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

• condensation-type reaction between aromatic aldehydes with rhodanine or thiazolidine-2,4-dione [39]. Various protocols have been reported employing diverse catalyst systems and reaction conditions. Common catalysts include inorganic bases such as sodium acetate (NaOAc) [40], urea/thiourea [41], NaOH [42

Rapid access to the core of malayamycin A by intramolecular dipolar cycloaddition

• Yilin Liu,
• Yuchen Yang,
• Chen Yang,
• Sha-Hua Huang,
• Jian Jin and
• Ran Hong

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2542–2547, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.196

• intermediate 5 will be converted into the final target after installation of the urea and uracil motifs. Accordingly, a nitrone-based latent functionality approach [28] would be tunable from fully substituted tetrahydrofuran-derived nitrone 7. The cis-1,2-hydroxy amine could be derived from oxazoline 6 through

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

• dendrimer that incorporates about 21 individual azobenzene-based rotaxanes serving as branches distributed within the dendrimer skeleton [50]. The [2]rotaxane consists of a pillar[5]arene macrocycle and an axle featuring a urea and alkyl chain as recognition sites. The azobenzene functioned as one of the

• fluorescence quenching phenomena with aggregate-induced emission (AIE) in aqueous media. They synthesized a [2]rotaxane with one dithienylethene unit as a stopper, and one BAA and one urea binding site, as well as one DB24C8 macrocycle with a tetraphenylethene (TPE) fluorophore [16] (Figure 7). Addition of

• base results in the deprotonation of the ammonium site and shuttling of the macrocycle to the urea site. Whereas, upon addition of acid, the macrocycle returns to the protonated BAA site. Notably, the rotaxane exhibited high fluorescence intensity due to aggregation in acetonitrile with high water

Electrochemical cyclization of alkynes to construct five-membered nitrogen-heterocyclic rings

• Lifen Peng,
• Ting Wang,
• Zhiwen Yuan,
• Bin Li,
• Zilong Tang,
• Xirong Liu,
• Hui Li,
• Guofang Jiang,
• Chunling Zeng,
• Henry N. C. Wong and
• Xiao-Shui Peng

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2173–2201, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.166

• ]. Besides, electrochemical cyclization of alkynes is also an important access towards indoles. In 2016, Xu reported the electrochemical intramolecular coupling of urea derivatives to form substituted indoles (Scheme 1) [162]. Using [Cp2Fe] (5 mol %) as the redox catalyst, the intramolecular coupling of

• . Indole skeletons were obtained successfully through electrochemical coupling of urea derivatives, dehydrogenative annulation of alkynes with anilines, annulation of o-arylalkynylanilines, cyclization of 2-ethynylanilines, selenocyclization of diselenides with 2-ethynylanilines, and enantioselective

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

• tertiary amines from furfural and amines with total reduction of the aromatic ring, as reported by Pera-Titus and De Oliveira Vigier (Scheme 55) [185]. A 2018 study reported the aza-Piancatelli reaction of furfural and secondary amines in deep eutectic solvent based on the ChCl–urea mixture furnishing

Discovery of cytotoxic indolo[1,2-c]quinazoline derivatives through scaffold-based design

• Daniil V. Khabarov,
• Valeria A. Litvinova,
• Lyubov G. Dezhenkova,
• Dmitry N. Kaluzhny,
• Alexander S. Tikhomirov and
• Andrey E. Shchekotikhin

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 2062–2071, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.161

• ]. Given the presence of the indole moiety in indolo[1,2-c]quinazolin-6(5H)-one (1), the design of novel gramine-like analogues via aminomethyl substitution at position 12 is feasible. To evaluate the influence of the urea carbonyl group on biological activity, a modified scaffold, 6-methylindolo[1,2-c

• NH proton in the urea moiety (position N5) of indolo[1,2-c]quinazolin-6(5H)-one (1) enables efficient N-alkylation. Accordingly, alkylation of 1 with 1-bromo-3-chloropropane afforded intermediate 11, bearing a reactive chloropropyl side chain suitable for further derivatization. Nucleophilic

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

• in human history to obtain natural products and develop new applications. Traditionally, natural products are directly obtained from its natural source, such as sugar and vitamins. Since Wöhler’s historic success [1] in converting widely believed “inorganic” materials into the “organic” compound urea

Systematic pore lipophilization to enhance the efficiency of an amine-based MOF catalyst in the solvent-free Knoevenagel reaction

• Pricilla Matseketsa,
• Margret Kumbirayi Ruwimbo Pagare and
• Tendai Gadzikwa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1854–1863, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.144

• DPG dicarbamates, along with their various fragmentation products. The mass spectra for KSU-1n-Hex and KSU-1C14, show evidence of urea products in negative mode, and protonated DPG carbamates along with their fragmentation products in positive mode (Figures S4–S7, Supporting Information File 1

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

• composed of MSNs and choline sulfonatocalixarene[2]pseudorotaxane. Two different choline derivatives with distinct structures and lengths (Figure 14) were grafted onto the pores of MSNs via ester or urea linkages, serving as enzyme-cleavable sites. Negatively charged SC4A macrocycles were introduced to

• activate the urea-linked nanovalve (MSN-C2). This innovative enzyme-activated method provides inherent biocompatibility, mild reaction conditions, high efficiency, and specificity for the degradation of supramolecular polymers. 2.4 Hypoxia-responsive controlled release In the last few years, notable

Convenient alternative synthesis of the Malassezia-derived virulence factor malassezione and related compounds

• Karu Ramesh and
• Stephen L. Bearne

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1730–1736, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.135

• easier purification. The N-Boc-protected indole-3-acetic acid was subsequently treated with N-ethyl-N′-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) [29] in the presence of DMAP to generate the N,N′-Boc-protected malassezione (23). Use of EDC greatly facilitated the purification since the resulting urea

• of EDC permits easy removal of the water-soluble urea-based byproduct with an aqueous wash as opposed to the hydrophobic dicyclohexylurea arising when DCC is utilized, which is more difficult to separate from the hydrophobic malassezione. This route should afford ready access to malassezione for

Azide–alkyne cycloaddition (click) reaction in biomass-derived solvent Cyrene^TM under one-pot conditions

• Zoltán Medgyesi and
• László T. Mika

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1544–1551, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.117

• , a wide range of organic reactions, e.g., urea and amide formation [32][33], amide coupling [34], aldol condensation [35], C–H difluoromethylation [36], aromatic substitution [37], and MOFs synthesis [38] were demonstrated in CyreneTM. Very recently, Fasano and Citarella first reported a CuAAC

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

• cinnamic acid (7) in a deep eutectic solvent of choline chloride/urea (ChCl/urea) to give amides 12 and 13 in moderate yields via triacylated triazine 14 as the active ester (Scheme 5A) [36]. The TCT reagent and ChCl/urea solvent are known for their non-toxicity and low cost, promoting their wide

Harnessing tethered nitreniums for diastereoselective amino-sulfonoxylation of alkenes

• Shyam Sathyamoorthi,
• Appasaheb K. Nirpal,
• Dnyaneshwar A. Gorve and
• Steven P. Kelley

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 947–954, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.78

• diastereoselectivity (Table 4, entry 1). A urea substrate also furnished the expected product in a good yield and with high diastereoselectivity (Table 4, entry 3). With tri-substituted allylic carbamate 35, some amount of expected mesyloxylated product 36 did form, but there was also an isolable amount of a terminal

Unraveling cooperative interactions between complexed ions in dual-host strategy for cesium salt separation

• Zhihua Liu,
• Ya-Zhi Chen,
• Ji Wang,
• Qingling Nie,
• Wei Zhao and
• Biao Wu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 845–853, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.68

• highly efficient Cs3PO4 extraction. Results and Discussion The tripodal hexaurea receptor L is comprised of a central tren (tris(2-aminoethyl)amine) core and three arms of ortho-phenylene bis(urea) units, which can fold inward to encapsulate an anion inside the cavity through up to 12 hydrogen bonds [30

• ion-dipole interaction of the Li+ cation and carbonyl groups also contribute to the extraction. The negative electrostatic potential (δ−) of O=C is attributed to a high dipole moment of the urea unit (mono(urea): 3.95 D, bis(urea): 7.55 D) [34][35][36], which has been demonstrated to be capable of

• by 1H NMR titrations in DMSO. The resulting complexes after solid–liquid extraction were also characterized by 1H NMR spectroscopy (Figure 3), showing consistent anion binding profiles. By comparing with free hexaurea receptor L, the chemical shifts of the urea units N–H in the obtained complexes are

Sequential two-step, one-pot microwave-assisted Urech synthesis of 5-monosubstituted hydantoins from L-amino acids in water

• Wei-Jin Chang,
• Sook Yee Liew,
• Thomas Kurz and
• Siow-Ping Tan

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 596–600, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.46

• antibacterial [1], antiviral [2], anticancer [3], anti-inflammatory [4], and anticonvulsant [5]. Hydantoins were traditionally accessed from amino acids by conversion to urea derivatives followed by cyclization (Urech reaction) or from carbonyl compounds through the cyanohydrin intermediate (Bucherer–Bergs) [6

• Discussion As the first step of Urech hydantoin synthesis involved the N-carbamylation of amino acids, we carried out the microwave-assisted synthesis of urea derivatives in water, utilizing ʟ-phenylaniline as the representative amino acid. The optimal conditions for the N-carbamylation of ʟ-phenylaniline

• second step was attempted as part of a one-pot synthesis of hydantoins by the addition of concentrated hydrochloric acid followed by microwave irradiation of the reaction mixture at 80 °C for 15 min (Scheme 2). Gratifyingly, the acid-induced intra-cyclization of the urea derivative H1a proceeded smoothly

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

• aldehyde, urea and a 1,3-dicarbonyl compound [26][27]. In these reactions, the use of catalytic Cu(OTf)2 proved to be an excellent triflate surrogate, also revealing a remarkable reuse activity. The first example of a Biginelli reaction carried out with Cu(OTf)2 catalysis was reported by Sudalai and co

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

• palladium on carbon led to free alcohol derivative 72 in a 98% yield. Next, a urea 73 and various thioureas 74–77 were obtained in good yields and with retention of the enantioselectivity, demonstrating the usefulness of the novel methodology for the synthesis of new organocatalysts. In April 2023, Huang

Advances in the use of metal-free tetrapyrrolic macrocycles as catalysts

• Mandeep K. Chahal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3085–3112, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.257

• other binding sites required for substrate binding and/or promotion of the catalytic activity. Past studies have shown that modifying the porphyrin core with urea functionalities and amino acid substituents leads to the formation of ureaporphyrins, which significantly enhance sugar binding in non-polar

• solutions [18]. Similarly, Burns and co-workers reported di- and tetra-urea picket porphyrins highlighting, the impact of buried solvent molecules, such as DMSO, on the selectivity, affinity, and stoichiometry of anion binding [19]. Iron complexes of tetra-urea picket porphyrins further demonstrate how

Cyclodextrin-based rotaxanes for polymer materials: challenge on simultaneous realization of inexpensive production and defined structures

• Yosuke Akae

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3026–3049, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.252

• end-capping reaction. As a pseudorotaxane structure could be decomposed during measurements (e.g., a solution-based NMR measurement), a more stable rotaxane structure is preferred for the analysis. Therefore, we developed a facile [3]rotaxane synthesis method based on a urea end-capping method to

• interactions could fix the rotaxane structure. Such a fundamental systematic study was first possible because of the efficient urea end-capping synthetic method that supported its utility. Notably, other types of rotaxane frameworks have been developed using the pseudo[3]rotaxane-formation or urea end-capping

• considerably studied. However, in a small-molecule system, high-yield synthesis is still not so conventional except with the urea end-capping method. In the next section, the structural regulation system is explored and discussed in terms of its applicability to polymer systems. Structural control of the (poly

Applications of microscopy and small angle scattering techniques for the characterisation of supramolecular gels

• Connor R. M. MacDonald and
• Emily R. Draper

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2608–2634, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.220

• -assembly process to be easily interpreted, where the rationalisation of such structures may not be achievable with complex indirect imaging techniques. This advantage is epitomised by Jones et al. whose self-assembling urea compounds form helices which can further entangle into a number of significantly

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

• securing the enantioselectivity of the reaction by locking the catalyst in the more active and enantioselective Z-configuration (Figure 2). Further, the authors found that H-bond donors featuring urea, thiourea, and guanidine motifs were either inactive or provided racemic mixtures. Among 3,5-dichloro

• . In the optimisation of the catalyst 78 structure, several important observations were made (Scheme 19). Replacing thiourea (91) as the H-bond donor unit with squaramide (93) or urea (92) did not affect the enantioselectivity of the allylation of the benzaldehyde-derived acetal. On the other hand

Catalysing (organo-)catalysis: Trends in the application of machine learning to enantioselective organocatalysis

• Stefan P. Schmid,
• Leon Schlosser,
• Frank Glorius and
• Kjell Jorner

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2280–2304, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.196

• substrate scope and enantioselectivity requirements, while accounting for the specifics of a reaction and the requirements of the user. The authors applied their method on 3,003 literature-mined Mannich reactions from 106 publications to find that urea-based catalysts are the most general organocatalysts

Deuterated reagents in multicomponent reactions to afford deuterium-labeled products

• Kevin Schofield,
• Shayna Maddern,
• Yueteng Zhang,
• Grace E. Mastin,
• Rachel Knight,
• Wei Wang,
• James Galligan and
• Christopher Hulme

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2270–2279, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.195

• presented in Scheme 7 in good yield with no observed deuterium scrambling. The 19th century Biginelli reaction utilizes an arylaldehyde, urea, and acetoacetate component to give 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones [46]. Such molecules are widely used as calcium channel blockers and antihypertensive agents

Cell-free protein synthesis with technical additives – expanding the parameter space of in vitro gene expression

• Tabea Bartsch,
• Stephan Lütz and
• Katrin Rosenthal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2242–2253, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.192

• influence on the synthesis performance of CFPS. Polymers, DES, and organic solvents were considered to modify the fluid properties. Polymers and deep eutectic solvents (DES) as additives in CFPS Polymers (PEG, methylcellulose (MC), and carboxymethylcellulose (CMC)) and DES (choline chloride/urea, betaine

• . Although the viscosities of pure DES are relatively high (choline chloride/urea 1:2: 1200 mPa·s [28], choline chloride/glycerol 1:2: 300 mPa·s [28], betaine/ethylene glycol 1:3: 65 mPa·s [29]), the effect on viscosity when adding 2–10% to the CFPS system is almost negligible. The concentration of inorganic

• ions in CFPS reactions to which choline chloride was added ranged from 232 to 602 mM, exceeding the cytoplasmic inorganic ion concentration of 300 mM. Osmolarity is also increased by increasing salt concentrations as well. With the addition of 10% choline chloride/urea, the osmolarity of the CFPS

O,S,Se-containing Biginelli products based on cyclic β-ketosulfone and their postfunctionalization

• Kateryna V. Dil and
• Vitalii A. Palchykov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2143–2151, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.184

• Biginelli synthesis of dihydropyrimidinones/thiones/selenones via acetic acid or solvent-free Yb(OTf)3-catalyzed tandem reaction of β-ketosulfone (dihydro-2H-thiopyran-3(4H)-one-1,1-dioxide), an appropriate urea, and arylaldehyde has been developed. The reaction proceeds with high chemo- and

• ) are the key methodology to access valuable heterocycles for medicinal chemistry projects. The classical Biginelli reaction (1893) is an acid-catalyzed, three-component reaction between an aldehyde, β-ketoester, and urea that produces 3,4-dihydropyrimidin-2(1H)-ones, also known as DHPMs (Scheme 1A

• 18). Reaction scope We then used optimized reaction conditions from Table 1, entry 16 (method A) and 12 (method B) to further explore the scope of the reaction (Scheme 2). By employing various EWG/EDG-substituted benzaldehydes and urea/thiourea/selenourea we synthesized novel Biginelli products 2a–q