One-pot synthesis of isosorbide from cellulose or lignocellulosic biomass: a challenge?

• Isaline Bonnin,
• Raphaël Mereau,
• Thierry Tassaing and
• Karine De Oliveira Vigier

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1713–1721, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.143

• 10.3762/bjoc.16.143 Abstract The catalytic conversion of (ligno)cellulose is currently subject of intense research. Isosorbide is one of the interesting products that can be produced from (ligno)cellulose as it can be used for the synthesis of a wide range of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and polymers

• to sorbitol and 3) dehydration of sorbitol to isosorbide (Scheme 1). Isosorbide, a molecule obtained from biomass can find many applications such as additives, pharmaceuticals [2][3] and monomers for polymer industries [4][5][6]. For instance, one polymer obtained from isosorbide, poly(ethylene-co

Pauson–Khand reaction of fluorinated compounds

• Jorge Escorihuela,
• Daniel M. Sedgwick,
• Alberto Llobat,
• Mercedes Medio-Simón,
• Pablo Barrio and
• Santos Fustero

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1662–1682, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.138

• in natural products, pharmaceuticals and other added-value compounds accounts for the great applicability that this reaction has found [26][27][28][29][30][31][32]. Despite the increasing demand of fluorinated compounds and the impressive development of the PKR, the combination of these two fields

Rearrangement of o-(pivaloylaminomethyl)benzaldehydes: an experimental and computational study

• Csilla Hargitai,
• Györgyi Koványi-Lax,
• Tamás Nagy,
• Péter Ábrányi-Balogh,
• András Dancsó,
• Gábor Tóth,
• Judit Halász,
• Angéla Pandur,
• Gyula Simig and
• Balázs Volk

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1636–1648, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.136

• Csilla Hargitai Gyorgyi Kovanyi-Lax Tamas Nagy Peter Abranyi-Balogh Andras Dancso Gabor Toth Judit Halasz Angela Pandur Gyula Simig Balazs Volk Directorate of Drug Substance Development, Egis Pharmaceuticals Plc., P.O. Box 100, H-1475 Budapest, Hungary Medicinal Chemistry Research Group, Research

Facile synthesis of 7-alkyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-1,8-naphthyridines as arginine mimetics using a Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons-based approach

• Rhys A. Lippa,
• John A. Murphy and
• Tim N. Barrett

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1617–1626, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.134

• ; Introduction Tetrahydronaphthyridines are prominent in peptidomimetic pharmaceuticals as arginine mimetics and they are widely used in Arg–Gly–Asp (RGD) peptide mimetics such as αv integrin inhibitors [1]. Tetrahydronaphthyridines represent less basic but more permeable alternatives to arginine (pKa ≈ 7 versus

One-step route to tricyclic fused 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline systems via the Castagnoli–Cushman protocol

• Aleksandar Pashev,
• Nikola Burdzhiev and
• Elena Stanoeva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1456–1464, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.121

• . Keywords: benzo[a]quinolizidinones; Castagnoli–Cushman reaction; 3,4-dihydroisoquinolines; monocyclic anhydrides; pyrrolo[2,1-a]isoquinolinones; Introduction The benzo[a]quinolizidine ring system is an important heterocyclic framework found in natural products and prospective pharmaceuticals [1]. This

An overview on disulfide-catalyzed and -cocatalyzed photoreactions

• Yeersen Patehebieke

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1418–1435, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.118

• . In 1996, Burton and co-workers reported the stereoselective synthesis of cis-1,2-difluorotriethylsilyethylene and its conversion to a variety of cis-1,2-difluoroethylene synthons, which are important building blocks in the preparation of fluorine-containing pharmaceuticals, polymers, and bioactive

Distinctive reactivity of N-benzylidene-[1,1'-biphenyl]-2-amines under photoredox conditions

• Shrikant D. Tambe,
• Kwan Hong Min,
• Naeem Iqbal and
• Eun Jin Cho

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1335–1342, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.114

• applications as core structures in a variety of natural products, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals [34][35][36][37][38] and are valuable ligands [39][40] in stereoselective organic synthesis. Despite the availability of a plethora of synthetic methods for 1,2-diamines [41][42][43][44][45], the reported

Palladium-catalyzed regio- and stereoselective synthesis of aryl and 3-indolyl-substituted 4-methylene-3,4-dihydroisoquinolin-1(2H)-ones

• Valeria Nori,
• Antonio Arcadi,
• Armando Carlone,
• Fabio Marinelli and
• Marco Chiarini

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1084–1091, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.95

• aminopalladation/reductive elimination. Keywords: alkynylanilines; arylboronic acids; indoles; isoquinolinones; palladium; Introduction The isoquinolinone nucleus is a key constituent of many natural products [1][2][3] and pharmaceuticals [4][5][6]. Substituted isoquinolinones have been found in biologically

Fluorinated phenylalanines: synthesis and pharmaceutical applications

• Laila F. Awad and
• Mohammed Salah Ayoup

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1022–1050, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.91

• pharmaceutical applications with a focus on published synthetic methods that introduce fluorine into the phenyl, the β-carbon or the α-carbon of ᴅ-or ʟ-phenylalanines. Keywords: α-fluorophenylalanine; β- and β,β-difluorophenylalanine; fluorinated phenylalanines; PET; pharmaceuticals application; Introduction

Copper-catalysed alkylation of heterocyclic acceptors with organometallic reagents

• Yafei Guo and
• Syuzanna R. Harutyunyan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1006–1021, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.90

• azaenolate with reactive Michael acceptors in a follow-up study [45]. While pyridines are among the most important classes of heterocyclic moieties that occur in many bioactive molecules, such as natural products, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals, the initial report by the Harutyunyan group did not include

Suzuki–Miyaura cross coupling is not an informative reaction to demonstrate the performance of new solvents

• James Sherwood

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1001–1005, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.89

• substrates that correspond to commercially important products (e.g., enantiopure pharmaceuticals, polymeric materials) and if a substrate screening should follow, the protocol established by Collins and Glorius is effective [29]. For the development of new catalysts, it is preferable to work with a benign

Photocatalytic deaminative benzylation and alkylation of tetrahydroisoquinolines with N-alkylpyrydinium salts

• David Schönbauer,
• Carlo Sambiagio,
• Timothy Noël and
• Michael Schnürch

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 809–817, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.74

• ] and pharmaceuticals [10][11]. Consequently, the direct functionalization of this scaffold has attracted significant interest in recent years. Even though many transformations have been realized via a cross-dehydrogenative coupling approach [12][13] (e.g., arylations [14][15], cyanomethylation [16

Reaction of indoles with aromatic fluoromethyl ketones: an efficient synthesis of trifluoromethyl(indolyl)phenylmethanols using K₂CO₃/n-Bu₄PBr in water

• Thanigaimalai Pillaiyar,
• Masoud Sedaghati and
• Gregor Schnakenburg

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 778–790, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.71

• have been used as key precursors for the construction of complex indole derivatives that would be useful in pharmaceuticals as drugs and agrochemicals [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14]. The simple (1H-indol-3-yl)methanol, a breakdown product of glucobrassicin, which can be found in

• into organic molecules can dramatically influence their physiochemical and biological properties in comparison with non-fluorinated analogs [18] (see compounds I and II in Figure 1). Many pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals developed in recent decades have either a fluorine atom or a trifluoromethyl

Recent advances in Cu-catalyzed C(sp³)–Si and C(sp³)–B bond formation

• Balaram S. Takale,
• Ruchita R. Thakore,
• Elham Etemadi-Davan and
• Bruce H. Lipshutz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 691–737, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.67

Microwave-assisted efficient and facile synthesis of tetramic acid derivatives via a one-pot post-Ugi cascade reaction

• Yong Li,
• Zheng Huang,
• Jia Xu,
• Yong Ding,
• Dian-Yong Tang,
• Jie Lei,
• Hong-yu Li,
• Zhong-Zhu Chen and
• Zhi-Gang Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 663–669, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.63

• are privileged scaffolds that can be found in a wide variety of bioactive pharmaceuticals and natural products [1]. For this reason, research towards the development of novel and efficient strategies for the construction of these compounds represents one of the most active areas in synthetic organic

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

• or fluoroalkyl groups into three-membered N-heterocycles has emerged as an attractive direction due to the unique fluorine effect in pharmaceuticals and biology [7][8][9][10][11]. In this context, it is not surprising that the syntheses of trifluoromethylaziridines have been pursued from versatile

Exploring the scope of DBU-promoted amidations of 7-methoxycarbonylpterin

• Anna R. Bockman and
• Jeffrey M. Pruet

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 509–514, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.46

• molybdopterin [1]. Owing to this biological relevance, pterins are an attractive building block in the development of various pharmaceuticals, with methotrexate being the most well-known [2]. In addition to pteridine derivatives being used as inhibitors of dihydrofolate reductase and dihydropteroate synthase

Synthesis of 4-amino-5-fluoropyrimidines and 5-amino-4-fluoropyrazoles from a β-fluoroenolate salt

• Tobias Lucas,
• Jule-Philipp Dietz and
• Till Opatz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 445–450, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.41

• modern pharmaceuticals [1][2][3][4][5][6] and agrochemicals [7] contain at least one fluorine atom [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. One of the approaches for their synthesis is the use of small fluorinated building blocks which avoids the often cumbersome regioselective fluorination at a later synthetic

• stage [15][16][17][18][19]. Fluorinated pyrimidines, pyrimidine analogues and pyrazoles [20][21] play a prominent role in several clinically important pharmaceuticals [22][23][24][25]. These compounds act against HIV or HIV-related diseases [26], such as opportunistic fungal infections, and represent

Visible-light-induced addition of carboxymethanide to styrene from monochloroacetic acid

• Kaj M. van Vliet,
• Nicole S. van Leeuwen,
• Albert M. Brouwer and
• Bas de Bruin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 398–408, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.38

• compound, with applications ranging from thickening agents (carboxymethyl cellulose, E466) [1][2], herbicides (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), cosmetics (cocamidopropyl betaine), dyes (indigo vat dye) [3], to pharmaceuticals (ibuprofen, glycine, malonates) [4] (see Figure 1). Many reactions with

Allylic cross-coupling using aromatic aldehydes as α-alkoxyalkyl anions

• Akihiro Yuasa,
• Kazunori Nagao and
• Hirohisa Ohmiya

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 185–189, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.21

• -catalyzed allylic substitution. Keywords: aldehyde; copper; copper catalysis; cross-coupling; palladium; synthetic method; Introduction α-Alkoxy-substituted carbanions (α-alkoxyalkyl anions) are useful C(sp3) nucleophiles for the construction of alcohol units found in a majority of pharmaceuticals

Reversible photoswitching of the DNA-binding properties of styrylquinolizinium derivatives through photochromic [2 + 2] cycloaddition and cycloreversion

• Sarah Kölsch,
• Heiko Ihmels,
• Jochen Mattay,
• Norbert Sewald and
• Brian O. Patrick

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 111–124, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.13

• biological activity on and off due to the reversibility of the photoreaction [15]. Indeed, the application of light to induce and control bioactivity of pharmaceuticals or bio(macro)molecules has been convincingly demonstrated in the emerging field of photopharmacology [16][17][18]. Consequently, several

The interaction between cucurbit[8]uril and baicalein and the effect on baicalein properties

• Xiaodong Zhang,
• Jun Xie,
• Zhiling Xu,
• Zhu Tao and
• Qianjun Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 71–77, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.9

• , baicalein contains three phenolic hydroxy groups, which are easily oxidized to the quinone derivative and appear green, therefore, it has limited use in pharmaceuticals on account of its poor aqueous solubility and stability [31]. The cucurbit[n]urils (Q[n]s n = 5–8, 10, …) are macrocyclic hosts with a

Light-controllable dithienylethene-modified cyclic peptides: photoswitching the in vivo toxicity in zebrafish embryos

• Sergii Afonin,
• Oleg Babii,
• Aline Reuter,
• Volker Middel,
• Masanari Takamiya,
• Uwe Strähle,
• Igor V. Komarov and
• Anne S. Ulrich

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 39–49, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.6

• require the inclusion of in vivo toxicity studies using vertebrate animal models. (For example, toxicity studies of anticancer chemotherapeutics are requested by the International Council for Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) to include at least two mammalian

Functionalization of the imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine ring in α-phosphonoacrylates and α-phosphonopropionates via microwave-assisted Mizoroki–Heck reaction

• Damian Kusy,
• Agata Wojciechowska,
• Joanna Małolepsza and
• Katarzyna M. Błażewska

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 15–21, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.3

• confirmed by the presence in a number of pharmaceuticals [2][3]. The imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine-ring modification via Pd-catalyzed reactions is broadly reported in the literature [3], however, such functionalizations for more complex molecules are not very common. On the other hand, the Mizoroki–Heck reaction

A green, economical synthesis of β-ketonitriles and trifunctionalized building blocks from esters and lactones

• Daniel P. Pienaar,
• Kamogelo R. Butsi,
• Amanda L. Rousseau and
• Dean Brady

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2930–2935, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.287

• the synthesis of heteroaromatic compounds and a wide variety of pharmaceuticals. A recent review by Kiyokawa et al. summarizes the applications of these valuable compounds and the abundant methods that have been developed over recent decades to prepare them [1], most of which still involve