A multicomponent reaction-initiated synthesis of imidazopyridine-fused isoquinolinones

• Ashutosh Nath,
• John Mark Awad and
• Wei Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1161–1169, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.92

• (IMDA), and dehydrative re-aromatization reactions for the synthesis of imidazopyridine-fused isoquinolinones is developed. Gaussian computation analysis on the effect of the substitution groups for the IMDA reaction is performed to understand the reaction mechanism. Keywords: Groebke–Blackburn

• –Bienaymé (GBB); imidazopyridine; intramolecular Diels–Alder (IMDA); isoquinolinone; multicomponent reaction (MCR); re-aromatization; Introduction Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) have intrinsic green chemistry advantages of synthetic efficiency and operational simplicity. Performing post-condensational

• compounds [18]. Presented in this paper is a new synthetic route involving GBB, N-acylation and IMDA reactions for making intermediate III followed by dehydrative re-aromatization to give imidazopyridine-fused isoquinolinones C (Scheme 1C). Results and Discussion Following the reported procedures [10], the

Recent advances in synthetic approaches for bioactive cinnamic acid derivatives

• Betty A. Kustiana,
• Galuh Widiyarti and
• Teni Ernawati

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1031–1086, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.85

Studies on the syntheses of β-carboline alkaloids brevicarine and brevicolline

• Benedek Batizi,
• Patrik Pollák,
• András Dancsó,
• Péter Keglevich,
• Gyula Simig,
• Balázs Volk and
• Mátyás Milen

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 955–963, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.79

• : the formation of compound 31 was always observed, and brevicolline ((±)-1) was not formed. Interestingly, our attempts made for the transformation of compound 31 by dehydrogenative aromatization to brevicolline ((±)-1) by using several reagents (DDQ, Pd/C, MnO2, CuCl2, I2, elemental sulfur, KMnO4

Copper-catalyzed domino cyclization of anilines and cyclobutanone oxime: a scalable and versatile route to spirotetrahydroquinoline derivatives

• Qingqing Jiang,
• Xinyi Lei,
• Pan Gao and
• Yu Yuan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 749–754, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.58

• to generate an enamine intermediate. Subsequently, an intermolecular cyclization occurs between the enamine and imine intermediates, ultimately yielding the final target product through an aromatization process (Scheme 4). Conclusion In summary, we have developed an efficient and practical copper

• intermediates, followed by intermolecular cyclization and aromatization. The scalability of this method was demonstrated through a gram-scale reaction, highlighting its potential for practical applications in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery. Synthetic strategies for the construction of

Formaldehyde surrogates in multicomponent reactions

• Cecilia I. Attorresi,
• Javier A. Ramírez and
• Bernhard Westermann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 564–595, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.45

• substituted styrene under copper(I) catalysis to give the target compounds via a Povarov reaction. A further aromatization process yields product I (Scheme 8, path I). In a closely related approach, the same group reported on the synthesis of quinolines from anilines and alkynes [37]. In this case, the alkyne

• compound and MMS, undergoes an aza-Diels–Alder cyclization with the alkyne, and after oxidation and aromatization steps generates quinoline II. Unfortunately, under these gentle and greener conditions, aliphatic alkynes remain unreacted, compared to the metal-catalyzed version developed by Xu et al. [37

• reacts with the enolate of the ketone, which is stabilized by coordination with Fe(III), resulting in the formation of the C–C bond. A further oxidative aromatization process affords compound I. Compared to the protocol developed by Zhang et al. [24], the reaction is less regioselective, as Troger’s base

New tandem Ugi/intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction based on vinylfuran and 1,3-butadienylfuran derivatives

• Yuriy I. Horak,
• Roman Z. Lytvyn,
• Andrii R. Vakhula,
• Yuriy V. Homza,
• Nazariy T. Pokhodylo and
• Mykola D. Obushak

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 444–450, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.31

• a coordinated mechanism. Noteworthy, the primary kinetic product of the cycloaddition reaction 5 is not transformed into the thermodynamic product 6 via a H-shift at the last stage. The expected aromatization with the formation of a furan ring, as happens in similar reactions, does not occur (Scheme

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

• -axial chirality conversion via catalyst-controlled oxidative aromatization [23]. In this way, the axially chiral starting material 12 comprising an additional stereogenic center was converted into oligonaphthylenes 13 with two, three or even four stereogenic axes. Based on the organocatalyst used, the

• was carried out to provide the final biaryl products 17. In a related strategy, Hayashi´s team realized an organocatalytic Michael/aldol cascade leading to chiral dihydronaphthalene derivatives 20a–e [25]. Through a series of one-pot reactions, aromatization was achieved with concomitant central-to

• -axial chirality conversion and formation of axially chiral products 21a–e (Scheme 7). This critical aromatization was later studied in more detail, and the team was able to achieve enantiodivergent aromatization, which led to different atropoisomers based on the oxidation reagent used [26]. The use of

Synthesis of tricarbonylated propargylamine and conversion to 2,5-disubstituted oxazole-4-carboxylates

• Kento Iwai,
• Akari Hikasa,
• Kotaro Yoshioka,
• Shinki Tani,
• Kazuto Umezu and
• Nagatoshi Nishiwaki

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2827–2833, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.238

• decarboxylation accompanied by aromatization of the oxazole ring occurred during this process. Thus, protonation occurs, leading to oxazole 5 when the reaction mixture is warmed in the presence of large amounts of proton sources such as acetic acid or deuterium oxide. Although Nagao et al. proposed another

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

• of ortho-aryl steric hindrance. Recently, Xu et al. [81] presents a copper-catalyzed asymmetric [4 + 1] annulation strategy, utilizing remote stereocontrol substitution/annulation/aromatization to forge arylpyrroles with various C–C (Scheme 49, 48a–h), C–N (Scheme 50, 49a–h) or 1,2-di- (Scheme 51

• stereoselective aromatization serves as a pivotal step in the transfer of central chirality to axial chirality (Scheme 52). To harness the full potential of CO2 as a renewable and abundant carbon source, He et al. [82] proposed an innovative strategy that married asymmetric yne-allylic substitution with CO2

Heterocycle-guided synthesis of m-hetarylanilines via three-component benzannulation

• Andrey R. Galeev,
• Maksim V. Dmitriev,
• Alexander S. Novikov and
• Andrey N. Maslivets

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2208–2216, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.188

• interrupted Kröhnke reaction (Scheme 1B) [51][52]. The main step of this process is an intermolecular cyclization of the formed 1,5-diketone followed by aromatization. Previously we have shown that 1,3-diketones bearing an electron-withdrawing group (EWG) adjacent to one of the carbonyls readily react with in

Efficacy of radical reactions of isocyanides with heteroatom radicals in organic synthesis

• Akiya Ogawa and
• Yuki Yamamoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2114–2128, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.182

• generates a stannylated imidoyl radical 20. The subsequent 5-exo cyclization, hydrogen abstraction from n-Bu3SnH, and aromatization successfully afforded the stannylated indole derivative 21 (Scheme 13) [8][54][55][56]. The stannyl group of 21 could be transferred to aryl or vinyl group by cross-coupling

• reaction of o-ethenylaryl isocyanides with disulfides in the presence of diphenyl ditelluride yields the corresponding dithiolated indole derivatives 23 (Scheme 16) [60]. Initially, the thiotelluration products via 5-exo cyclization are formed in situ. The subsequent aromatization followed by photoinduced

• addition of radical species to the isocyano group of 29 to form the imidoyl radical 30 as a key intermediate, which adds intramolecularly to the ortho-aryl group. The subsequent aromatization with the release of hydrogen (or proton) affords 31 in good yields. Nanni et al. reported the reaction of 2

Multicomponent syntheses of pyrazoles via (3 + 2)-cyclocondensation and (3 + 2)-cycloaddition key steps

• Ignaz Betcke,
• Alissa C. Götzinger,
• Maryna M. Kornet and
• Thomas J. J. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2024–2077, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.178

• . In cases where the α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds contain a heteroatom in the β-position, aromatization is triggered by elimination under redox-neutral conditions. Tasch et al. successfully coupled aryl halides with α-bromocinnamaldehyde (51) using a Masuda borylation Suzuki cross-coupling (MBSC

The Groebke–Blackburn–Bienaymé reaction in its maturity: innovation and improvements since its 21st birthday (2019–2023)

• Cristina Martini,
• Muhammad Idham Darussalam Mardjan and
• Andrea Basso

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1839–1879, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.162

Chemo-enzymatic total synthesis: current approaches toward the integration of chemical and enzymatic transformations

• Ryo Tanifuji and
• Hiroki Oguri

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1693–1712, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.151

• aromatization provides chalcone 43. Prenylation of the resultant aromatic ring of 43, catalyzed by MaIDT (Morus alba isoliquiritigenin 3-dimethylallyltransferase), leads to morachalcone A (44) [50][51]. In parallel, benzofuran 46 was biosynthesized from 4-coumaroyl-CoA via thioester 45. Further prenylation of

Divergent role of PIDA and PIFA in the AlX₃ (X = Cl, Br) halogenation of 2-naphthol: a mechanistic study

• Kevin A. Juárez-Ornelas,
• Manuel Solís-Hernández,
• Pedro Navarro-Santos,
• J. Oscar C. Jiménez-Halla and
• César R. Solorio-Alvarado

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1580–1589, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.141

• nonaromatic intermediate I-4–Cl (ΔG = −23.1 kcal/mol). Next, aromatization assisted by TFAO–AlCl2 via TS2–Cl (ΔG‡ = 11.1 kcal/mol) and hydrogen transfer from the nonaromatic intermediate to TFAO–AlCl2 are observed. In TS2–Cl, the energy barrier must be overcome to give rise to the 1-chloro-2-naphthol adduct

• the cis transition state TS4–Br (ΔG‡ = 16.1 kcal/mol), which yields the brominated nonaromatic intermediate I-6–Br in a highly exothermic step (ΔG = −52.3 kcal/mol). Finally, I-6–Br undergoes spontaneous aromatization, converting it into the experimentally observed 1-bromo-2-naphthol (P–Br), which is

Bioinformatic prediction of the stereoselectivity of modular polyketide synthase: an update of the sequence motifs in ketoreductase domain

• Changjun Xiang,
• Shunyu Yao,
• Ruoyu Wang and
• Lihan Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1476–1485, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.131

• as M1 to M3 of rifamycin PKS whose product experiences later aromatization. (d) Modules with unconventional module compositions (e.g., modules with two KR domains), modules without KR domains, and loading modules were excluded from the data. After organizing and filtering, the KRS and KRC subdomain

Synthesis of 2-benzyl N-substituted anilines via imine condensation–isoaromatization of (E)-2-arylidene-3-cyclohexenones and primary amines

• Lu Li,
• Na Li,
• Xiao-Tian Mo,
• Ming-Wei Yuan,
• Lin Jiang and
• Ming-Long Yuan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1468–1475, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.130

• –dehydrogenative aromatization strategy with amines as nucleophiles [11][12]. For instance, the groups of Deng and Li reported the Pd catalyzed oxidative coupling of 2-cyclohexenones with amines [13]. Later, the same group demonstrated the direct amination of phenols by reductive coupling of in situ generated 2

• -cyclohexenones with nucleophilic nitrogen sources like ammonia, amines and hydrazine [14]. The reactions were regarded as via simple nucleophilic addition along with Pd-catalyzed dehydrogenative aromatization in these elegant works (Scheme 1, (1)). The Semmler–Wolff reaction is often implemented in the synthesis

• anilines [19] (Scheme 1, (3)). To date, although plentiful amination–aromatization approaches for the preparation of anilines have been well-established, to develop novel and efficient synthetic methods still remains highly desirable. In continuation of our recent studies on synthetic applications of

Generation of alkyl and acyl radicals by visible-light photoredox catalysis: direct activation of C–O bonds in organic transformations

• Mithu Roy,
• Bitan Sardar,
• Itu Mallick and
• Dipankar Srimani

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1348–1375, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.119

• photocatalytic mechanism. Photoredox-catalyzed hydroacylation of olefins with aliphatic carboxylic acids. Acylation–aromatization of p-quinone methides using carboxylic acids. Visible-light-induced deoxygenation–defluorination for the synthesis of γ,γ-difluoroallylic ketones. Photochemical hydroacylation of

Domino reactions of chromones with activated carbonyl compounds

• Peter Langer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1256–1269, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.108

• (Scheme 9) [39]. The formation of the products can be explained by 1,4-addition of the terminal carbon of the diene to the chromone to give intermediate J and subsequent attack of the central carbon atom of the 1,3-dicarbonyl unit (aldol reaction). No aromatization and extrusion of the hydroxy group was

• ) [40]. The formation of the products can be explained by 1,4-addition of the terminal carbon of the diene to the chromone to give intermediate O and subsequent attack of the central carbon atom of the 1,3-dicarbonyl unit (aldol reaction). No aromatization and extrusion of the hydroxy group was observed

• minor products as well (7–20% yields). The formation of biphenyls 44 can be explained by 1,4-addition and ring-cleavage to give intermediate AH, aldol reaction (intermediate AI), migration of the ester group from the quaternary carbon to the phenolic oxygen atom (intermediate AJ) and aromatization. The

Manganese-catalyzed C–C and C–N bond formation with alcohols via borrowing hydrogen or hydrogen auto-transfer

• Mohd Farhan Ansari,
• Atul Kumar Maurya,
• Abhishek Kumar and
• Saravanakumar Elangovan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1111–1166, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.98

• mechanism suggested that dearomatization–aromatization pathways operated for the dehydrogenation of the alcohol and C–C bond formations. After the successful attempt of bidentate N-heterocyclic carbene-manganese complex-catalyzed N-alkylation of amines with alcohols at room temperature [41], Liu and Ke's

Carbonylative synthesis and functionalization of indoles

• Alex De Salvo,
• Raffaella Mancuso and
• Xiao-Feng Wu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 973–1000, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.87

• result with some effort because a dearomatization, followed by aromatization, was necessary to achieve the goal. With [Rh(CO)2Cl]2 or [Rh(COD)2]BF4 as the catalyst under atmospheric pressure of CO (1 bar), good yields of the desired products were obtained (Scheme 24). Carbonylative functionalization of

Mechanisms for radical reactions initiating from N-hydroxyphthalimide esters

• Carlos R. Azpilcueta-Nicolas and
• Jean-Philip Lumb

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 346–378, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.35

• concomitant formation of radical 69. Finally, aromatization of 69 via SET to NHPI ester 3, generates pyridinium 73 as a byproduct, while propagating the radical chain reaction. Aggarwal and co-workers discovered the photoinduced decarboxylative borylation of NHPI esters mediated by bis(catecholato)diboron

• ester 10, regenerating pyridine 137 while forming alkyl radical 12, CO2 and phthalimide–B(pin) adduct 139. Subsequently, radical–radical coupling between 12 and one equivalent of 138 affords dihydropyridine 140, which upon re-aromatization, facilitated by ZnCl2 acting as a Lewis acid, yields product 141

Synthesis of π-conjugated polycyclic compounds by late-stage extrusion of chalcogen fragments

• Aissam Okba,
• Pablo Simón Marqués,
• Kyohei Matsuo,
• Naoki Aratani,
• Hiroko Yamada,
• Gwénaël Rapenne and
• Claire Kammerer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 287–305, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.30

• pristine acene with a dienophile to transiently form a cycloadduct with increased solubility for processing purposes, and unmasking it afterwards via a retro-Diels–Alder reaction [16][17][18][19]. In parallel to retro-Diels–Alder reactions, another efficient strategy for the in situ aromatization of target

• tetrabromothiophene S,S-dioxide 24 at 120–140 °C to yield the corresponding S- and Se-tribenzo[b,d,f]heteropines, 25b and 25c respectively, after oxidative aromatization mediated by DDQ. In the case of tellurepine 23d, attempts of thermally-activated Diels–Alder reaction resulted in Te-extrusion to afford

• acenes, as described in the introduction. Chalcogen extrusion from bridged precursors: access to acenes Deoxygenation of endoxides belongs to the classical methods used in organic chemistry to generate polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons, through a reductive aromatization relying on a variety of chemical

Chiral phosphoric acid-catalyzed transfer hydrogenation of 3,3-difluoro-3H-indoles

• Yumei Wang,
• Guangzhu Wang,
• Yanping Zhu and
• Kaiwu Dong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 205–211, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.20

• (2p). However, when using 3,3-difluoro-2-(naphthalen-2-ylethynyl)-3H-indole or 3,3-difluoro-2-phenyl-3H-indole as the substrate, the generated indoles underwent fast HF elimination/aromatization and finally gave indole derivatives (2q and 2r) in almost quantitative yields. To examine the efficiency

Biphenylene-containing polycyclic conjugated compounds

• Cagatay Dengiz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1895–1911, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.141

• researchers efficiently conducted palladium-catalyzed C–H activated annulation reactions, involving oxanorbornadiene derivative 26 and aryl bromides including dibromoanthracene 27 [38]. Subsequent aromatization reactions were then carried out, resulting in the successful synthesis of the target POAs with high

• the failure in the formation of the desired target products. Upon comparing the UV–vis absorbance graphs of compounds 28 and 29, POA 29 (λmax = 500 nm), which was obtained through the aromatization of compound 28, exhibited a significant bathochromic shift. These observations further support the

• ranging between 45% and 60%. The last step of the sequential reactions is the aromatization step and the target POAs 34a–c were obtained in yields between 80–84%. UV–vis investigations conducted on compounds 34a–c revealed absorption bands that align well with acene structures. While 34a and 34b displayed