• Ronald Micura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 727–735, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.56

• Raphael Bereiter Ronald Micura Institute of Organic Chemistry, Center for Molecular Biosciences, Innsbruck (CMBI), University of Innsbruck, Innrain 80-82, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria 10.3762/bjoc.21.56 Abstract The fluorescent light-up aptamer (FLAP) Pepper can utilize fluorophores that are equipped

• and the new ones) for covalent attachment to the Pepper aptamer in vitro. Results and Discussion Background The fluorescent light-up aptamer Pepper binds a series of structurally related synthetic dyes that contain a stilbene core. The lead compound is (4-((2-hydroxyethyl)(methyl)amino)benzylidene

• usefulness of this type of bifunctional fluorescent ligands in RNA affinity purification has recently been demonstrated by our group [11]. Conclusion Covalent fluorescent light-up aptamers (coFLAPs) are opening new avenues for RNA imaging [11]. In this work, we describe robust synthetic routes for twelve HBC

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

Photochemically assisted synthesis of phenacenes fluorinated at the terminal benzene rings and their electronic spectra

• Yuuki Ishii,
• Minoru Yamaji,
• Fumito Tani,
• Kenta Goto,
• Yoshihiro Kubozono and
• Hideki Okamoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 670–679, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.53

• ][11][12], luminophores in light-emitting devices [13][14][15], organic semiconductors [16][17][18], and even as aromatic superconductors [19]. Later, parent and chemically modified phenacenes were applied to active layers in high-performance organic field-effect transistors. Thus, the phenacene

• 18-crown-6 produced fluorine-containing diarylethene 8 as a mixture of E- and Z-isomers. Subsequently, the E/Z mixture of 8 was subjected to the Mallory photoreaction without separation. Thus, compound 8 was irradiated with fluorescent black-light lamps (300 nm, 6 × 16 W) in the presence of a

Asymmetric synthesis of fluorinated derivatives of aromatic and γ-branched amino acids via a chiral Ni(II) complex

• Maurizio Iannuzzi,
• Thomas Hohmann,
• Michael Dyrks,
• Kilian Haoues,
• Katarzyna Salamon-Krokosz and
• Beate Koksch

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 659–669, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.52

• ) was carried out on aluminum plates coated with silica gel 60 F254 (Merck, Darmstadt, Germany). The TLC plates were analyzed using UV light at 254 nm. Flash chromatography was performed on silica gel 60 M from Macherey-Nagel (grain size of 40−63 μm). The conditions are given in the form “(A/B = a:b

Photocatalyzed elaboration of antibody-based bioconjugates

• Marine Le Stum,
• Eugénie Romero and
• Gary A. Molander

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 616–629, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.49

• proteins. By harnessing light to drive chemical transformations, photoredox techniques can facilitate the synthesis of antibody bioconjugates. This perspective will discuss the drive to develop and empower photoredox methods applied to antibody functionalization. Keywords: antibodies; bioconjugation

• selective chemical reactions, often for bioconjugation, by utilizing photoaffinity reagents. These reagents are typically photoreactive molecules that can be activated by light to form covalent bonds with nearby molecules [31][32][33]. PAL involves using a light-activated group (often a photo-crosslinker

• ) that can form covalent bonds when exposed to UV or visible light. These photoaffinity tags or crosslinkers are designed to bind to specific biomolecules, such as proteins, nucleic acids, or lipids, in a highly selective manner. The light irradiation triggers a chemical reaction, such as a bond

Deep-blue emitting 9,10-bis(perfluorobenzyl)anthracene

• Long K. San,
• Sebastian Balser,
• Brian J. Reeves,
• Tyler T. Clikeman,
• Yu-Sheng Chen,
• Steven H. Strauss and
• Olga V. Boltalina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 515–525, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.39

• emitters for organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) [4][5][6][7][8]. More recently, an increased interest in the studies of triplet–triplet annihilation mechanisms in anthracene emitter materials [9] and the design of efficient OLED emitters based on hyperfluorescence [10][11], which could exhibit high

• efficiencies in OLED performance, since lower applied voltages will be required. It has been shown that a desired applied voltage should be below 10 V to obtain significant light intensity from ANTH-based OLEDs [8]. Such low operating voltage may reduce power consumption and increase the lifetime of a blue

• achieved due to chemical modification of ANTH [25][32]. Changes in the UV–vis spectra were typically used as an indication of the compounds’ decomposition. It is well established that ANTH is rapidly oxidized to form anthraquinone upon exposure to light in the presence of oxygen. Furthermore, endoperoxides

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

• E. M. Kosower in 1978. In this study, we report the topochemical cycloaddition of diethyl 2,6-dichloro-1,7-dioxo-1H,7H-pyrazolo[1,2-a]pyrazole-3,5-dicarboxylate (Cl2B), initiated by visible light. Crystal structure analysis confirmed that the reactive double bonds are parallel and coplanar, in line

• with the Schmidt criteria for topochemical cycloaddition. Additionally, two other bimane derivatives with different substitution patterns were synthesized and investigated. Our findings suggest that functionalizing bimanes to redshift their absorption maxima into the visible-light spectrum provides a

• crystal lattice and are often reversible, requiring either high-energy light or heat for initiation [6][7][8]. Notably, topochemical polymerizations align with the principles of green chemistry, as they are solvent-free and do not involve toxic reagents [9]. The highly ordered and uniform nature of

Synthesis of N-acetyl diazocine derivatives via cross-coupling reaction

• Thomas Brandt,
• Pascal Lentes,
• Jeremy Rudtke,
• Michael Hösgen,
• Christian Näther and
• Rainer Herges

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 490–499, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.36

• subsequently activated with light at the site of illness with high spatiotemporal resolution. Thus, collateral damage in the surrounding healthy tissue can be avoided. In addition, the quantitative thermal back-isomerization from the active E to the inactive Z configuration prevents contamination and

• designing a photoswitchable drug is to place the switch at a position in the pharmacophore that allows switching of the biological effect by irradiation with light without greatly reducing the overall activity by unselective interference with the inhibitor–receptor interaction. This is a difficult task

• efficiency. In any case the light-induced geometry change via isomerization should selectively control the interaction between the inhibitor and the receptor [21]. Currently there is only one example reported in the literature for the incorporation of N-acetyl diazocines into biologically active molecules

Photomechanochemistry: harnessing mechanical forces to enhance photochemical reactions

• Francesco Mele,
• Ana M. Constantin,
• Andrea Porcheddu,
• Raimondo Maggi,
• Giovanni Maestri,
• Nicola Della Ca’ and
• Luca Capaldo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 458–472, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.33

• Sustainability, University of Parma, Parco Area delle Scienze 17/A, 43124 Parma, Italy 10.3762/bjoc.21.33 Abstract Photomechanochemistry, i.e., the merger of light energy and mechanical forces, is emerging as a new trend in organic synthesis, enabling unique reactivities of fleeting excited states under solvent

• -minimized conditions. Despite its transformative potential, the field faces significant technological challenges that must be addressed to unlock its full capabilities. In this Perspective, we analyze selected examples to showcase the available technologies to combine light and mechanical forces, including

• research. Keywords: light-mediated synthesis; mechanochemistry; photomechanochemistry; Introduction Light-mediated synthetic methodologies have significantly transformed contemporary organic chemistry by enabling a broad array of previously unattainable transformations [1]. In fact, the absorption of a

Beyond symmetric self-assembly and effective molarity: unlocking functional enzyme mimics with robust organic cages

• Keith G. Andrews

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 421–443, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.30

• chemistry [200]. “Switchable” metal-organic cages [212] use a stimulus like light to change ligand geometries. This often triggers disassembly since new geometries can lead to new thermodynamic minima, though where geometric changes are tolerated within the original structure the stimuli can trigger guest

Synthesis, characterization, antimicrobial, cytotoxic and carbonic anhydrase inhibition activities of multifunctional pyrazolo-1,2-benzothiazine acetamides

• Ayesha Saeed,
• Shahana Ehsan,
• Muhammad Zia-ur-Rehman,
• Erin M. Marshall,
• Sandra Loesgen,
• Abdus Saleem,
• Simone Giovannuzzi and
• Claudiu T. Supuran

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 348–357, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.25

• have low to negligible inhibition potential but dialkylated ones have no inhibition potential at all for directed CAs (I, II, IX, and XII). From the low inhibiting compounds, 7b showed the highest inhibition potential with a minimum Ki value of 72.9 μM. In light of the above findings, these newly

Synthesis of new condensed naphthoquinone, pyran and pyrimidine furancarboxylates

• Kirill A. Gomonov,
• Vasilii V. Pelipko,
• Igor A. Litvinov,
• Ilya A. Pilipenko,
• Anna M. Stepanova,
• Nikolai A. Lapatin,
• Ruslan I. Baichurin and
• Sergei V. Makarenko

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 340–347, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.24

• data, they luminesce in DMSO solution when irradiated with light at wavelengths of 352 and 283 nm. Compounds 7a–f are capable of existing as lactim–lactam tautomers due to the presence of an amide fragment in their structure (Scheme 7). At the same time, the 1H and 13C NMR spectra of compounds 7a–f

• phase and visualized under UV light (λ 254 nm). X-ray structure determination X-ray diffraction studies of single crystals of compounds 5a, 5b, 6b, 6c, and 7a were carried out on a Bruker D8 QUEST diffractometer. The cell parameters and experimental data were obtained at 100 K (graphite monochromator

Red light excitation: illuminating photocatalysis in a new spectrum

• Lucas Fortier,
• Corentin Lefebvre and
• Norbert Hoffmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 296–326, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.22

• Picardie Jules Verne UR 7378, 10 rue Baudelocque, 80000 Amiens, France Institute of Physics and Chemistry of Materials of Strasbourg (IPCMS), University of Strasbourg UMR 7504, 23 rue du Loess, BP 43, 67034 Strasbourg CEDEX 2, France 10.3762/bjoc.21.22 Abstract Red-light-activated photocatalysis has

• become a powerful approach for achieving sustainable chemical transformations, combining high efficiency with energy-saving, mild conditions. By harnessing the deeper penetration and selectivity of red and near-infrared light, this method minimizes the side reactions typical of higher-energy sources

• , making it particularly suited for large-scale applications. Recent advances highlight the unique advantages of both metal-based and metal-free catalysts under red-light irradiation, broadening the range of possible reactions, from selective oxidations to complex polymerizations. In biological contexts

Effect of substitution position of aryl groups on the thermal back reactivity of aza-diarylethene photoswitches and prediction by density functional theory

• Misato Suganuma,
• Daichi Kitagawa,
• Shota Hamatani and
• Seiya Kobatake

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 242–252, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.16

• Molecular photoswitches have been studied for a long time because their physicochemical properties such as refractive index [1][2], dipole moment [3][4], conductivity [5][6], magnetism [7][8], and fluorescence [9][10][11] can be spatiotemporally modulated by light without physical contact. Therefore

• -withdrawing substituents on the N-aryl moieties enhanced the thermal stability of the Z-isomers while maintaining the advantageous photoswitching properties upon irradiation with red light [52]. The effect of substituents on the thermal cis–trans isomerization of azobenzenes has also been widely studied, and

• Information File 1. The photochromic properties of N3, N4, and I1–I4 were investigated in n-hexane. Figure 1a,b and Figure S1 in Supporting Information File 1 show the absorption spectral changes of N3, N4, and I1–I4 in n-hexane upon UV light irradiation. Compounds N3(o), N4(o), and I1(o)–I4(o) have

Visible-light-promoted radical cyclisation of unactivated alkenes in benzimidazoles: synthesis of difluoromethyl- and aryldifluoromethyl-substituted polycyclic imidazoles

• Yujun Pang,
• Jinglan Yan,
• Nawaf Al-Maharik,
• Qian Zhang,
• Zeguo Fang and
• Dong Li

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 234–241, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.15

• , Palestine 10.3762/bjoc.21.15 Abstract An efficient and eco-friendly approach for synthesizing difluoromethyl- and aryldifluoromethyl-substituted polycyclic imidazoles was established via a visible-light-promoted radical cyclization reaction. This method employed the readily accessible and inexpensive

• target products in good to excellent yields. Mechanistic studies revealed that the reaction proceeds via a radical pathway. Keywords: cyclization; difluoromethylation; hypervalent iodine; polycyclic imidazole; visible light; Introduction Organofluorine compounds continue to play important roles in

• reaction of unactivated alkenes within benzimidazole molecules using CF2HSO2Na [18]. Subsequently, in 2024, Jin [19] and Yang [20] developed visible light-induced difluoromethylation strategies for unactivated alkenes within benzimidazoles using different CF2H sources (CF2HSO2Na and ([Ph3PCF2H]+Br