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

• , entries 10–13), and conducting the reaction under air instead of nitrogen significantly lowered the yield (Table 1, entry 14). Control experiments showed that the absence of PIDA resulted in no reaction (Table 1, entry 15), while the use of a 40 W light source or the absence of visible light also reduced

• demonstrates the versatility of our methodology and its potential for further exploration in diverse chemical spaces. To gain a deeper understanding of the mechanism behind the observed reaction, we conducted a series of control experiments as outlined in Scheme 3a. Initially, we performed the model reaction

• . Reaction conditions: 1 (0.2 mmol), 2 (1.4 mmol), and PIDA (0.8 mmol) in solvent (2 mL) irradiated with 72 W white LEDs at room temperature for 12 h under a N2 atmosphere. Yields refer to isolated yield. aα,α-Difluorobenzeneacetic acid (2 equiv) was used. Control experiments and plausible mechanism

Streamlined modular synthesis of saframycin substructure via copper-catalyzed three-component assembly and gold-promoted 6-endo cyclization

• Asahi Kanno,
• Ryo Tanifuji,
• Satoshi Yoshida,
• Sota Sato,
• Saori Maki-Yonekura,
• Kiyofumi Takaba,
• Jungmin Kang,
• Kensuke Tono,
• Koji Yonekura and
• Hiroki Oguri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 226–233, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.14

• -fluorobenzene (see Scheme 2 and Supporting Information File 1 for details). Copper(I)-catalyzed three-component coupling reaction of alkyne 8, THIQ 9, and benzaldehyde, proceeded with exquisite control of regioselectivity to afford 10 in an excellent yield of 92% [43][44][45][46]. This efficient cascade

• and a catalytic amount of triethylamine were used in dichloromethane with careful control of the reaction temperature at 15 °C (Table S2, Supporting Information File 1). With the 2,3-diaminobenzofuran 11 in hand as the designed cyclization precursor, we explored the construction of the left

• activation of the alkyne triple bond and allows precise control of the chemo- and regioselectivities for the assembly of the left isoquinoline substructure. The unexpected discovery of the fluorescent intermediate 18 adds an intriguing dimension to our current synthetic investigation and suggests potential

Dioxazolones as electrophilic amide sources in copper-catalyzed and -mediated transformations

• Seungmin Lee,
• Minsuk Kim,
• Hyewon Han and
• Jongwoo Son

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 200–216, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.12

• substrate scope of boronic acids was limited in this transformation. To elucidate the reaction process, kinetic and control experiments were conducted, which led to the proposed reaction pathway for the copper-mediated synthesis of N-arylamides from dioxazolones as shown in Figure 4. Initially, copper(I

Recent advances in electrochemical copper catalysis for modern organic synthesis

• Yemin Kim and
• Won Jun Jang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 155–178, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.9

• esters containing a quaternary stereocenter, and the control of regioselectivity depended on the bulkiness of the substrates. Additionally, the electrochemical system served as an internal syringe pump, generating quinone from hydroquinone in situ through anodic oxidation, which enhanced the

• transformations remains challenging due to the difficulty in controlling the stereo- and chemoselectivity of highly reactive radical intermediates. Future efforts should focus on designing new ligand frameworks to broaden substrate scopes and enhance selectivity control. The use of greener solvents is also

Cu(OTf)₂-catalyzed multicomponent reactions

• Sara Colombo,
• Camilla Loro,
• Egle M. Beccalli,
• Gianluigi Broggini and
• Marta Papis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 122–145, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.7

• additive. Some control experiments support a mechanism whose key intermediates are the formation of the iminium ion XIX, originated from aniline with formaldehyde which serves as the C1 building block, and the generation of the cyclic α,β-unsaturated ethers XX by Cu(OTf)2-catalyzed dehydrogenation of the

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

• (Scheme 23) [47]. These reactions were catalyzed by both BINOL-derived (TRIP) CPA (S)-C23 and SPINOL-derived CPA (S)-C24, providing axially chiral products 71 and 73, respectively. Control experiments showed the importance of the N–H group on the indole ring and the presence of both carboxylate groups in

• azodicarboxylate catalyzed by CPA (R)-C23 provided axially chiral unprotected biaryls (S)-74a–r and axially chiral protected biaryls (R)-75a–r (Scheme 24) [48]. Consistently high enantioselectivities and yields were reported with various binaphthyl and biphenyl substrates. Control experiments revealed the

Hot shape transformation: the role of PSar dehydration in stomatocyte morphogenesis

• Remi Peters,
• Levy A. Charleston,
• Karinan van Eck,
• Teun van Berlo and
• Daniela A. Wilson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 47–54, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.5

• stomatocyte configuration. Several critical factors contribute to this transformation. Firstly, the application of osmotic pressure which must be sufficiently robust. This control is notably easier with the addition of PEG, as it swiftly creates a substantial osmotic gradient [19]. Secondly, the vesicle's

Emerging trends in the optimization of organic synthesis through high-throughput tools and machine learning

• Pablo Quijano Velasco,
• Kedar Hippalgaonkar and
• Balamurugan Ramalingam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 10–38, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.3

• commercial and in-house developed equipment. Normally, HTE for organic chemistry will include a liquid transfer module, a reactor stage, and analytical tools for product characterization. When the full experimental process is automated and coupled with a centralized control system performing ML optimization

• to increase the experimental throughput. Commonly, batch platforms include a liquid handling system for setting up reactions based on a plunger pump (e.g., syringe, pipette), a reactor capable of heating and mixing, and in-line/online analytical tools. HTE in batch excels in the control of

• of stereoselective Suzuki–Miyaura couplings, offering precise control over both categorical and continuous variables (Figure 2a) [15]. The integrated robotic system containing a four-needle dispense head facilitated the delivery of reagents in low volume and slurries, ensuring the accuracy and

Chemical glycobiology

• Elisa Fadda,
• Rachel Hevey,
• Benjamin Schumann and
• Ulrika Westerlind

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 8–9, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.2

• methods that underlie modern glycobioinformatics approaches [15]. Validation of glycoprotein structure is an important aspect of contemporary structural biology, and Dialpuri et al. present the Privateer database to allow for facile quality control of such structures [16]. Finally, Barillot et al. bridge

Reactivity of hypervalent iodine(III) reagents bearing a benzylamine with sulfenate salts

• Beatriz Dedeiras,
• Catarina S. Caldeira,
• José C. Cunha,
• Clara S. B. Gomes and
• M. Manuel B. Marques

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3281–3289, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.272

• scavengers capable of abstracting the radical species that could emerge in the reaction media. The use of galvinoxyl proved to be insufficient to conclude since a control experiment showed that HIRs 2 decompose in the presence of galvinoxyl. When using TEMPO (Scheme 5), sulfinamide 6aa was not detected, but

• recognized ionic character of the sulfenate ion generated in the retro-Michael addition, on the results obtained with TEMPO (Scheme 5), and also on the results obtained when the reaction was carried out in the absence and presence of light, as well as the control experiments in the absence of BBX (see

Giese-type alkylation of dehydroalanine derivatives via silane-mediated alkyl bromide activation

• Perry van der Heide,
• Michele Retini,
• Fabiola Fanini,
• Giovanni Piersanti,
• Francesco Secci,
• Daniele Mazzarella,
• Timothy Noël and
• Alberto Luridiana

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3274–3280, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.271

• -protected Michael acceptor, derived from proline, allowed for preparation of compound 27 with a 35% yield in 4 hours without control of diastereoselectivity (dr = 1:1). Finally, to prove that the optimized reaction also works at a larger scale, the model reaction was carried out on a 2.2 mmol scale (Figure

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

• derivatives 3 in yields up to 99%, up to 20:1 dr, and up to 99% ee [24]. This work represents the first enantioselective bifunctional catalytic inverse electron demand Diels–Alder reaction that occurs with a dual control of the dienophile HOMO and diene LUMO energies of the substrates. The amino group of the

• calculations also revealed that due to kinetic control the activation of the C2 carbon of the dienolate is preferred vs the C4 atom, therefore only one regioisomer is observed. Additionally, the asymmetric IEDADA reaction could be performed at a higher scale (1 mmol) leading to the synthesis of the

Discovery of ianthelliformisamines D–G from the sponge Suberea ianthelliformis and the total synthesis of ianthelliformisamine D

• Sasha Hayes,
• Yaoying Lu,
• Bernd H. A. Rehm and
• Rohan A. Davis

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3205–3214, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.266

• OD600 and resazurin (RSZ) metabolic assay, respectively. The final concentration of DMSO in the assays was 1% (v/v). The negative controls consisted of inoculum and 1% DMSO. The antibiotic tobramycin (Sigma-Aldrich; 16 µg/mL) was used as a positive control. The initial OD600 and final OD600 were read

Synthesis of extended fluorinated tripeptides based on the tetrahydropyridazine scaffold

• Thierry Milcent,
• Pascal Retailleau,
• Benoit Crousse and
• Sandrine Ongeri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3174–3181, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.262

• stabilizes their secondary structure and their metabolic stability, which is useful for numerous applications [3][4][5]. Indeed, the cyclic structure considerably reduces the number of possible rotational conformers, allowing a rational control of the 3D conformational space. Among these cyclic structures

• strategy, the control of the stereoselectivity of the intramolecular aza-Michael addition could be envisaged with various chiral catalysts in further studies. These heterocyclic hydrazino acids, when incorporated into the peptidic structure, appear to confer an extended conformation. These interesting

Multicomponent reactions driving the discovery and optimization of agents targeting central nervous system pathologies

• Lucía Campos-Prieto,
• Aitor García-Rey,
• Eddy Sotelo and
• Ana Mallo-Abreu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3151–3173, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.261

• conducted at a concentration of 10 μM, with donepezil serving as a positive control. To measure their impact on cellular tau oligomerization, the fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) signal intensity was quantified in a cellular tau FRET assay at the same 10 μM concentration, using MK-886, a known

• tau-oligomerization inhibitor, as the positive control. Two compounds (7a and 7b, Figure 7) demonstrated a high inhibitory activity against AChE and tau-oligomerization, which were selected for further exploration. The neuroprotective effects of the compounds were assessed in comparison to MK-886 and

• deacetylase substrate MAL to determine the inhibitory activity, and using sirtinol as positive control. When compared to sirtinol (IC50 = 67 µM), selected compounds showed moderate affinity towards SIRT2, with IC50 values ranging from 118 to 126 µM (Figure 10). Gewald reaction: Cannabinoid receptors have been

Controlled oligomerization of [1.1.1]propellane through radical polarity matching: selective synthesis of SF₅- and CF₃SF₄-containing [2]staffanes

• Jón Atiba Buldt,
• Wang-Yeuk Kong,
• Yannick Kraemer,
• Masiel M. Belsuzarri,
• Ansh Hiten Patel,
• James C. Fettinger,
• Dean J. Tantillo and
• Cody Ross Pitts

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3134–3143, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.259

• oligomerizations involving [1.1.1]propellane – i.e., to make [n]staffanes – has been notoriously challenging to control when n > 1 is desired. Herein, we report selective syntheses of SF5- and CF3SF4-containing [2]staffanes from SF5Cl and CF3SF4Cl, demonstrating cases whereby oligomerization is preferentially

• is conceptually appealing, radical additions of X–Y across 1 in practice can be challenging to control and often lead to complex mixtures of functionalized [n]staffanes, n = 1–5 (Figure 1, top) [2][31][32][33][34]. Even though [n]staffanes are often separable by column chromatography, the yields for

Hypervalent iodine-mediated intramolecular alkene halocyclisation

• Charu Bansal,
• Oliver Ruggles,
• Albert C. Rowett and
• Alastair J. J. Lennox

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3113–3133, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.258

• reductive ligand coupling (RLC) pathway would be suppressed due to reduced fluxionality of the carboxylate ligand on I(III). These important findings are expected to enhance the use of aryl iodane(III)-dicarboxylates for constructing fluorinated azaheterocycles with improved selectivity and control. Oxygen

• aminofluorination using BF3·Et2O with a chiral aryliodide 16 catalyst (Scheme 20) [44]. The study successfully obtained various chiral fluorinated oxazine products 38 with high enantioselectivity (up to >99% ee) and diastereoselectivity (up to >20:1 dr). Control experiments showed that using Py·9HF or Et3N·3HF as

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

• acetonitrile, calix[4]pyrrole enhanced its solubility, contributing to its indirect activation. Various control experiments, such as using CuI with and without calix[4]pyrrole and using dipyrromethane as another potential co-catalyst, have confirmed the role of calix[4]pyrrole as a promoter. Recently

• , along with electrostatic and hydrogen-bonding interactions. This behavior not only allowed for the selective activation and deactivation of organocatalytic activity but also facilitated efficient catalyst recovery at the end of the catalytic reaction. Notably, control experiments supported the

• optically active form with 16.7% ee for 63a and 11.8% ee for 63b, respectively (Table 4). The pH-induced aggregation does not only enable to control the catalytic activity, but it also allows a straightforward separation and recovery of the catalyst from the reaction mixture by acidification and

Chemical structure metagenomics of microbial natural products: surveying nonribosomal peptides and beyond

• Thomas Ma and
• John Chu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3050–3060, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.253

• offloading step always entails the same chemical reaction, wherein nucleophilic attack is promoted by the catalytic triad of a TE via general base catalysis. This is likely why traditional mechanistic studies that focused on the enzyme active site failed to work out how TEs control NRP topology. A priori

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

• -0083 Tokyo, Japan 10.3762/bjoc.20.252 Abstract Owing to their dynamic natures, rotaxane-based polymers are attractive motifs for developing stimuli-responsive materials. However, the accurate control of the rotaxane structure, which can be achieved via multistep synthesis, is key to utilizing the

• ][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. To maximize the utility of rotaxane-based architectures, the accurate control of their structures is the key, although multistep synthesis is required to implement an elaborate molecular design. However, realizing the material application requires a scalable

• maintaining a structural control that is as high as that in the small-molecule system, where complicated synthesis is more accepted. Employing cyclodextrin (CD) as a ring unit represents a reasonable option for reducing the synthetic cost because of its lower production cost compared with those of other

Tailored charge-neutral self-assembled L₂Zn₂ container for taming oxalate

• David Ocklenburg and
• David Van Craen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3007–3015, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.250

• fashion with an included lever to control the selectivity by an external stimulus. Additionally, the clear take home messages from recent conferences paired with the latest insights from working with such charge-neutral hosts in the laboratory show that one major task is to find a solution for the so far

Recent advances in transition-metal-free arylation reactions involving hypervalent iodine salts

• Ritu Mamgain,
• Kokila Sakthivel and
• Fateh V. Singh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2891–2920, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.243

• corresponding products in moderate to good yields. The reaction conditions remained consistent, except K2S2O8 was found to be a superior additive compared to BQ. The reaction exhibited good tolerance even towards strong electron-withdrawing groups. A control experiment was conducted to investigate the reaction

N-Glycosides of indigo, indirubin, and isoindigo: blue, red, and yellow sugars and their cancerostatic activity

• Peter Langer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2840–2869, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.240

• bond is formed, a thermodynamic control of the E/Z-ratio and influence of the reaction time is unlikely. However, the reported formation of 41e as a single isomer has to be treated with some care. In the publication, no supporting information and compound characterization was given. In addition, the

• , the downstream signaling pathways seem to be based on the production of reactive oxygen species [48]. Like E-β-46b, the presence of derivative E-β-46e appears to control apoptosis in melanoma cells which is (again) increased by the presence of TRAIL and results in complete loss of cell viability. As

Mechanochemical difluoromethylations of ketones

• Jinbo Ke,
• Pit van Bonn and
• Carsten Bolm

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2799–2805, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.235

• the gas phase than in solution [32][33], it has remained a challenge to control such reactions. Our group has recently reported a mechanochemical difluoromethylation of primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohols [34], yielding products with difluoromethoxy groups, which are promising organofluorine

Copper-catalyzed yne-allylic substitutions: concept and recent developments

• Shuang Yang and
• Xinqiang Fang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2739–2775, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.232

• nucleophiles (Scheme 1b). However, to achieve a highly selective yne-allylic substitution, a range of challenges must be addressed. First, how to achieve the regioselectivity under the coexistence of alkenyl and alkynyl units; second, how to realize the enantioselectivity control that is remote from the

• chelation interaction between the enolate derived from acyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds and copper (Scheme 5, 8a–j). Detailed control experiments indicate that the terminal alkyne moiety is critical and the reaction proceeds through an SN1 mechanism. An outer-sphere nucleophilic attack through copper

• ). Further control experiments and DFT calculations show that during the catalytic process, tertiary amine directly participates as a nucleophilic reagent to give the ammonium salt, which then releases dimethylaminium to provide the final product (Scheme 12). Chiral allylic sulfone compounds can be easily