Oxidation of [3]naphthylenes to cations and dications converts local paratropicity into global diatropicity

• Abel Cárdenas,
• Zexin Jin,
• Yong Ni,
• Jishan Wu,
• Yan Xia,
• Francisco Javier Ramírez and
• Juan Casado

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 277–285, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.20

• significantly higher than the reduction of force constant of the CC bonds shared with the adjacent NAP rings, which justifies the wavenumber upshift from 1689 to 1713 cm−1 on the ν(CC)exo-CBD Raman band in the dication. Despite the symmetry lowering with respect to m-1, D2h → C2h, the force field of neutral m-2

• reduction of 53% with respect to m-1. On the contrary, the decrease for the d bond (NAP adjacent) from m-2 to m-22+ is 0.77 mdyn/Å, i.e., 30% higher than in m-1. In the case of the j bond, which is shared by CBD and NAP, both trends compensate each other, as its k[ν(CC)] decreases, upon double oxidation

Synthesis of disulfides and 3-sulfenylchromones from sodium sulfinates catalyzed by TBAI

• Zhenlei Zhang,
• Ying Wang,
• Xingxing Pan,
• Manqi Zhang,
• Wei Zhao,
• Meng Li and
• Hao Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 253–261, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.17

• tetrabutylammonium iodide (TBAI)/H2SO4 reduction system using sodium sulfinate as key component, thus eliminating the need for thiols and redox reagents commonly used in traditional methods. Various disulfides and 3-sulfenylchromones were obtained in moderate to excellent yields through this methodology. Mechanistic

• the reaction, an attempt was made to increase the concentration, reducing the amount of solvent to 1 mL (Table 1, entry 12), product 2a was obtained in 67%, and a further reduction to 0.5 mL failed to increase the yield significantly (Table 1, entry 13). Although the amount of solvent used could have

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

• Synthesis of primary amides via the generation of copper–imidate radical intermediates In a subsequent study, the research group of Son developed a method for the reduction of dioxazolones to synthesize primary amides under mild reducing conditions in copper catalysis (Scheme 10) [103]. The reaction was

• of alkynes. Proposed catalytic cycle for the copper-catalyzed reduction of dioxazolones. Formation of isocyanates and amidated arenes from dioxazolones. Copper-catalyzed synthesis of δ-lactams via open-shell copper nitrenoid transfer. aCuBr (10 mol %) and BOX-1 (15 mol %) were used. bA stereoisomeric

• of primary amides through N–O bond reduction using reducing agent. Funding This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea grant (RS-2024-00333890) funded by the South Korean Government (MSIT). This work was also supported by the Korea Environment Industry & Technology Institute

Quantifying the ability of the CF₂H group as a hydrogen bond donor

• Matthew E. Paolella,
• Daniel S. Honeycutt,
• Bradley M. Lipka,
• Jacob M. Goldberg and
• Fang Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 189–199, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.11

• constructs. Although many of the CF2H HB donors studied here can promote relatively strong hydrogen bonding interactions with n-Bu3PO, even the strongest CF2H HB donor (3b) is still 30 times weaker than phenol (10), corresponding to about a 2 kcal/mol reduction in binding energy at 25 °C. These results

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

• terminal alkyne 2 in the presence of a chiral copper catalyst and base, which reacts with the electrophilic iminium intermediate 15 to yield the desired chiral product 14. Active Cu(I) is regenerated either through cathodic reduction or by reaction with TEMPO–H. A year after the Mei group’s report, the Xu

• Pt surface for proton reduction, and offering anodic overcharge protection to avoid undesirable substrate oxidation. Conclusion Over the past two decades, significant progress has been made in electrochemical organic reactions, supported by the development of more sustainable and versatile

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

• activation, atroposelective aza-Michael addition, and intramolecular aldol reaction to form the cationic intermediate Int-6. Release of the catalyst C2, reduction with NaBH4, and dehydration with acetic acid leads to the desired product 6. Recently, an organocatalytic atroposelective intramolecular (4 + 2

• present on the amino group of the 1,3-benzenediamine, lower yields were reported, and substituting the amino group in position 3 for an N-methylamino or N,N-dimethylamino group led to a reduction in the enantioselectivity. Shao et al. developed the first organocatalyzed atroposelective Friedländer

• intermediate Int-53. Control experiments confirmed that this structure could undergo successive reduction and oxidation through intermediate Int-54 to give benzylimine intermediate Int-55. Alternatively, a direct [1,5]-H migration of Int-53 also leads to Int-55. The stereoselectivity of the product is

Facile one-pot reduction of β-nitrostyrenes to phenethylamines using sodium borohydride and copper(II) chloride

• Laura D’Andrea and
• Simon Jademyr

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 39–46, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.4

• Aalborg, Denmark current address: Centre for Analysis and Synthesis, Lund University, Naturvetarvägen 14, 223 62 Lund, Sweden 10.3762/bjoc.21.4 Abstract Phenethylamines and phenylisopropylamines of scientific relevance can be prepared with a NaBH4/CuCl2 system in 10 to 30 minutes via reduction of

• ), and appetite suppressants (e.g., phentermine) [6]. Phenethylamines can be produced via numerous different procedures [7]. One of the oldest methods involves the reduction of benzyl cyanide with H2 in liquid ammonia with Raney-Nickel catalyst at 130 °C, and high pressure [8]. Another known method is

• ]. One of the most studied and inexpensive routes to synthesize substituted phenethylamines focuses on the reduction of their α,β-unsaturated nitroalkene analogue (β-nitrostyrene), where both the double bond and the nitro group need to be reduced to deliver the corresponding primary amine. Their

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

• better performance in comparison to existing commercial software. In particular, HappyTools showed an enhanced throughput, demonstrating up to a ten-fold reduction of the total processing time for biopharmaceutical samples. The authors have released the source code and an executable program in an online

Synthesis, characterization, and photophysical properties of novel 9‑phenyl-9-phosphafluorene oxide derivatives

• Shuxian Qiu,
• Duan Dong,
• Jiahui Li,
• Huiting Wen,
• Jinpeng Li,
• Yu Yang,
• Shengxian Zhai and
• Xingyuan Gao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3299–3305, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.274

• was achieved in 5 steps starting from commercially available 2-bromo-4-fluoro-1-nitrobenzene (1, Scheme 1 and Scheme 2). For the preparation of the key intermediate 5 (Scheme 1), self-coupling of 1 in the presence of copper followed by reduction of the nitro group generated diamine compound 3 (89

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

• conducted at room temperature for 20 hours, which resulted in a reduction of the yield for 5aa to 9% (Table 1, entry 5). This result might be due to the reactivity of this hypervalent iodine reagent. Indeed, we have previously observed that the transfer of the benzylamine moiety to carbon-based nucleophiles

Efficient synthesis of fluorinated triphenylenes with enhanced arene–perfluoroarene interactions in columnar mesophases

• Yang Chen,
• Jiao He,
• Hang Lin,
• Hai-Feng Wang,
• Ping Hu,
• Bi-Qin Wang,
• Ke-Qing Zhao and
• Bertrand Donnio

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3263–3273, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.270

• features, with small fraction of dark area, which could be possibly attributed to a reduction of the mesophase symmetry. The results of the differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) are summarized in Figure 4 (see also Supporting Information File 1, Figures S37, S38 and Table S5 for details), confirming the

• , with a multitude of sharp peaks, that could be indexed according to a rectangular lattice (p2gg symmetry) [50], confirming the reduction of the phase symmetry and well-defined interfaces between aliphatic continuum, hydrogenated aromatics, and fluorinated arenes. The S/WAXS patterns of the three

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

• –activity relationship data, leading to speculation over the moieties responsible for their antibiotic effects. A reduction in the number of amines in the polymeric chain and the absence of a primary amine was noted to decrease bioactivity by Xu et al. [7]. Research reported by Khan et al. in 2014 [9] also

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

• substituted 1,4-benzodiazepin-3-ones using the UDC method. This process involves N-Fmoc-amino acids, isocyanides, amines, and derivatives of 2-fluorobenzaldehyde (Scheme 15). Ugi-4CR/reduction/cyclization (URC) strategy: The URC pathway enables the synthesis of benzodiazepines by using amine surrogates, such

• -carboxamide-1,4-benzodiazepin-5-ones when enantiopure (S)-(−)-α-methylbenzylamine and arylglyoxals were used. Thus, a reversal of diastereoselectivity was observed depending on the cyclization methodology employed, the reduction of a nitro group or the Staudinger/aza-Wittig on azide derivatives. This

• -benzodiazepin-5-ones employing Ugi–reduction–cyclization (URC) approach. Ugi cross-coupling (U-4CRs) to synthesize triazolobenzodiazepines. Azido-Ugi four component reaction cyclization to obtain imidazotetrazolodiazepinones. Synthesis of oxazolo- and thiazolo[1,4]benzodiazepine-2,5-diones via Ugi/deprotection

Surprising acidity for the methylene of 1,3-indenocorannulenes?

• Shi Liu,
• Märt Lõkov,
• Sofja Tshepelevitsh,
• Ivo Leito,
• Kim K. Baldridge and
• Jay S. Siegel

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3144–3150, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.260

• benzene [7][8]. Furthermore, the trend of pKa values for CpH, InH, and FlH correlates with the reduction of the aromatic stabilization energy for the anion across the series [1][2]. At first glance, this model supports the notion that the relative pKa values of cyclopentadienes embedded in polynuclear

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

• -chloropyrimidyl-SF4Cl) was determined to be significantly less "electrophilic" than SF5Cl or CF3SF4Cl, consistent with a reduction in the radical polarity matching effect (see Supporting Information File 1 for details). This was difficult to predict or rationalize based on calculation of free energies of

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

• ring A (Scheme 2). The Pd(II) intermediate is oxidised by PhI(OPiv)2/AgF, forming Pd(IV). Formation of the product can occur either by reductive elimination by Pd(IV) or SN2 nucleophilic attack by fluorine with concomitant palladium reduction. Reductive elimination of the Pd(II) intermediate forms the

• . Substrates with a range of substituents on the alkyl chain were cyclised in good yields, yet introduction of substituents on the alkene led to a reduction of yield. The authors proposed a standard mechanism for the reaction (Scheme 23) in which PhI(OAc)2 activates the alkene, intramolecular attack of

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

• second-sphere interactions with a multipoint hydrogen-bonding pattern enhance CO2 reduction in organic solvents, improving stability, facilitating proton transfer, reducing energy barriers, and increasing selectivity [20]. Apart from advances in synthetic methodologies [2][21][22][23], the exploration of

• at β- and meso-positions, N-alkylation, arylation or protonation, interruption of the conjugated system, reduction/oxidation of the macrocycle and/or strapping of the macrocycle via covalent linkage of the meso- or β-pyrrole positions [22][53][54][55][56][57]. These alternations can significantly

• . Changes in the reduction or oxidation state can alter redox behavior, thereby affecting catalytic activity. For example, it has been reported that 2,3,5,7,8,10,12,13,15,17,18,20-dodecasubstituted free-base porphyrins and their mono/diprotonated derivatives are highly distorted with a good access to the

Enantioselective regiospecific addition of propargyltrichlorosilane to aldehydes catalyzed by biisoquinoline N,N’-dioxide

• Noble Brako,
• Sreerag Moorkkannur Narayanan,
• Amber Burns,
• Layla Auter,
• Valentino Cesiliano,
• Rajeev Prabhakar and
• Norito Takenaka

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3069–3076, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.255

• propargyltrichlorosilane [35][36] (Scheme 2). Other notable asymmetric catalytic approaches to prepare α-allenic alcohols (R2 = H) include the Corey–Bakshi–Shibata reduction of allenyl ketones [37], enzymatic [38][39][40], non-enzymatic [41] kinetic resolution of racemic α-allenic alcohols, and asymmetric 1,4

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

• ], requires the presence of a nucleophile at the β-position of the amino acid and occurs exclusively on select amino acids. Specifically, cyclodehydration of a serine or threonine (followed by oxidation or reduction) generates an oxazole, oxazoline, or oxazolidine moiety in the NRP backbone, and the analogous

Advances in radical peroxidation with hydroperoxides

• Oleg V. Bityukov,
• Pavel Yu. Serdyuchenko,
• Andrey S. Kirillov,
• Gennady I. Nikishin,
• Vera A. Vil’ and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2959–3006, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.249

• peroxides, oxaziridines, and their derived species are often applied as terminal oxidants [7][8]. The weakness of the O–O bond allows alkoxy radicals to form through homolysis or reduction [9]. The generated alkoxy radicals provide an accessible tool for selective radical cascades, where a variety of

• -scission [31][32], which can lead to side reactions. Some aspects of the rich metal–peroxide redox chemistry have been discussed in previous reviews [33]. Specifically, the radical functionalization of C–C bonds accessed through the transition metal-mediated reduction of organic peroxides has been covered

• peroxy derivatives 36 in good yields. Three possible ways were proposed: a) anodic oxidation of TBHP and formation of tert-butylperoxy radical; b) hydrogen reduction of TBHP forming H2O and the tert-butylperoxy radical; c) anodic oxidation of NO3 anion to NO3 radical which act as a mediator to form the

Synthesis of fluorinated acid-functionalized, electron-rich nickel porphyrins

• Mike Brockmann,
• Jonas Lobbel,
• Lara Unterriker and
• Rainer Herges

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2954–2958, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.248

• ]. Beyond their essential biological roles, porphyrins and their derivatives are employed in a number of applications, acting as catalysts in numerous reactions, including oxidation, reduction, and cycloaddition [6][7][8][9][10]. Particularly when electron-rich porphyrins act as reducing agents, e.g. in

The charge transport properties of dicyanomethylene-functionalised violanthrone derivatives

• Sondos A. J. Almahmoud,
• Joseph Cameron,
• Dylan Wilkinson,
• Michele Cariello,
• Claire Wilson,
• Alan A. Wiles,
• Peter J. Skabara and
• Graeme Cooke

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2921–2930, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.244

• the incorporation of the strong electron-withdrawing dicyanomethylene unit. The study suggested that 3b could be a potential n-type material for OPVs. The incorporation of two dicyanomethylene groups resulted in a material with strong electron affinity and low reduction potential of −0.56 V vs NHE

• frontier orbitals. Electrochemical studies The electrochemical properties of the dyes were investigated by square wave voltammetry (SWV) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) and the data are summarised in Table 1, with the plots shown in Figure 6. All the materials exhibit at least one reversible reduction and two

• exhibit a narrow HOMO–LUMO gap (1.46–1.47 eV), with a wide absorption range exceeding 800 nm compared to their previously reported precursors [30]. The electrochemical studies of the three materials show reversible oxidation and reduction waves with EA values that are in a similar range (from −3.70 to

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

• formation of the Nu–Ar product and aryl iodide [21]. Second, the arylation can take place in the presence of a metal catalyst via oxidative addition, followed by reduction elimination [48][49]. Thirdly, it proceeds through a ligand-coupled arylation which involves a five-membered transition state to yield

• (Scheme 17) suggests that the reaction initiates with an SNAr at the ortho-carbon, forming a Meisenheimer complex I and a novel iodine(III) intermediate II. This type of reactivity is unprecedented, as past reactions between nucleophiles and diaryliodonium salts usually lead to a reduction of iodine(III

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

• -glycoside 11a (Scheme 7) [20]. Debenzylation gave product 11b which was transformed to akashin A (11c) by reduction of the azide to the amine in the presence of propane-1,3-dithiol and subsequent debenzoylation. Akashin A was transformed to akashins B and C by acetylation and reaction with diacetyl

• most common non-melanoma skin cancer. In collaboration with Jürgen Eberle and his team, the activity of E-β-46b, E-β-46e, and E-β-46k in four CSCC cell lines were investigated [49]. High activities were observed for SCL-I, SCL-II, SCC-12, and SCC-13 cell lines with up to 80% reduction of cell

• proliferation, 60% reduction of cell viability and 30% induced apoptosis at a 10 μM level. Like in case of the studies mentioned above, apoptosis was further increased in combination with TRAIL. Induction of reactive oxygen species were again mandatory for these effects to be observed. In fact, apoptosis was

Investigation of a bimetallic terbium(III)/copper(II) chemosensor for the detection of aqueous hydrogen sulfide

• Parvathy Mini,
• Michael R. Grace,
• Genevieve H. Dennison and
• Kellie L. Tuck

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2818–2826, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.237

• equivalents (25 μM) were added (Figure S3 in Supporting Information File 1). The addition of 5 equivalents of Cu2+ ions led to 70% reduction in the luminescence signal, though complete quenching of luminescence could not be achieved, even with additional Cu2+ ions. However, as greater than 50% of emission