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

• the synthesis of complex molecules with single or multiple stereogenic centres over the past decades. Among the various acceptors employed in such reactions, those with a heterocyclic core are of particular importance because of the frequent occurrence of heterocyclic scaffolds in the structures of

Accelerating fragment-based library generation by coupling high-performance photoreactors with benchtop analysis

• Quentin Lefebvre,
• Christophe Salomé and
• Thomas C. Fessard

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 982–988, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.87

• thus be rapidly accessed, identifying privileged or challenging scaffolds and paving the way for further exploration. Keywords: benchtop analytics; fragment-based library; heterocyclic sp2–sp3 fragments; N-arylation; photoredox-nickel dual catalysis; Introduction Heterocyclic sp2–sp3 fragments are

• sought-after in fragment-based libraries, as they offer improved pharmacokinetic properties over more classical, “flat” scaffolds [1]. Specifically, bicyclo- and spiroalkanes are sp3-rich (more 3D-like), conformationally-restricted and strained building blocks that are under-represented in screening

• collections. These are of high value to medicinal chemists to provide defined exit vectors and facilitate rational lead evolution [2][3][4][5][6][7]. Thus, we were interested in developing reliable synthetic methods and technologies to apply metal-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions to such scaffolds, which

Recent applications of porphyrins as photocatalysts in organic synthesis: batch and continuous flow approaches

• Rodrigo Costa e Silva,
• Luely Oliveira da Silva,
• Aloisio de Andrade Bartolomeu,
• Timothy John Brocksom and
• Kleber Thiago de Oliveira

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 917–955, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.83

• , bacteriochlorin, and isobacteriochlorin. The cores of the porphyrin and chlorin scaffolds contain respectively 22 π and 20 π electrons, whereas bacteriochlorins and isobacteriochlorins contain 18 π electrons (Figure 1). The 18 π electron aromatic system (Figure 1, in bold) of the porphyrinoids confers stability

Diversity-oriented synthesis of 17-spirosteroids

• Benjamin Laroche,
• Thomas Bouvarel,
• Martin Louis-Sylvestre and
• Bastien Nay

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 880–887, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.79

• biologically validated scaffolds [8][9][10], referred to as privileged structures in medicinal chemistry [11][12][13][14]. Spanning unexplored chemical space, DOS strategies have been successfully applied to the generation of biologically active libraries for screening, leading to the discovery of medicinally

• transcription, or directly bind nuclear receptors [59][60][61]. In principle, steroids could thus be used as cargo molecules to deliver new chemical entities inside the nucleus, highlighting the potential of hybrid steroid molecules [62]. For example, De Riccardis designed steroid scaffolds directly fused to a

Copper catalysis with redox-active ligands

• Agnideep Das,
• Yufeng Ren,
• Cheriehan Hessin and
• Marine Desage-El Murr

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 858–870, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.77

• scaffolds such as gem-disubstituted (21k) and trisubstituted (21i and 21n,o) aziridines (Scheme 11). Furthermore, the reaction conditions are compatible with aldehyde, ester or ketone functions. Metalloenzymes routinely rely on 3d metals and amino acid-derived coordination spheres to perform complex (multi

• -closure (Scheme 12). A wide range of substrates including diverse mono-, di-, and trisubstituted styrene derivatives (21a,i,h, 26a–d and 27a–i) substrates as well as unactivated or deactivated tri- and tetrasubstituted scaffolds (21j,n,o, 26e–g and 27j–o) were efficiently converted. Conclusion The use of

Towards triptycene functionalization and triptycene-linked porphyrin arrays

• Gemma M. Locke,
• Keith J. Flanagan and
• Mathias O. Senge

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 763–777, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.70

• - and hexa-functionalizations of triptycene scaffolds can be achieved in a spatially defined manner (Figure 1) [21][22][23]. Thus, a variety of functional groups can be presented in fixed orientations [24]. The periphery of triptycene was successfully functionalized when multidye triptycene-linked

Combining enyne metathesis with long-established organic transformations: a powerful strategy for the sustainable synthesis of bioactive molecules

• Valerian Dragutan,
• Ileana Dragutan,
• Albert Demonceau and
• Lionel Delaude

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 738–755, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.68

• catalyzed by Grubbs 2nd generation Ru-carbene, these intermediates then led to the tricyclic sesquiterpenoid-like scaffolds I–VIII (Scheme 4), as suitable precursors for the synthesis of artemisinin and its analogs (1a–c). After selecting the optimal tricyclic intermediate, the installation of the bridged

• the corresponding bicyclic dienic scaffolds. The subsequent hydroboration and aminohydroxylation carried out on these bicyclic dienes provided the AB subunit as a key intermediate component of manzamines A (16a) and E (16b, Scheme 19). Eventually, several highly elaborated transformations of the AB

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

• (335; Scheme 53) [96]. The first Cu(I)-catalyzed allylic displacement on alkenes containing a CF3 group was reported in 2018. Enantioenriched γ,γ-gem-difluoroallylic boronates 339–341 can be obtained via this process. Once the obtained difluoromethylene scaffolds are formed, they are readily converted

Synthesis of organic liquid crystals containing selectively fluorinated cyclopropanes

• Zeguo Fang,
• Nawaf Al-Maharik,
• Peer Kirsch,
• Matthias Bremer,
• Alexandra M. Z. Slawin and
• David O’Hagan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 674–680, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.65

• explore the cyclopropane motif containing fluorine atoms. Selectively fluorinated cyclopropanes have been widely used in pharmaceutical research [11], however, the introduction of fluorinated cyclopropanes into liquid crystal scaffolds has not received much attention. Haufe et al. [12], reported

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

Cascade trifluoromethylthiolation and cyclization of N-[(3-aryl)propioloyl]indoles

• Ming-Xi Bi,
• Shuai Liu,
• Yangen Huang,
• Xiu-Hua Xu and
• Feng-Ling Qing

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 657–662, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.62

• , especially those featuring medicinally promising scaffolds. Pyrrolo[1,2-a]indol-3-ones are prevalent scaffolds that widely exist in many bioactive compounds and natural products [17][18][19][20]. Representative examples of biologically active pyrrolo[1,2-a]indol-3-one derivatives are shown in Figure 1

• converted to the mono(trifluoromethylthiolated) products in moderate yields. Further studies on applying radical cascade reactions to the construction of fluorine-containing heterocyclic scaffolds are in progress in our laboratory. Representative examples of biologically active pyrrolo[1,2-a]indol-3-one

Regioselectively α- and β-alkynylated BODIPY dyes via gold(I)-catalyzed direct C–H functionalization and their photophysical properties

• Takahide Shimada,
• Shigeki Mori,
• Masatoshi Ishida and
• Hiroyuki Furuta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 587–595, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.53

• fluorescence quantum yields of 3a and 4a remain high (Φf = 0.95 and 0.56, respectively) and are comparable to that of 1a (Table 1). The smaller Stokes shift values of ≈178 cm−1 and longer emission lifetimes of ≈7.83 ns indicate the rigid scaffolds of α,α-disubstituted 4a in the excited state. In the case of β

Regio- and stereoselective synthesis of new ensembles of diversely functionalized 1,3-thiaselenol-2-ylmethyl selenides by a double rearrangement reaction

• Svetlana V. Amosova,
• Andrey A. Filippov,
• Nataliya A. Makhaeva,
• Alexander I. Albanov and
• Vladimir A. Potapov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 515–523, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.47

• are important features of this approach. The obtained compounds represent novel ensembles of functionalized unsaturated five-membered heterocycles containing one sulfur atom and two selenium atoms of different nature (Schemes 8–11), which are valuable scaffolds for organic synthesis and medicinal

Recent advances in photocatalyzed reactions using well-defined copper(I) complexes

• Mingbing Zhong,
• Xavier Pannecoucke,
• Philippe Jubault and
• Thomas Poisson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 451–481, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.42

• [Cu(I)(dap)2]Cl under green light irradiation (Scheme 5) [21]. Fluorinated sultones are important scaffolds for pharmaceutical syntheses. To illustrate the synthetic utility of the method, a novel benzoxathiin analog was synthesized using this reaction as the key step. The authors suggested a similar

Synthesis and circularly polarized luminescence properties of BINOL-derived bisbenzofuro[2,3-b:3’,2’-e]pyridines (BBZFPys)

• Ryo Takishima,
• Yuji Nishii,
• Tomoaki Hinoue,
• Yoshitane Imai and
• Masahiro Miura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 325–336, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.32

• for the construction of such polycyclic scaffolds, and the last decade has witnessed a remarkable improvement in the palladium-catalyzed C–H/C–H oxidative coupling as one of the potential synthetic strategies [1]. This method is straightforward and highly step-economical, enabling us to produce

• -dimensional displays [22], information storage systems [23], molecular photoswitches [24], etc. Among a series of chiral scaffolds for CPL emitting molecules, axially chiral 1,1’-bi-2-naphthol (BINOL) has been frequently adopted for the core structure owing to the availability of both enantiomers as well as

• connecting the naphthyl rings [34][35][36]. In these compounds, the hydroxy groups are remained untouched or protected as the corresponding ethers or esters. We envisioned that the assembly of the binaphthyl-fused furan motif embedding the BINOL hydroxy groups into the polyaromatic scaffolds would lead to

Recent developments in photoredox-catalyzed remote ortho and para C–H bond functionalizations

• Rafia Siddiqui and
• Rashid Ali

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 248–280, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.26

• scaffolds in their structures [104][105][106][107]. By employing dual photoredox catalysis, in 2016, Fabry et al. reported the cyclization of substituted anilides with alkynes to produce indoles [108]. Unlike previously reported syntheses, viz, an indole synthesis by the Fagnou group utilizing a large

Combination of multicomponent KA² and Pauson–Khand reactions: short synthesis of spirocyclic pyrrolocyclopentenones

• Riccardo Innocenti,
• Elena Lenci,
• Gloria Menchi and
• Andrea Trabocchi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 200–211, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.23

• approach. The polyfunctional molecular scaffolds were tested on the cyclopentenone reactivity to further expand the skeletal diversity, demonstrating the utility of this combined approach in generating novel spiro compounds as starting material for the generation of chemical libraries. The chemoinformatics

• characterization of the newly-synthesized molecules gave evidence about structural and physicochemical properties with respect to a set of blockbuster drugs, and showed that such scaffolds are drug-like but more spherical and three-dimensional in character than the drugs. Keywords: chemical libraries

• ; chemoinformatics; Cu-catalysis; cycloadditions; molecular scaffolds; multicomponent reactions; Introduction The screening of small molecule libraries is a well-established approach in early-stage drug discovery to identify hit candidates for the development of drug leads. The application of unconventional

The use of isoxazoline and isoxazole scaffolding in the design of novel thiourea and amide liquid-crystalline compounds

• Itamar L. Gonçalves,
• Rafaela R. da Rosa,
• Vera L. Eifler-Lima and
• Aloir A. Merlo

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 175–184, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.20

• synthetizing new thioureas and amides by the installation of mesogenic cores derived from isoxazoline and isoxazole scaffolds and 4-n-alkoxybenzoic acid with liquid crystal properties. The liquid crystal properties of the compounds were investigated by polarized optical microscopy analysis (POM) and

• perfluorinated alkyl chain, displayed enantiotropic SmA mesophase with a mesophase range of ΔT = 80 °C. Perfluorinated and hydrogenated alkyl chains linked to isoxazoline and isoxazole scaffolds were previously studied in liquid crystal compounds [22]. The incidence of the SmA mesophase was intensified due to

• here are the first examples for the synthesis and characterization of a novel series of thiourea and amide LCs with isoxazoline and isoxazole scaffolds. All reactions proceeded smoothly and with good yields. From TGA analysis thioureas are less stable than amides as evidenced by their degradation

Potent hemithioindigo-based antimitotics photocontrol the microtubule cytoskeleton in cellulo

• Alexander Sailer,
• Franziska Ermer,
• Yvonne Kraus,
• Rebekkah Bingham,
• Ferdinand H. Lutter,
• Julia Ahlfeld and
• Oliver Thorn-Seshold

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 125–134, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.14

• heterostilbenes that deliver green fluorescent protein (GFP)-orthogonal MT photocontrol [17]. However, in both azobenzene and heterostilbene scaffolds, the steric properties of the E- and Z-isomer are so different that the protein binding site shape determines that the Z-isomer (the lit-form) is the more

• scaffolds such as aurones that apparently reproduce the substituent pattern SAR of combretastatins [21] while having closely similar scaffold steric properties to HTIs. However, in light of the considerations above, we rather selected indanocine as a starting point for alternative substituent patterning

• groups), which are otherwise problematic for current photopharmaceutical scaffolds to tolerate without loss of photoswitchability. In the broader sense, this is of interest for cell biology and further highlights the potential of HTIs as a pharmacophore scaffold for expanding the scope of cellular

Understanding the role of active site residues in CotB2 catalysis using a cluster model

• Keren Raz,
• Ronja Driller,
• Thomas Brück,
• Bernhard Loll and
• Dan T. Major

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 50–59, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.7

• different cellular compartments [1][2]. More specifically, the enigmatic class of terpene cyclases is responsible for converting linear aliphatic oligoprenyl diphosphates into various chemically complex macrocyclic products. The resulting terpene scaffolds and their functionalized terpenoid analogues

Extension of the 5-alkynyluridine side chain via C–C-bond formation in modified organometallic nucleosides using the Nicholas reaction

• Renata Kaczmarek,
• Dariusz Korczyński,
• James R. Green and
• Roman Dembinski

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2020, 16, 1–8, doi:10.3762/bjoc.16.1

• , triethylamine, in DMF, and at room temperature – to avoid cycloisomerization to furopyrimidines (Scheme 1). The modified pyrimidine nucleoside scaffolds, propargyl acetate-substituted 2'-deoxyuridine (R = Ac, 2) and propargyl methyl ether-substituted uridine (R = Me, 3), were obtained in 87% and 61% yield

Bacterial terpene biosynthesis: challenges and opportunities for pathway engineering

• Eric J. N. Helfrich,
• Geng-Min Lin,
• Christopher A. Voigt and
• Jon Clardy

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2889–2906, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.283

• synthetic biology to engineer pathways that will expand molecular diversity, especially around scaffolds associated with high-value compounds. The biosynthetic logic of terpene formation differs significantly from the logic employed by other classes of secondary metabolite biosynthetic pathways. Bacterial

• complementary pairs of these functionalities (Figure 2) [9]. It is this intrinsic and repetitive reactivity that can be easily tuned by natural selection [9]. As a result, a single terpene cyclase (TC) can produce dozens of hydrocarbon scaffolds that can differ significantly from each other [9][37]. This

• synthases, TCs), respectively, to generate terpene scaffolds and 2) the decoration phase, during which the terpene scaffold can get heavily modified by tailoring enzymes [45][46][47]. Phase 1) terpene scaffold generation Unlike core biosynthetic enzymes or domains of other natural product classes (PKSs and

Facile regiodivergent synthesis of spiro pyrrole-substituted pseudothiohydantoins and thiohydantoins via reaction of [e]-fused 1H-pyrrole-2,3-diones with thiourea

• Aleksandr I. Kobelev,
• Nikita A. Tretyakov,
• Ekaterina E. Stepanova,
• Maksim V. Dmitriev,
• Michael Rubin and
• Andrey N. Maslivets

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2864–2871, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.280

• compounds [1]. Many of them are commercially available drugs, for example, anticonvulsants phenytoin [2] and albutoin [3], the muscle relaxant dantrolene [4], or the nonsteroidal antiandrogen agent enzalutamide [5] (Figure 1). Despite this fact, hydantoin derivatives belong to a special group of scaffolds

• in medicinal chemistry. Indeed, they are structurally related to rhodanine (2-thioxothiazolidin-4-one), and sometimes are classified as pan-assay interference compounds (PAINS), which are abhorrent in high-throughput screenings [6]. To clarify whether such compounds are privileged scaffolds or

• promiscuous binders, Mendgen and co-workers performed a systematic comparative study on rhodanines and related structures with respect to their medicinal chemistry properties [7]. As a result, it was shown that such structures could be suitable scaffolds for medicinal chemistry under proper conditions of

One-pot synthesis of substituted pyrrolo[3,4-b]pyridine-4,5-diones based on the reaction of N-(1-(4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2-oxo-2H-pyran-3-yl)-2-oxo-2-arylethyl)acetamide with amines

• Valeriya G. Melekhina,
• Andrey N. Komogortsev,
• Boris V. Lichitsky,
• Vitaly S. Mityanov,
• Artem N. Fakhrutdinov,
• Arkady A. Dudinov,
• Vasily A. Migulin,
• Yulia V. Nelyubina,
• Elizaveta K. Melnikova and
• Michail M. Krayushkin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2840–2846, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.277

• a remarkable anti-epileptic activity [8]. Additionally, compounds containing the 1H-imidazo[1’2’:1,2]pyrrolo[3,4-b]pyridine moiety were employed as herbicides [9]. At the same time, the published synthetic procedures towards the reported scaffolds were mainly specific for the individual products

• amines 3 did not only furnish the desired scaffolds in satisfactory yields but also allowed to use a variety of readily available substituted substrates (Scheme 1). Results and Discussion The published synthesis of acetamides 2 includes a one-pot three-component reaction of 4-hydroxy-6-methyl-2H-pyran-2

Design, synthesis and investigation of water-soluble hemi-indigo photoswitches for bioapplications

• Daria V. Berdnikova

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2019, 15, 2822–2829, doi:10.3762/bjoc.15.275

• with their poor solubility and reduced photoswitching efficiency in aqueous medium. In many cases, approaches to improve the water solubility by chemical modification of the photochromic scaffolds are not straightforward because the introduction of substituents often interferes with the desired