Synthesis and structural elucidation of a novel bis-spirooxindole from isatin and ethylenediamine

• Irene Moreno-Gutiérrez,
• Josefa L. López-Martínez,
• Sonia Berenguel-Gómez,
• Irene Torres-García,
• Duane Choquesillo-Lazarte,
• Manuel Muñoz-Dorado,
• Miriam Álvarez-Corral and
• Ignacio Rodríguez-García

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 813–820, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.63

• retained the four-signal pattern of isatin (H4', H5', H6', H7'), slightly shifted by the new structural environment. In the 13C NMR spectrum, the amide carbonyl appeared at δ 176.5 ppm, while a key quaternary carbon at δ 61.0 ppm (C3‘) – formerly the C-3 isatin carbonyl carbon – confirmed the formation of

Synthesis of heterocycles based on azomethine ylides from α-amino acids (or amines) and carbonyl compounds

• Ekaterina V. Berezhnaya,
• Alexander I. Ponyaev,
• Vitali M. Boitsov and
• Alexander V. Stepakov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 705–741, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.55

• 12 with β-fluoromethyl-β,β-disubstituted enones 15 was studied, resulting in the formation of pyrrolidines 16 and 17 with two adjacent or two discrete quaternary stereocenters (Scheme 10). The regioselectivity of this reaction is controlled by the choice of a suitable chiral ligand. The authors

Continuous-flow carbonyl hydrogenation under subatmospheric to atmospheric hydrogen pressure enabled by robust heterogeneous Pt–Fe catalysts

• Hiroyuki Miyamura,
• Ryosuke Kajiyama,
• Shun-ya Onozawa,
• Yoshihiro Kon and
• Shū Kobayashi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 575–582, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.43

• –10). Fenchone (1k) has a fused bicyclic skeleton with a carbonyl moiety positioned between two quaternary carbons. Therefore, its carbonyl moiety is sterically shielded and its hydrogenation is highly challenging. A mixture of two diastereomers 2k and 2k’ was obtained in 74% yield (2k:2k’ = 66:34) at

Dialkylaminoalkylation of β-ketosulfones via ring-opening of 3-sulfonylpyrrolidines

• Evgeny M. Buev,
• Alexander V. Pavlushin,
• Vladimir S. Moshkin and
• Vyacheslav Y. Sosnovskikh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 383–389, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.26

• of the quaternary ammonium salt in the presence of a O-, S- or N-nucleophile with cesium carbonate leads to a retro-Claisen reaction, ring-opening and Michael addition. The resulting novel 4-Nu-3-sulfonylbutan-1-amines are isolated in moderate to excellent overall yields. The reduction of the

• quaternary ammonium salt of 3,3-dibenzoylpyrrolidine, derived from dibenzoylmethane, undergoes ring-opening in the presence of a nucleophile and sodium methoxide via a retro-Claisen reaction [33]. This process yields 4-(dimethylamino)-2-heteromethyl-1-phenylbutan-1-one scaffold V (EWG = COPh; Y = OR, SR, NR

• promote Hofmann elimination. To enhance the leaving ability of the nitrogen atom we prepared ammonium salts 3 of the obtained pyrrolidines via treatment with alkyl halides. Since the preparation of quaternary ammonium salts of pyrrolidines is straightforward, we employed a one-pot method for its synthesis

Streptoquinolines A and B, new antibacterial meroterpenoids produced by Streptomyces sp. TMPU-A0679

• Akiho Yagi,
• Hitomi Tomura,
• Ami Konno and
• Ryuji Uchida

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 185–191, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.12

• , seven sp3 methylene carbons, two sp3 methine carbons, two sp2 methine carbons, two sp3 quaternary carbons, two oxygenated sp3 quaternary carbons, five sp2 quaternary carbons, and three carbonyl carbons from an analysis of the HMQC spectrum. The 1H NMR spectrum (in DMSO-d6) exhibited signals

• III (H-9 (δ 1.58)/H2-11 (δ 2.55, 2.48)). 1H,13C HMBC correlations were then observed from the methyl protons H3-12 (δ 0.89) and H3-13 (δ 0.83) to the sp3 methylene carbon C-3 (δ 41.3), the sp3 quaternary carbon C-4 (δ 32.8), and the sp3 methine carbon C-5 (δ 55.2). Correlations were observed from the

• methyl proton H3-14 (δ 0.91) to the sp3 methylene carbon C-1 (δ 38.4), C-5, the sp3 methine carbon C-9 (δ 51.1), and the sp3 quaternary carbon C-10 (δ 36.5) and from the methyl proton H3-15 (δ 1.15) to the sp3 methylene carbon C-7 (δ 39.5), the oxygenated sp3 quaternary carbon C-8 (δ 77.9), and C-9

Total synthesis of natural products based on hydrogenation of aromatic rings

• Haoxiang Wu and
• Xiangbing Qi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 88–122, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.4

• of the pyridinium, consistent with established reactivity models from prior studies [97]. A three-step sequence involved Raney Ni hydrogenation of the dihydropyridine, TFA-mediated indole deprotection, and base-promoted formation of a C3 quaternary carbon center provided piperidine compound 185. The

Synthesis and applications of alkenyl chlorides (vinyl chlorides): a review

• Daniel S. Müller

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2026, 22, 1–63, doi:10.3762/bjoc.22.1

• quaternary substituent is present (compound 155), the reaction proceeds with excellent yields. A more recent study by Kropp on surface-mediated hydrochlorination reactions (Scheme 26) [94] also demonstrated that hydrochlorination of 1-heptyne yields a mixture of three products 156, 157, and 158. The target

Thiazolidinones: novel insights from microwave synthesis, computational studies, and potentially bioactive hybrids

• Luan A. Martinho,
• Victor H. J. G. Praciano,
• Guilherme D. R. Matos,
• Claudia C. Gatto and
• Carlos Kleber Z. Andrade

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2618–2636, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.203

• spectra. For instance, in compound 3n, the aromatic (C-8 and C-12) and the olefinic (C-9) quaternary carbons, the methylene carbons attached to N (C-17, and C-19), and the ortho-N carbons displayed either absent or significantly weak signals, deviating from the expected patterns (Figure 3). This

• spectra (Scheme 7b). A remarkable feature of the 13C NMR spectra of compounds 3n and 4n in DMSO is the attenuation/absence of peaks corresponding to the carbon atoms at the ortho and meta positions of the six-membered ring. It is known that quaternary carbon atoms have very long relaxation times, but this

Visible-light-driven NHC and organophotoredox dual catalysis for the synthesis of carbonyl compounds

• Vasudevan Dhayalan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2584–2603, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.200

• , and aryloxymethyl potassium trifluoroborate salt 10 under mild conditions. The described catalytic system exhibited broad functional group tolerance and efficiently employed terminal alkenes 11 to generate quaternary centers adjacent to the carbonyl group. The key step in this organocatalytic process

Recent advances in total synthesis of illisimonin A

• Juan Huang and
• Ming Yang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2571–2583, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.199

• epoxide ring-opening afforded 71. To install the all-carbon quaternary center at C5, compound 71 was treated with t-BuOK and MeI, enabling the deprotonation of the α,β-unsaturated aldehyde and methylation at C5; this step also facilitated protection of the secondary alcohol. The aldehyde was reduced in

• , generating an allylic alcohol that was acetylated in situ to provide 74. An Ireland–Claisen rearrangement facilitated the third olefin transposition, concurrently forming an all-carbon quaternary center at C9 and affording carboxylic acid 75. The fourth olefin transposition was achieved via a palladium

• -catalyzed oxidative lactonization, yielding 76 with a newly established quaternary center at C1 and isomerization of the double bond to C2=C3. Photocatalyzed isomerization of the C2–C3 double bond in 76 to C3=C4 furnished 77 [39][40]. A Mukaiyama hydration introduced a hydroxy group at C4, accompanied by

Total syntheses of highly oxidative Ryania diterpenoids facilitated by innovations in synthetic strategies

• Zhi-Qi Cao,
• Jin-Bao Qiao and
• Yu-Ming Zhao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2553–2570, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.198

• and structurally established [16][17][18]. Structurally, ryanodine (1) and related diterpenoid natural products feature a 6-5-5-5-6 pentacyclic core skeleton containing 11 stereocenters, eight of which are quaternary carbons. A key structural feature is the assembly of a polycyclic cage-like framework

• via multiple C–C and C–O bonds, incorporating a labile hemiketal moiety. Furthermore, the presence of multiple oxygenated quaternary carbons classifies these molecules among the most highly oxidized diterpenoid natural products reported in the literature. In terms of biological activity, ryanodine (1

• the simultaneous construction of four quaternary carbon centers (C1, C4, C5, and C12) and the core AB bicyclic skeleton, markedly improving synthetic efficiency. Subsequent oxidative desymmetrization of the C14–C15 olefin in (±)-33 established the sterically hindered C11 quaternary carbon center. An α

Pentacyclic aromatic heterocycles from Pd-catalyzed annulation of 1,5-diaryl-1,2,3-triazoles

• Kaylen D. Lathrum,
• Emily M. Hanneken,
• Katelyn R. Grzelak and
• James T. Fletcher

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2524–2534, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.194

• reactivity of this family of pentacyclic aromatic heterocycles towards N-benzylation and the antimicrobial properties of such resulting quaternary ammonium compounds are ongoing. Examples of polycyclic aromatic heterocycle structures: phenanthridine (left), 1,5-naphthyridine (center), and 1,9-phenanthroline

Synthesis of the tetracyclic skeleton of Aspidosperma alkaloids via PET-initiated cationic radical-derived interrupted [2 + 2]/retro-Mannich reaction

• Ru-Dong Liu,
• Jian-Yu Long,
• Zhi-Lin Song,
• Zhen Yang and
• Zhong-Chao Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2470–2478, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.189

• construction of the tetracyclic core of Aspidosperma alkaloids. Our method involves an Ir-catalyzed PET reaction of K for the stereoselective formation of the cis-configured BC bicyclic core with an all-carbon quaternary center [25][26]. Computational studies suggest that the observed tandem PET reaction of K

• were obtained in 70% and 72% yield, respectively. However, when C15 was substituted with a methyl group, the yield of 10d decreased slightly to 63%. Product 10e, which has two contiguous quaternary stereogenic centers at C2 and C12, was obtained in 74% yield without a significant change in the yield

• the formation of benzyl radical IN2, which has a boat-like seven-membered ring. This structural feature may facilitate formation of the C19–C12 bond, even in the presence of critical steric hindrance between the C5 quaternary carbon and the indole moiety. Further DFT investigation proved challenging

Transformation of the cyclohexane ring to the cyclopentane fragment of biologically active compounds

• Natalya Akhmetdinova,
• Ilgiz Biktagirov and
• Liliya Kh. Faizullina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2416–2446, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.185

• [52] achieved high regioselectivity and stereospecific construction of contiguous all-carbon quaternary centers through an oxidative ring contraction of cyclic α-formyl ketones by the action of H2O2. This reaction is easy to perform, environmentally friendly, and does not require expensive catalysts

• regioselectivity (>99:1) and complete preservation of the stereochemistry at both quaternary carbon centers (Scheme 17). Through a series of synthetic transformations, the target products (+)-cuparene (91) and (+)-tochuinylacetate (92) were synthesized from acids 96a and 96b with high regioselectivity. In [53

• multiple stereocenters, including contiguous quaternary carbons. As a result, the carboborative ring contraction reaction is conveniently used for structural modification of natural products containing a cyclohexene ring and in the synthesis of new compounds to increase their activity, metabolic stability

Synthetic study toward vibralactone

• Liang Shi,
• Jiayi Song,
• Yiqing Li,
• Jia-Chen Li,
• Shuqi Li,
• Li Ren,
• Zhi-Yun Liu and
• Hong-Dong Hao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2376–2382, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.182

• vibralactone, a potent inhibitor of pancreatic lipase, is reported. The synthesis of the challenging all-carbon quaternary center within the cyclopentene ring was achieved through intramolecular alkylidene carbene C–H insertion. Keywords: alkylidene carbene; C–H insertion; total synthesis; vibralactone

• cyclopentene ring containing an all-carbon quaternary center [14], and inhibits pancreatic lipase with an IC50 of 0.4 µg/mL. Several congeners with varying oxidation state, as well as related β-hydroxy acids or esters have also been isolated from the culture broth of the basidiomycete [15][16][17][18][19][20

• -lactone with an all-carbon quaternary center and two trisubstituted olefin moieties. It is therefore not surprising that this compound has attracted considerable interest from both the chemical biology and synthetic chemistry communities. Sieber and co-workers disclosed that vibralactone can target ClpP1

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

• macrocycle along a hydrophobic axle with a central urea unit. More recently, a rotaxane incorporating a stiff-stilbene unit at the center of the axle was synthesized, featuring two DB24C8 macrocycles primarily positioned at quaternary ammonium recognition sites [80]. In this system, the trans isomer of the

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

• Terpenoids 1.1 (+)-Cyclobutastellettolide B (+)-Cyclobutastellettolide B (13), featuring an unusual 6/6/4-fused tricyclic core with six stereocenters – including three contiguous quaternary stereocenters – was first isolated by Stonik et al. in 2019 from a Stelletta sp. sponge collected in Vietnamese waters

• -chloroperoxybenzoic acid) induced epoxidation, which was then followed by a Meinwald rearrangement to accomplish aldehyde 7. From 7, a sequence involving silyl enol ether formation, Simmons−Smith cyclopropanation, and acid-mediated regioselective ring-opening installed the C8 quaternary methyl group in 10. Subsequent

• key late-stage step in this total synthesis, the Norrish–Yang photocyclization exhibits high chemoselectivity and efficiency. It regulates selectivity through C–H bond dissociation energy and restricted bond rotation, constructing a 6/6/4 fused ring system with three contiguous quaternary carbons

Enantioselective radical chemistry: a bright future ahead

• Anna C. Renner,
• Sagar S. Thorat,
• Hariharaputhiran Subramanian and
• Mukund P. Sibi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2283–2296, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.174

• single process that established five new carbon–carbon bonds and nine contiguous stereocenters, including four all-carbon quaternary centers (Scheme 3). Transition-metal-catalyzed radical reactions Recent advances in enantioselective radical reactions catalyzed by base metals (e.g., Fe, Co, Ni, Mn

• phosphoric acid catalytic system [31]. Aminoalkenes react with Togni’s reagent in the presence of a catalytic amount of CuCl and a chiral phosphoric acid to yield pyrrolidines. Using this methodology, chiral α-quaternary substituted pyrrolidines were synthesized in good yields and excellent

• . Melchiorre and co-workers reported a dual catalytic system that involves photoredox and chiral organocatalysts for the construction of all-carbon quaternary centers. The authors studied radical additions to β,β-disubstituted cyclic enones (Scheme 7) [29]. The dual catalytic system of tetrabutylammonium

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

• F254 and by UHPLC–MS on a Shimadzu LC-40 UHPLC equipment equipped with a quaternary pump, degasser, autosampler, column oven, diode array detector, and an LCMS-2020 quadrupole mass spectrometer. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SC-XRD) measurements were carried out on a Rigaku R-Axis Spider

A m-quaterphenyl probe for absolute configurational assignments of primary and secondary amines

• Yuka Takeuchi,
• Mutsumi Kobayashi,
• Yuuka Gotoh,
• Mari Ikeda,
• Yoichi Habata,
• Tomohiko Shirai and
• Shunsuke Kuwahara

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2211–2219, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.168

• conformers, obtained via DFT calculations, show a correlation with both the sign and intensity of the experimentally observed CD spectra. Keywords: absolute configuration; chiral amine; chiral quaternary ammonium salt; circular dichroism; DFT calculation; Introduction Determining the absolute

• esters in the presence of K2CO3 in CH3CN (Scheme 1). The quaternary ammonium salt conjugates 2f–h were also prepared by reacting 1 with chiral secondary amines under similar conditions. It is reported that the central biphenyl moiety of amines and ammonium salts with seven-membered rings freely rotates

• the quaternary ammonium salts (S)-2f,g and (R)-2h exhibit CD Cotton effects due to the exciton-coupling between the two methoxy-biphenyl chromophores (Figure 1b). Compound (R)-2f exhibited the mirror image of the CD spectrum of (S)-2f (Figure S19 in Supporting Information File 1). The direction of

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

• introduction of substituents to the seven-methine carbon chain of Cy7 influences its optical properties and ability to interact with biomolecules. A one-pot synthesis of γ-acyloxy-Cy7 from renewable furfural, simple anhydrides, and a quaternary ammonium salt under smooth conditions was reported (Scheme 63

The application of desymmetric enantioselective reduction of cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds in the total synthesis of terpenoid and alkaloid natural products

• Dong-Xing Tan and
• Fu-She Han

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2085–2102, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.164

• The desymmetric enantioselective reduction of cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds is a powerful tool for the construction of ring systems bearing multiple stereocenters including all-carbon quaternary stereocenters, which are widely useful chiral building blocks for the total synthesis of structurally

• shortage of natural product sources. Nevertheless, the asymmetric total synthesis of terpenoid and alkaloid natural products presents significant challenges due to their complex and diverse ring systems and the presence of multiple stereocenters, including all-carbon quaternary stereocenters. Consequently

• , (−)-glaucopine C, and (+)-allocyathin B2 The cyrneine diterpenoids represent an important subfamily of cyathane diterpenoids which possess a common 5-6-7 fused tricarbocyclic core with two all-carbon quaternary stereocenters. Many impressive syntheses have been reported to date [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25

Bioinspired total syntheses of natural products: a personal adventure

• Zhengyi Qin,
• Yuting Yang,
• Nuran Yan,
• Xinyu Liang,
• Zhiyu Zhang,
• Yaxuan Duan,
• Huilin Li and
• Xuegong She

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2048–2061, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.160

• against P-388 (mouse lymphocytic leukemia). Attracted by the novel bridged structure and in order to further determine the structure, particularly the absolute configurations, we explored the total synthesis of chabranol [19]. Structurally, this molecule contains an oxa-[2.2.1] bridge, with two quaternary

Enantioselective desymmetrization strategy of prochiral 1,3-diols in natural product synthesis

• Lihua Wei,
• Rui Yang,
• Zhifeng Shi and
• Zhiqiang Ma

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1932–1963, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.151

• ), compound 154 underwent epoxidation followed by acid-mediated cyclization to yield bicyclic compound 155. The synthesis was completed through a nine-step conversion of 155 to obtain (−)-dysiherbaine (156). To construct the asymmetric quaternary carbon centers with an amino group, the Kang group developed a

• of compound 248, establishing an expected C6 stereocenter and a chiral quaternary carbon center at C16. This desymmetrization was enabled due to the structural features of diol 246, wherein the proximal hydroxy group was functionalized, while the distal hydroxy group remained intact. The synthesis of

Preparation of spirocyclic oxindoles by cyclisation of an oxime to a nitrone and dipolar cycloaddition

• Beth L. Ritchie,
• Alexandra Longcake and
• Iain Coldham

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1890–1896, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.146

• to one another and cis to the ring junction NC–H. The relative stereochemistry of the oxindole quaternary stereocentre was less obvious from this method, but the coupling constants of the aliphatic ring protons in the 1H NMR spectrum had similar values to those in the adduct 5a, suggesting that the