Preparation of spirocyclic oxindoles by cyclisation of an oxime to a nitrone and dipolar cycloaddition

• Beth L. Ritchie,
• Alexandra Longcake and
• Iain Coldham

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1890–1896, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.146

• -containing compounds makes use of intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions [15], including examples with nitrone ylides [16][17][18][19][20][21][22]. Our research group has exploited this approach for the synthesis of alkaloids such as myrioxazine A and aspidospermidine [23][24]. With a nitrone 1,3

Chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed asymmetric synthesis of helically chiral, planarly chiral and inherently chiral molecules

• Wei Liu and
• Xiaoyu Yang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1864–1889, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.145

• asymmetric Mannich reactions, the past two decades have witnessed the remarkable evolution of CPA catalysis into one of the most versatile platforms for achieving diverse enantioselective transformations [3][4][5][6][7][8]. CPA catalysts are generally recognized as bifunctional catalysts with two distinct

• effects of the CPAs, which establish a chiral microenvironment within the chiral scaffold that governs the stereoselectivity of asymmetric reactions. Chiral molecules, characterized as three-dimensional structures that are nonsuperimposable with their mirror image, have significant applications in

• asymmetric catalytic reactions to synthesize chiral molecules with stereogenic centers has been developed. Moreover, the rapid advancement of axially chiral molecules in asymmetric synthesis has been made possible by employing CPA catalysis, notably pioneered by Akiyama [10], Tan [11] and others. However

Systematic pore lipophilization to enhance the efficiency of an amine-based MOF catalyst in the solvent-free Knoevenagel reaction

• Pricilla Matseketsa,
• Margret Kumbirayi Ruwimbo Pagare and
• Tendai Gadzikwa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1854–1863, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.144

• efficiency. Keywords: metal-organic frameworks; post-synthesis modification; supramolecular catalysis; Introduction Most enzymatic reactions take place in multifunctional cavities in which multiple amino acid residues work cooperatively to orient and activate reactants [1][2][3]. These residues may also

• by increasing the binding affinity for the lipophilic reactants and by decreasing the energy required to desolvate acid/base amino acid catalysts [34][35]. Lipophilicity has also been found to be beneficial in condensation reactions as the removed water molecules are repelled by the hydrophobic

• of the MOF product digested in D2SO4/DMSO-d6 (Figure 2B). Conversions were estimated by selecting the “same” proton in the starting material and in the products and integrating the corresponding peaks and setting the total to 100% (see Supporting Information File 1). We observed that the reactions

Photoswitches beyond azobenzene: a beginner’s guide

• Michela Marcon,
• Christoph Haag and
• Burkhard König

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1808–1853, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.143

• forward and backward isomerisation can occur simultaneously. Moreover, some unwanted photochemical side reactions ΦS can occur, as shown in the Equation 4: A is one state of the photoswitch, B the second state, and B’ a generic degradation product. Fatigue resistance measures how many times the

• photoswitch can be switched before it is degraded by side reactions. It is typically reported as cyclability Z50, which “is the number of cycles required to reduce the initial absorbance at a specific wavelength by 50%” [3]. The quantum yield ΦS of these side reactions determines the resistance to fatigue of

• the photoswitch. Examples of photogenerated side reactions can be oxidation or irreversible rearrangements. In the following sections, seven classes of photoswitches beyond the classic azobenzene are introduced and discussed (Scheme 1). Each of them shows unique photophysical behaviour and has

Fe-catalyzed efficient synthesis of 2,4- and 4-substituted quinolines via C(sp²)–C(sp²) bond scission of styrenes

• Prafull A. Jagtap,
• Manish M. Petkar,
• Vaishnavi R. Sawant and
• Bhalchandra M. Bhanage

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1799–1807, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.142

• strategies have been explored in recent decades for the synthesis of structurally diverse quinolines. Among them, transition-metal-catalyzed multicomponent reactions (MCRs) have emerged as particularly effective for constructing complex quinoline-based heterocycles [26][27][28]. Catalytic pathways such as

• cycloaddition, tandem annulation, intramolecular cyclization, and cross-coupling reactions are commonly employed under thermal conditions, utilizing metal catalysts based on Pd, Ru, Au, Cu, and Fe to access a wide array of substituted quinoline frameworks [29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38]. Conversely, in

[3 + 2] Cycloaddition of thioformylium methylide with various arylidene-azolones in the synthesis of 7-thia-3-azaspiro[4.4]nonan-4-ones

• Daniil I. Rudik,
• Irina V. Tiushina,
• Anatoly I. Sokolov,
• Alexander Yu. Smirnov,
• Alexander R. Romanenko,
• Alexander A. Korlyukov,
• Andrey A. Mikhaylov and
• Mikhail S. Baranov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1791–1798, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.141

• -membered heterocyclic ring are of particular interest, since they exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activity (Scheme 1) [6][7][8][9][10][11]. The most straightforward and powerful methods of such substance’s syntheses are based on cycloaddition reactions [12][13][14][15]. Previously, we and other

Synthesis of chiral cyclohexane-linked bisimidazolines

• Changmeng Xi,
• Qingshan Sun and
• Jiaxi Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1786–1790, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.140

• alcohols and utilized in different metal-catalyzed asymmetric organic reactions [1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. In comparison with bisoxazoline ligands, relatively less attention has been paid to bisimidazoline ligands [10][11][12][13][14][15]. Some well investigated bisimidazoline ligands are pyridine-linked

• bisimidazoline (PyBim) ligands derived from pyridine-2,6-dicarbonitrile or pyridine-2,6-dicarboxylic acid and vicinal diamines, as analogues of pyridine-linked bisoxazoline (PyBOX) ligands [16][17]. They exhibited excellent performance in metal-catalyzed asymmetric organic reactions. Chiral rigid backbone-linked

• bisoxazoline ligands, such as anthracene-1,8-linked bisoxazolines (AnBOX) [18][19][20] showed excellent enantioselectivities for certain substrates due to their ability to fix transition states in asymmetric reactions, realizing excellent stereoselectivities. However, they also presented some limitations to

Research progress on calixarene/pillararene-based controlled drug release systems

• Liu-Huan Yi,
• Jian Qin,
• Si-Ran Lu,
• Liu-Pan Yang,
• Li-Li Wang and
• Huan Yao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1757–1785, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.139

• processes. For example, supramolecular self-assembly technology enhances the targeting of chemotherapeutic drugs to tumor tissues, reducing systemic adverse reactions. (3) Macrocyclic aromatic supramolecular nano-valves have a pseudo-rotaxane structure with host–guest coordination and the kinetic properties

• a series of neatly arranged hydrophilic phenolic hydroxy groups that can be selectively modified through chemical reactions [49]. CAs feature large hydrophobic cavities whose size can be precisely modulated by varying the number of aromatic rings. This structural tunability enables the cavities of

• modifiable ring positions, and many PA derivatives with different functional groups can be obtained through the cyclization reaction of 1,4-dialkoxybenzene monomers or post-synthetic modification reactions [74]. PAs possess a unique internal cavity characterized by an electron-rich and hydrophobic

Unique halogen–π association detected in single crystals of C–N atropisomeric N-(2-halophenyl)quinolin-2-one derivatives and the thione analogue

• Mai Uchibori,
• Nanami Murate,
• Kanako Shima,
• Tatsunori Sakagami,
• Ko Kanehisa,
• Gary James Richards,
• Akiko Hori and
• Osamu Kitagawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1748–1756, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.138

• ; single crystals; thiones; Introduction In the past several years, C–N atropisomers (C–N axially chiral compounds) owing to the rotational restriction around a C–N single bond have received great attention as new target molecules for catalytic asymmetric reactions. Highly enantioselective syntheses of

Thermodynamics and polarity-driven properties of fluorinated cyclopropanes

• Matheus P. Freitas

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1742–1747, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.137

• to modulate properties that enhance the performance of pharmaceuticals and materials. This quantum-chemical study explores the energetic implications of fluorinating cyclopropane, providing insights into molecular characteristics arising from the polar C–F bond. Isodesmic reactions revealed that the

• reactants and products [15]. While such reactions are theoretically possible, they are not always experimentally feasible. Their primary purpose is to provide insight into the favorability of specific processes. In this study, we employ the following isodesmic reaction to assess whether the fluorination of

• substitution is endothermic and, therefore, destabilizing [8]. This destabilization was attributed to the greater s-character of the orbital involved in bonding to the substituent. In contrast, our calculations at the B3LYP-GD3BJ/6-311++G(d,p) level revealed that the reactions leading to the fluorinated

Preparation of a furfural-derived enantioenriched vinyloxazoline building block and exploring its reactivity

• Madara Darzina,
• Anna Lielpetere and
• Aigars Jirgensons

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1737–1741, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.136

• reactions. Out of these, the aza-Diels–Alder reaction with TsNCO was successful, leading to a highly diastereoselective formation of an oxazolo[3,2-c]pyrimidine derivative. Keywords: aza-Diels–Alder reaction; electrosynthesis; furfural; valinol; vinyloxazoline; Introduction The utilization of biomass as

Convenient alternative synthesis of the Malassezia-derived virulence factor malassezione and related compounds

• Karu Ramesh and
• Stephen L. Bearne

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1730–1736, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.135

• to form a tert-butyl ester, leading to unwanted side products and reduced selectivity. Once the acid was protected, the Boc group could be selectively introduced onto the indole nitrogen without side reactions. Overall, this sequence ensured clean N-Boc protection with minimal side reactions and

• intent of using the benzyl group to protect the indole nitrogen rather than the Boc group. However, Pd-catalyzed hydrogenation of 25d led to a mixture of products, of which some were consistent with reduction of the indole ring. With respect to the scalability of the synthesis, the reactions can be

• , ON, Canada). Reactions were monitored using thin-layer chromatography on aluminium-backed silica plates (Sigma-Aldrich) using either UV-light (254 nm), iodine, KMnO4, phosphomolybdic acid, or p-anisaldehyde for visualization. Tetrahydrofuran (THF) was dried and distilled over sodium/benzophenone

3,3'-Linked BINOL macrocycles: optimized synthesis of crown ethers featuring one or two BINOL units

• Somayyeh Kheirjou,
• Jan Riebe,
• Maike Thiele,
• Christoph Wölper and
• Jochen Niemeyer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1719–1729, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.134

• synthetic approaches (see Figure 1e) toward BINOL macrocycles had successfully used either Williamson-type reactions or Suzuki couplings for the synthesis of intermediates. Thus, we chose to compare the use of two-fold Suzuki coupling or two-fold Williamson reaction for the synthesis of macrocycles M1. For

• were slightly increased (40% for H-M18, 53% for iPr-M18). As a general trend, we observed that the pentaethylene glycol linker seems to be too short to result in efficient macrocyclization (both in Suzuki and Williamson reactions), while the longer linkers give moderate to good yields of the desired

Approaches to stereoselective 1,1'-glycosylation

• Daniele Zucchetta and
• Alla Zamyatina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1700–1718, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.133

• mixtures of anomers and are therefore problematic to use in chemical glycosylation reactions. Keywords: carbohydrates; chemical glycosylation; Introduction Nonreducing disaccharides are abundant components of non-mammalian glycans and glycolipids found in fungi [1], nematodes [2], and bacteria such as

• typically exist as a mixture of anomers which complicates their use in the chemical glycosylation reactions. Earlier approaches to constructing 1,1'-O-glycosidic bonds often relied on the use of simply and symmetrically protected (benzylated or acetylated) monosaccharide building blocks, enabling the

• [50], and trichloroacetimidates [51][52]. However, the monosaccharide components were mostly fully benzylated or acetylated, so that the 1,1'-glycosylation reactions led to the formation of symmetric nonreducing products [53]. For instance, the tetrabenzylated chloride donor 1 was reacted with the

Continuous-flow-enabled intensification in nitration processes: a review of technological developments and practical applications over the past decade

• Feng Zhou,
• Chuansong Duanmu,
• Yanxing Li,
• Jin Li,
• Haiqing Xu,
• Pan Wang and
• Kai Zhu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1678–1699, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.132

• -flow configurations demonstrate superior safety and efficiency. While the synthetic significance of nitration is underscored by the broad utility of nitro derivatives, persistent technical challenges including regioselectivity control, over-nitration phenomena, and substrate oxidation side reactions

• reactions up to 2021, and summarized the characteristics of the main organic nitrating reagents discussed in their work [6]. Yang et al. developed 5-methyl-1,3-dinitro-1H-pyrazoleas a controllable nitronium ion source for mild, selective (hetero)arene nitration. This method achieves condition-controlled

• reactors. For intensely exothermic nitration reactions with rapid kinetics, this technology enables uniform mixing, efficient heat removal, and precise control of critical parameters including reaction temperature and reactant stoichiometry. Crucially, continuous operation permits scalable production of

Influence of the cation in hypophosphite-mediated catalyst-free reductive amination

• Natalia Lebedeva,
• Fedor Kliuev,
• Olesya Zvereva,
• Klim Biriukov,
• Evgeniya Podyacheva,
• Maria Godovikova,
• Oleg I. Afanasyev and
• Denis Chusov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1661–1670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.130

• fertilizers in agrochemistry phosphates [20]. Multiple literature reports indicate that changing the alkali metal cations can strongly affect diverse chemical processes including radical reactions [27], electrochemical processes [28], and biomass pyrolysis [29]. However, hypophosphites derived from alkali

• reaction medium, thereby preventing their reduction. This fact and the result of the control experiment where Schiff base was used as a starting material (Scheme 3a) demonstrated that Schiff base was not an intermediate in the developed reaction. The reactions between carbonyl compounds and secondary

• [41]. The higher ionic radius of potassium facilitates rapid dissolution of the reducing agent thus increasing the reduction rate. Together these factors allow conducting reductive amination reactions selectively and at lower temperatures. Conclusion In conclusion, the reactivity of hypophosphites of

Catalytic asymmetric reactions of isocyanides for constructing non-central chirality

• Jia-Yu Liao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1648–1660, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.129

• become a hot topic in synthetic organic chemistry. Isocyanides (also termed isonitriles) are a class of highly versatile building blocks in organic synthesis, participating in a wide range of transformations including multicomponent reactions (e.g., the well-known Passerini and Ugi reactions) [13][14][15

• ], insertion reactions [16][17][18], cycloaddition reactions (e.g., [4 + 1], [3 + 2]) [19][20], and others [21][22][23]. Particularly, isocyanides have been widely exploited toward the preparation of centrally chiral structures through transition-metal-catalyzed or organocatalytic asymmetric reactions [24][25

• reaction type and the chirality type of resulting products. Perspective Isocyanide-based transformations Palladium-catalyzed isocyanide insertion reactions In 2018, Luo, Zhu, and co-workers developed a palladium-catalyzed enantioselective reaction between ferrocene-derived vinyl isocyanides 1 and aryl

Photocatalysis and photochemistry in organic synthesis

• Timothy Noël and
• Bartholomäus Pieber

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1645–1647, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.128

• Review article discussing photocatalysts capable of harnessing low-energy red light to trigger chemical reactions [19]. In addition to photoredox catalysis, several mechanistic platforms that leverage light – such as the use of electron donor–acceptor complexes [20], proton-coupled electron transfer [21

• ], hydrogen atom transfer [22], halogen atom transfer [23], and energy transfer catalysis [24][25] – have been established as powerful additions to the arsenal of photon-driven reactions. Three articles in this thematic issue exemplify this: The Molloy group developed an intramolecular [2 + 2]-cycloaddition

• , and flow chemistry are being harnessed to push the limits of light-driven reactions [36]. Terada and colleagues show in this thematic issue how flow chemistry is used to significantly improve the yield of a π-Lewis acidic metal-catalyzed cyclization–radical addition sequence [37]. Recently, chemists

Formal synthesis of a selective estrogen receptor modulator with tetrahydrofluorenone structure using [3 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition of yne-vinylcyclopropanes and CO

• Jing Zhang,
• Guanyu Zhang,
• Hongxi Bai and
• Zhi-Xiang Yu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1639–1644, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.127

• the 6/5/5 skeleton, and a Heck coupling reaction constructing the [3.2.1] framework, are the two key reactions in this 11-step synthesis. Keywords: [3 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition; selective estrogen receptor modulators; synthesis; tetrahydrofluorenone; Introduction Estrogen receptors (ERs) [1][2] are

• compound [29] and can be prepared from readily available m-anisyl alcohol by using iodination and bromination reactions (see Supporting Information File 1 for the details). Subsequently, an SN2 reaction between 2 and tert-butyl cyclopropanecarboxylate (3) in the presence of LDA delivered product 4 in 87

• , photocatalytic decarboxylation [34] delivered the desired product 1 in 74% yield, realizing a formal synthesis of the selective estrogen receptor modulator VI. Conclusion In conclusion, we achieved a formal synthesis of SERM molecule VI through a 11-step process to its precursor, molecule 1. Two key reactions

On the aromaticity and photophysics of 1-arylbenzo[a]imidazo[5,1,2-cd]indolizines as bicolor fluorescent molecules for barium tagging in the study of double-beta decay of ¹³⁶Xe

• Eric Iván Velazco-Cabral,
• Fernando Auria-Luna,
• Juan Molina-Canteras,
• Miguel A. Vázquez,
• Iván Rivilla and
• Fernando P. Cossío

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1627–1638, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.126

• -phenylene moiety in the tetracyclic structure. Combination of reactions A and B in the form yields an average value of ⟨ΔEAB⟩ = −22.6 kcal/mol. A similar treatment of the separate components as outlined in reactions C and D shows a much lower stabilization energy for imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine 8 and a higher

• -cd]indolizine 1 with respect to the imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine unit (A) and the ortho-disubstituted phenyl ring (B). Similar reactions for the separate components of 1 are shown in (C) and (D). All the relative energies have been calculated at the B3LYP-D3BJ/6-311+G** level of theory. Explicit hydrogens

Transition-state aromaticity and its relationship with reactivity in pericyclic reactions

• Israel Fernández

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1613–1626, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.125

• Israel Fernandez Departamento de Química Orgánica, Facultad de Ciencias Químicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040-Madrid, Spain 10.3762/bjoc.21.125 Abstract The influence of transition-state aromaticity on the barrier heights of concerted pericyclic reactions is summarized herein. To

• this end, selected representative examples ranging from fundamental processes such as Diels–Alder or Alder–ene reactions to double-group transfer reactions or 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions involving metal complexes are presented. It is found that while more synchronous processes tend to exhibit greater

• other than aromaticity govern the barrier heights of these pericyclic reactions. Keywords: activation barrier; activation strain model; aromaticity; computational chemistry; transition state; Introduction Aromaticity is arguably one of the most fundamental and extensively studied concepts in chemistry

3-Aryl-2H-azirines as annulation reagents in the Ni(II)-catalyzed synthesis of 1H-benzo[4,5]thieno[3,2-b]pyrroles

• Julia I. Pavlenko,
• Pavel A. Sakharov,
• Anastasiya V. Agafonova,
• Derenik A. Isadzhanyan,
• Alexander F. Khlebnikov and
• Mikhail S. Novikov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1595–1602, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.123

• -containing compounds [1][2][3]. Such reactions can be initiated by electrophilic, nucleophilic or radical reagents, photoirradiation or proceed under acid-, metal-, or photocatalytic conditions. This strategy of azirine ring expansion is applicable to the synthesis of a variety of 4‒9-membered N-heterocycles

• reactions of intermolecular annulation of a variety of non-aromatic five- [4][5][6] and six-membered carbo- and heterocycles [7][8][9] with azirines, which occur under transition metal catalysis or photocatalysis. Annulation of the pyrrole ring to an aromatic system is limited to reactions of functionalized

• reactions of heteroaromatics with azirines are known only for 2-chloro- and 2-sulfanylpyridines [14][15], which result in the formation of imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines (Scheme 1, reactions 4 and 5). To the best of our knowledge, no successful methods enabling the fusion of a pyrrole or azole ring to a 5-membered

Thermodynamic equilibrium between locally excited and charge transfer states in perylene–phenothiazine dyads

• Issei Fukunaga,
• Shunsuke Kobashi,
• Yuki Nagai,
• Hiroki Horita,
• Hiromitsu Maeda and
• Yoichi Kobayashi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1577–1586, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.121

• -catalyzed cross-coupling reactions between bromo-substituted perylene or phenothiazine precursors and appropriate donor or linker units, followed by purification via column chromatography and gel permeation chromatography (Figures S18–S21 in Supporting Information File 1). The details of the syntheses are

Synthesis of an aza[5]helicene-incorporated macrocyclic heteroarene via oxidation of an o-phenylene-pyrrole-thiophene icosamer

• Yusuke Matsuo,
• Aoi Nakagawa,
• Shu Seki and
• Takayuki Tanaka

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1561–1567, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.119

• , respectively [19][20]. Recently, our group established an efficient synthetic strategy for strained macrocyclic polyarenes, such as compound C, in which o-phenylene units preorganize adjacent heteroaromatics into close proximity, thereby facilitating oxidative ring-closure reactions [21]. Among these, the

Facile synthesis of hydantoin/1,2,4-oxadiazoline spiro-compounds via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to 5-iminohydantoins

• Juliana V. Petrova,
• Varvara T. Tkachenko,
• Victor A. Tafeenko,
• Anna S. Pestretsova,
• Vadim S. Pokrovsky,
• Maxim E. Kukushkin and
• Elena K. Beloglazkina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1552–1560, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.118

• Federation, 115478, Moscow, Russian Federation 10.3762/bjoc.21.118 Abstract The cycloaddition of 1,3-dipoles at C=N bonds is a relatively rare process, in contrast to the widespread cycloaddition reactions at C=C, C≡C, and C=S bonds. In this study, we present the syntheses of novel hydantoin/1,2,4

• of double and triple bonds, most of the described reactions are related to dipolarophiles with C=C, C≡C or C=S bonds [7]. However, the [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of nitrile oxides to exocyclic C=N bonds, is a much less explored area. There are few known reactions of these dipoles with imino derivatives of

• developed for existing spiro systems to the new hybrid drugs. In this work a similar modification of imidazolidine derivatives was performed for the first time for the synthesis of spiro-hydantoins. The title reactions were carried out using two alternative techniques for the generation of the reactive 1,3