Rotaxanes with integrated photoswitches: design principles, functional behavior, and emerging applications

• Jullyane Emi Matsushima,
• Khushbu,
• Zuliah Abdulsalam,
• Udyogi Navodya Kulathilaka Conthagamage and
• Víctor García-López

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2345–2366, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.179

• based on the location of the photoswitch within the rotaxane structure – either integrated into the axle or situated in the macrocycle. Within these categories, we highlight widely used photoswitches, including acridane, anthracene, azobenzene, cycloheptatriene, dithienylethene, fumaramide, hydrazone

• capable of modulating reaction stereoselectivity. Hydrazone Hydrazones undergo trans–cis isomerization at the C=N bond when exposed to light, and in some instances, they can also undergo thermal isomerization (Figure 2) [69]. Although there are early reports of hydrazone derivatives in rotaxanes [70], the

• incorporation of functional hydrazone photoswitches into rotaxanes began more recently with Leigh. Thus, these photoswitches are underexplored in MIMs. Specifically, Leigh and co-workers synthesized [2]rotaxanes in which a pyridyl-acyl hydrazone moiety functioned as both photo- and thermal-switchable binding

Recent advances in Norrish–Yang cyclization and dicarbonyl photoredox reactions for natural product synthesis

• Peng-Xi Luo,
• Jin-Xuan Yang,
• Shao-Min Fu and
• Bo Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2315–2333, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.177

• ; and subsequent conversion of the ketone in 20 to the vinyl iodide in 21 – via hydrazone formation, lithium–halogen exchange, and final nucleophilic substitution – secured the Norrish–Yang cyclization precursor 22. Following systematic optimization of reaction conditions, irradiation of 22 with 100 W

Thiadiazino-indole, thiadiazino-carbazole and benzothiadiazino-carbazole dioxides: synthesis, physicochemical and early ADME characterization of representatives of new tri-, tetra- and pentacyclic ring systems and their intermediates

• Gyöngyvér Pusztai,
• László Poszávácz,
• Anna Vincze,
• András Marton,
• Ahmed Qasim Abdulhussein,
• Judit Halász,
• András Dancsó,
• Gyula Simig,
• György Tibor Balogh and
• Balázs Volk

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2220–2233, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.169

• variety of new tri-, tetra- and pentacyclic ring systems. The structural characterization of (E)- and (Z)-hydrazones was supported by 2D NMR techniques, while that of the target compounds by single-crystal X-ray measurements. The hydrazone intermediates and the new title compounds were subjected to a

• synthesis [18][19][20][21]. Sudhakara et al. described the advantages of using bismuth nitrate as catalyst in the synthesis of hydrazones and in the one-pot Fischer synthesis of indoles from ketones and hydrazines [22][23]. Adopting this method, hydrazone intermediates 7a–j were obtained by treatment of

• spatial proximities obtained from either NOESY or ROESY NMR measurements. The NH moiety is close to N=CH in the (E) isomer, while NH is close to CH2 in the (Z) isomer. As an example, in case of hydrazone 7h, a selective 1D NOESY spectrum was recorded with the excitation of NH (Figure 2 and Figure 3). In

C2 to C6 biobased carbonyl platforms for fine chemistry

• Jingjing Jiang,
• Muhammad Noman Haider Tariq,
• Florence Popowycz,
• Yanlong Gu and
• Yves Queneau

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2103–2172, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.165

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

• (usually associated with longer lifetimes), rotation (usually associated to shorter lifetimes) and tautomerism (fast), shown in Scheme 2. The tendency between inversion and rotation depends on the degree of single-bond character of the N=N azo bond as well as the geometry of the Z-isomer [14]. Hydrazone

• concentration of the photoswitch in solution: when MeOH or water are present, the lifetimes drop significantly, and particularly at pH 4, as consequence of more favourable intermolecular proton transfer. Calculations show that water molecules bridging between two Z-isomers favour the formation of hydrazone and

• ) single bond N–N. The hydrazone pathway in protic solvents could be ruled out in cases when the energy of the s-cis-hydrazone was superior to the energy of the other two transition states. For further substituent effects on azoheteroarenes, we refer the readers to the following reports by Venkataramani

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

• driven by hydrophobic and electrostatic interactions. DOX-based prodrugs are synthesized by directly conjugating hydrophobic DOX with pyridinium-modified flexible alkyl chains (G3) or short EGn (ethylene glycol) chains (G4) via acid-cleavable hydrazone bonds. The above-mentioned WP6-G3 and WP6-G4

pH-Controlled isomerization kinetics of ortho-disubstituted benzamidines: E/Z isomerism and axial chirality

• Ryota Kimura,
• Satoshi Ichikawa and
• Akira Katsuyama

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1568–1576, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.120

• switches [19]. For example, hydrazone-based molecular switches undergo reversible E/Z isomerization around the C=N bond [1][2][3][4][5][6][7], with protonation significantly shifting the equilibrium. Beyond double-bond isomerization, pH stimuli have also been employed to modulate rotational barriers in

Azobenzene protonation as a tool for temperature sensing

• Antti Siiskonen,
• Sami Vesamäki and
• Arri Priimagi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1528–1534, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.115

• other transformations that can offer useful functionalities. These include ionization via protonation of one of the nitrogens forming the azo bond [12][13], azo–hydrazone tautomerization [14][15], and binding of analytes to side groups [16]. Such transformations depend on the azobenzene structure but

Tautomerism and switching in 7-hydroxy-8-(azophenyl)quinoline and similar compounds

• Lidia Zaharieva,
• Vera Deneva,
• Fadhil S. Kamounah,
• Nikolay Vassilev,
• Ivan Angelov,
• Michael Pittelkow and
• Liudmil Antonov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1404–1421, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.105

• solution as a mixture of azo and two hydrazone tautomers, as shown by the experimental and theoretical results, upon irradiation switching, based on long-range proton transfer, occurs in a limited extent. 8-(4-Hydroxy-1,2,3,5-tetrafluorophenyldiazenyl)quinolin-7-ol exists as a single enol (azo) tautomer

Oxetanes: formation, reactivity and total syntheses of natural products

• Peter Gabko,
• Martin Kalník and
• Maroš Bella

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1324–1373, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.101

• from esters of functionalised arylacetic acid 5 or 6 and involves two separate protocols: first, a metallacarbene, which undergoes the insertion, is generated from the corresponding diazo precursor formed either in flow via hydrazone oxidation (PS-TsNIK packed column), or in batch mode via diazo

Development and mechanistic studies of calcium–BINOL phosphate-catalyzed hydrocyanation of hydrazones

• Carola Tortora,
• Christian A. Fischer,
• Sascha Kohlbauer,
• Alexandru Zamfir,
• Gerd M. Ballmann,
• Jürgen Pahl,
• Sjoerd Harder and
• Svetlana B. Tsogoeva

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 755–765, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.59

• enantioselectivity achieved with the calcium catalyst remains modest, mainly due to competing pathways for the Z- and E-hydrazone isomers leading to opposite enantiomers. The experimental results confirm these computational proposals. Keywords: asymmetric synthesis; calcium–BINOL phosphate catalysis; hydrocyanation

• hydrocyanation of hydrazone 1 towards product 2 (Table 1) using an achiral model calcium-based catalyst (4, Figure 1) with monodentate biphenyl phosphate ligands. This model catalyst 4, derived from the literature-known phosphoric acid BIPO4-H 3 [51], was synthesized by reacting 3 with Ca(OiPr)2 under inert

• competition between Ca-hydrazone and Ca–THF binding. Considering smoothness of catalytic hydrazone hydrocyanation, similar hydrofluorination or hydroiodination seemed feasible. However, replacement of TMSCN by TMSF or TMSI did not give any product. After establishing the activity of the model achiral catalyst

Effect of substitution position of aryl groups on the thermal back reactivity of aza-diarylethene photoswitches and prediction by density functional theory

• Misato Suganuma,
• Daichi Kitagawa,
• Shota Hamatani and
• Seiya Kobatake

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 242–252, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.16

• replacing the rotor pyridyl group of a hydrazone switch with a phenyl group afforded long-lived negative photochromic compounds [49]. In addition, Hecht and co-workers reported that the thermal stability of indigos can be tuned by N-functionalization [50][51]. They revealed that the introduction of electron

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

• begins with a nucleophilic attack of hydrazine on the aldehyde, activated by the copper salt, to give the corresponding hydrazone XXVIII. Subsequently, the formation of a Mannich-type intermediate XXIX was hypothesized by interaction between the hydrazone and the alkene mediated by Cu(OTf)2 coordination

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

• hydrazone intermediate A is formed, which tautomerizes to the enamine B. Finally, this intermediate undergoes an intramolecular cyclization to yield the desired product. Besides, to show the synthetic applicability of the pyrroloindoline derivatives, various transformations were performed (Scheme 21

C–H Trifluoromethylthiolation of aldehyde hydrazones

• Victor Levet,
• Balu Ramesh,
• Congyang Wang and
• Tatiana Besset

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2883–2890, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.242

• towards trifluoromethylthiolated hydrazones will be the direct C–H functionalization of the corresponding aldehyde hydrazone, an uncharted transformation to date. Forging a C–S bond by the direct C–H-bond functionalization of hydrazones is still underdeveloped. Except for transformations leading to the

• . developed a method to access thiocyanated derivatives including an aldehyde hydrazone (a unique example) in 70% yield thanks to the in situ generation of SCN-succinimide from NCS and NH4SCN (Scheme 1) [67]. In the same vein, the group of Monteiro [68], then Hajra [69], independently, reported the synthesis

• this context, a unique example of the thiocyanation of a hydrazone was depicted [71]. A key feature of the approach is to circumvent the need for external oxidants. In the same vein, the group of Hajra [72] and Yang [73], independently, investigated the electrochemical C–H sulfonylation of a library of

Asymmetric organocatalytic synthesis of chiral homoallylic amines

• Nikolay S. Kondratyev and
• Andrei V. Malkov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2349–2377, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.201

• -diaminonaphthalene derivatives 42, which after hydrolysis and extraction into toluene, were reacted with indole, 3-methylindole, 3,4-dihydroisoquinoline, and benzoyl hydrazone ethyl glyoxylate ester to afford terminal (E)-trifluoromethyl homoallylic amines 44 with up to 3 adjacent stereocentres with high to

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

• formate (Scheme 8) [58]. Upon reaction with β-ketoesters, hydrazone 30 is formed, which reacts via intramolecular Knoevenagel condensation to give the corresponding pyrazoles 27. The method tolerates β-ketoesters with alkyl substituents and various ketoamides. In addition, an example could be synthesized

• intermediary ketenimine 162. The latter undergoes cyclization with elimination to form the corresponding pyrazoles 160 in a one-pot fashion (Scheme 54) [160]. The reaction can be extended by synthesizing hydrazone carboxamides in situ from hydrazine and isocyanates [161]. An unusual modification of alkynones

Harnessing the versatility of hydrazones through electrosynthetic oxidative transformations

• Aurélie Claraz

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1988–2004, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.175

• access to diazo compounds as either synthetic intermediates or products. A special attention is paid to the reaction mechanism with the aim to encourage further development in this field. Keywords: C–H functionalization; diazo compound; electrosynthesis; hydrazone; nitrogen-containing heterocycle

• hydrazones initiated with the SET anodic oxidation of the hydrazone and deprotonation to form the N-centered radical 10. After aza-cyclization on the aromatic ring, a second SET oxidation and deprotonation delivered the heterocycle 9. This mechanism was supported by cyclic voltammetry analysis of a model

• one, which is consistent with the finding of ketone side-product. In 2018, the group of Zhang established an intramolecular C(sp2)–H functionalization of aldehyde-derived N-(2-pyridinyl)hydrazones 15 to produce 1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]pyridines 16 (Scheme 4) [39]. Interestingly, the hydrazone was in situ

Syntheses and medicinal chemistry of spiro heterocyclic steroids

• Laura L. Romero-Hernández,
• Ana Isabel Ahuja-Casarín,
• Penélope Merino-Montiel,
• Sara Montiel-Smith,
• José Luis Vega-Báez and
• Jesús Sandoval-Ramírez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1713–1745, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.152

• reaction on 16β,17β-epoxypregnenolone (156), synthesized via a four-step process from 16-dehydropregnenolone acetate (155) [65]. Initially, the nucleophilic ring opening of the oxirane with substituted oxamic acid thiohydrazides led to a non-isolated intermediate hydrazone ii. Since both NH and SH are

Challenge N- versus O-six-membered annulation: FeCl₃-catalyzed synthesis of heterocyclic N,O-aminals

• Giacomo Mari,
• Lucia De Crescentini,
• Gianfranco Favi,
• Fabio Mantellini,
• Diego Olivieri and
• Stefania Santeusanio

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1412–1420, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.123

• keto function of the hydrazone moiety and the open-chain hemiacetal or aldehyde hydrate in Brønsted acid medium to access 1H-imidazo[5,1-c][1,4]oxazine derivatives (Scheme 1) [21]. Considering that the hydrazone function at C-4 of 4a–r may exist in a tautomeric equilibrium with the corresponding ene

• , promoting, via hydrazone–enamine tautomerization [17][24][25], the nucleophilic addition which concludes with the construction of the heterocyclic N,O-aminal 5 through the intramolecular N–C bond formation. The FeCl3 can also interact with the newly formed N,O-aminals 5, giving rise to the second parallel

Synthesis of 1,2,3-triazoles containing an allomaltol moiety from substituted pyrano[2,3-d]isoxazolones via base-promoted Boulton–Katritzky rearrangement

• Constantine V. Milyutin,
• Andrey N. Komogortsev and
• Boris V. Lichitsky

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1334–1340, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.117

• to the considered rearrangement of isoxazoles containing an hydrazone unit. In this case the studied process results in formation of corresponding 1,2,3-triazoles with carbonyl moiety (Scheme 1a) [16][17][18][19]. Despite the wide variety of described recyclizations of this type for diverse

• obtained in three steps from allomaltol by a previously described method [27][28] Earlier, we have shown that hydrazone 3a can be synthesized by reaction of compound 1a with phenylhydrazine (5) in ethanol using a catalytic amount of p-TsOH (Scheme 2). Next, we supposed that hydrochlorides of arylhydrazines

• can be used as starting materials in the studied condensation. We tested this hypothesis using the interaction of ketone 1b and phenylhydrazine hydrochloride (2a). It was shown that reflux of the starting compounds in ethanol for 1 h leads to the target hydrazone 3b in 64% yield (Scheme 3). It should

Mild and efficient synthesis and base-promoted rearrangement of novel isoxazolo[4,5-b]pyridines

• Vladislav V. Nikol’skiy,
• Mikhail E. Minyaev,
• Maxim A. Bastrakov and
• Alexey M. Starosotnikov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1069–1075, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.94

• isoxazolo[4,5-b]pyridines 12 were obtained in pure form, however, cyclization of hydrazone 11a provided an inseparable mixture of two compounds which could be attributed to the target isoxazolo[4,5-b]pyridine 12a and triazole 13a formed as a result of Boulton–Katritzky rearrangement (Scheme 5). When this

• similar rearrangement of the other arylhydrazones 12b–h strongly depends on the aryl substituent. Indeed, the 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazones 12b,e, and h did not undergo recyclization even under drastic conditions, apparently due to a low nucleophilicity of the hydrazone anion (Table 1, entries 2, 5, and 8

Confirmation of the stereochemistry of spiroviolene

• Yao Kong,
• Yuanning Liu,
• Kaibiao Wang,
• Tao Wang,
• Chen Wang,
• Ben Ai,
• Hongli Jia,
• Guohui Pan,
• Min Yin and
• Zhengren Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 852–858, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.77

• Abstract We confirm the previously revised stereochemistry of spiroviolene by X-ray crystallographically characterizing a hydrazone derivative of 9-oxospiroviolane, which is synthesized by hydroboration/oxidation of spiroviolene followed by oxidation of the resultant hydroxy group. An unexpected thermal

• stereochemistry by X-ray crystallography using a hydrazone derivative of 1. Results and Discussion Our work commenced with the heterologous production of spiroviolene by E. coli using a recently developed isopentenol utilization pathway for the efficient supply of two C5 precursors for terpene biosynthesis

• organoborane intermediate, which was formed by elimination of BH3 from IM-16 followed by re-addition of BH3 from the opposite β-face to the proposed C8–C9 double bond intermediate, would also be possible. To further advance the intermediate to crystalline hydrazone product (Scheme 2B), we have found that both

Switchable molecular tweezers: design and applications

• Pablo Msellem,
• Maksym Dekthiarenko,
• Nihal Hadj Seyd and
• Guillaume Vives

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 504–539, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.45

• that binds to the OH groups instead of the pyrimidine nitrogen atoms. The group of Aprahamian has developed hydrazone-based molecular switches that can be controlled by photochemical or chemical stimuli such as pH [27]. They reported mesogenic tweezers-like compound 5 composed of a hydrazone switch

• substituted by two mesogenic cholesteryl groups (Figure 6) [28]. Due to strong hydrogen bonding between the pyridyl moiety and the N–H of the hydrazone, tweezers 5 predominantly exist in the closed E-form in a CD2Cl2 solution (E/Z-isomer ratio of 91:9). Upon protonation of the pyridyl group, a complete

• host–guest complexation, it can also only bind to coordinating guests (terpyridine, bipyridine) due to the proximity of the coordination sphere with the binding pocket. Tweezers 11 with NDI arms and an extended pyridine-hydrazone-pyridine-hydrazone-pyridine switchable unit have thus been developed

(E,Z)-1,1,1,4,4,4-Hexafluorobut-2-enes: hydrofluoroolefins halogenation/dehydrohalogenation cascade to reach new fluorinated allene

• Nataliia V. Kirij,
• Andrey A. Filatov,
• Yurii L. Yagupolskii,
• Sheng Peng and
• Lee Sprague

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 452–459, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.40

• -hexafluorobut-2-ene and an oxalamide hydrazone [17]. In the present study, we investigated the reactions of commercially available butenes 1a,b with halogens, as well as subsequent transformations of the resulting compounds. Results and Discussion In 1952 Haszeldine found that the reaction of bromine with (E