Advancements in the Synthesis and Applications of Cationic N‐Heterocycles through Transition Metal‐Catalyzed C−H Activation

Cationic N‐heterocycles are an important class of organic compounds largely present in natural and bioactive molecules. They are widely used as fluorescent dyes for biological studies, as well as in spectroscopic and microscopic methods. These compounds are key intermediates in many natural and pharmaceutical syntheses. They are also a potential candidate for organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs). Because of these useful applications, the development of new methods for the synthesis of cationic N‐heterocycles has received a lot of attention. In particular, many C?H activation methodologies that realize high step‐ and atom‐economies toward these compounds have been developed. In this review, recent advancements in the synthesis and applications of cationic N‐heterocycles through C?H activation reactions are summarized. The new C?H activation reactions described in this review are preferred over their classical analogs.     

Synthesis of Phenolic Compounds via Palladium Catalyzed C−H Functionalization of Arenes

Phenol and its derivatives are extremely useful compounds in organic synthesis, medicinal chemistry and material sciences. The synthesis of phenols involving selective construction of the C?O bond at a C?H bond of arenes using transition‐metal catalysis represents the most appealing strategy. Indeed, active research is currently going on for the synthesis of valuable phenolic compounds using a transition‐metal‐catalyzed C?H functionalization strategy. This short review summarizes recent advances on palladium‐catalyzed C?O bond forming reactions that enable direct access to phenolic compounds. These catalytic reactions proceed either via C?H esterification with trifluoroacetic acid/trifluoroacetic anhydride followed by in situ hydrolysis of the ester or via direct C?H hydroxylation. A brief analysis of substrate scope and limitation, reaction mechanism as well as synthetic utility of these reactions has been included.     

Catalytic Carbonylation and Carboxylation of Organosulfur Compounds via C−S Cleavage

Transition‐metal‐catalyzed carbonylation with CO gas occupies a privileged position in organic synthesis for the synthesis of carbonyl compounds. Although this attractive and useful chemistry has led many researchers to investigate carbonylative transformations of various organic (pseudo)halides, C?S‐cleaving carbonylation of organosulfur compounds has been fairly limited. Recently, a broad spectrum of C?S‐cleaving transformations has been emerging in the field of cross‐coupling. In light of the importance of carbonyl compounds as well as considerable advancement for employing organosulfur compounds as competent surrogates of (pseudo)halides, carbonylative transformations of C?S bonds should be of high value. This Minireview focuses on catalytic C?S carbonylation of organosulfur compounds with CO or its equivalents. In addition, reductive carboxylation of C?S bonds with CO₂ is described.     

Recent Advances in the Metal‐Catalyzed Activation of Amide Bonds

The amide functional group is commonly found in peptides, proteins, pharmaceutical compounds, natural products, and polymers. The synthesis of amides is typically performed by using classical approaches that involve the reaction between a carboxylic acid and an amine in the presence of an activator. Amides are thought to be an inert functional group, because they are unsusceptible to nucleophile attack, owing to their low electrophilicity. The reason for this resistance is clear: the resonance stability of the amide bond. However, transition metal catalysis can circumvent this stability by selectively rupturing the N?C bond of the amide, thereby facilitating further cross‐coupling or other reactions. In this Focus Review, we discuss the recent advances in this area and present a summary of methods that have been developed for activating the amide N?C bond by using precious and non‐precious metals.     

Recent advances in reactions between arynes and organosulfur compounds

The recent progress made on transformations involving the reactions between aryne intermediates and organosulfur compounds has been reviewed. A wide variety of aromatic organosulfurs are now synthesizable by generating arynes in the presence of organosulfur compounds. Organosulfurs have distinctive reactivities with arynes, which depend on the sulfur atom’s valence state, that is, S(II), S(IV), and S(VI), as well as the presence or absence of other intra- or intermolecular reactive moieties. These novel transformations have enabled the diversity-oriented synthesis of unique aromatic organosulfurs that were once difficult to prepare by the conventional methods, paving the way for the development of molecules that are beneficial across numerous disciplines, including pharmaceutical science and materials science.     

Transition‐Metal‐Catalyzed CS Bond Coupling Reaction

Sulfur‐containing molecules such as thioethers are commonly found in chemical biology, organic synthesis, and materials chemistry. While many reliable methods have been developed for preparing these compounds, harsh reaction conditions are usually required in the traditional methods. The transition metals have been applied in this field, and the palladium‐catalyzed coupling of thiols with aryl halides and pseudo halides is one of the most important methods in the synthesis of thioethers. Other metals have also been used for the same purpose. Here, we summarize recent efforts in metal‐catalyzed C? S bond cross‐coupling reactions, focusing especially on the coupling of thiols with aryl‐ and vinyl halides based on different metals.     

Accessing Drug Metabolites via Transition‐Metal Catalyzed C−H Oxidation: The Liver as Synthetic Inspiration

Can classical and modern chemical C?H oxidation reactions complement biotransformation in the synthesis of drug metabolites? We have surveyed the literature in an effort to try to answer this important question of major practical significance in the pharmaceutical industry. Drug metabolites are required throughout all phases of the drug discovery and development process; however, their synthesis is still an unsolved problem. This Review, not intended to be comprehensive or historical, highlights relevant applications of chemical C?H oxidation reactions, electrochemistry and microfluidic technologies to drug templates in order to access drug metabolites, and also highlights promising reactions to this end. Where possible or appropriate, the contrast with biotransformation is drawn. In doing so, we have tried to identify gaps where they exist in the hope to spur further activity in this very important research area.     

Advances in Copper‐Catalyzed C?C Coupling Reactions and Related Domino Reactions Based on Active Methylene Compounds

Active methylene compounds are a major class of reaction partners for C? C bond formation with sp² C? X (X=halide) fragments. As one of the most‐classical versions of the Ullmann‐type coupling reaction, activated‐methylene‐based C? C coupling reactions have been efficiently employed in a large number of syntheses. Although this type of reaction has long relied on noble‐metal catalysis, the renaissance of copper catalysis at the end of last century has led to dramatic developments in Ullmann C? C coupling reactions. Owing to its low cost, abundance, as well as excellent catalytic activity, the exceptional atom economy of copper catalysis is gaining widespread attention in various organic synthesis. This review summarizes the advances in copper‐catalyzed intermolecular and intramolecular C? C coupling reactions that use activated methylene species as well as in tandem reactions that are initiated by this transformation.     

CH bond functionalization: emerging synthetic tools for natural products and pharmaceuticals

The direct functionalization of C? H bonds in organic compounds has recently emerged as a powerful and ideal method for the formation of carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom bonds. This Review provides an overview of C? H bond functionalization strategies for the rapid synthesis of biologically active compounds such as natural products and pharmaceutical targets.     

Carbon‐Carbon and Carbon‐Heteroatom Bond Formation Reactions Using Unsaturated Carbon Compounds

The carbon‐carbon and carbon‐heteroatom bond formation reactions are considered as a fundamental tool in synthetic organic chemistry. They have been effectively utilized in the synthesis of medicinally significant molecules, agrochemicals and valuable compounds in material sciences. This has been primarily enabled by highly efficient protocols arising from divergent mechanistic pathways. In this personal account, we aim to discuss some recent advances in carbon‐carbon or carbon‐heteroatom bond formation reactions to which our group has actively contributed. More specifically, this record focuses on the use of unsaturated carbon compounds for the construction of C?C and C?X bonds.     

Investigation of innovative synthesis of biologically active compounds on the basis of newly developed reactions

Synthesis of biologically active compounds, including natural products and pharmaceutical agents, is an important and interesting research area since the large structural diversity and complexity of bioactive compounds make them an important source of leads and scaffolds in drug discovery and development. Many structurally and also biologically interesting compounds, including marine natural products, have been isolated from nature and have also been prepared on the basis of a computational design for the purpose of developing medicinal chemistry. In order to obtain a wide variety of derivatives of biologically active compounds from the viewpoint of medicinal chemistry, it is essential to establish efficient synthetic procedures for desired targets. Newly developed reactions should also be used for efficient synthesis of desired compounds. Thus, recent progress in the synthesis of biologically active compounds by focusing on the development of new reactions is summarized in this review article.     

Recent Trends in Copper‐Catalyzed C−H Amination Routes to Biologically Important Nitrogen Scaffolds

Nitrogen‐containing heterocycles have found remarkable applications in natural product research, material sciences, and pharmaceuticals. Although the synthesis of this interesting class of compounds attracted the interest of generations of organic chemists, simple and straightforward assembly methods based on transition‐metal catalysis have regularly been elusive. The recent advancements in the development of C?H functionalization have helped in accomplishing the synthesis of a variety of complex heterocycles from simple precursors. This Focus Review summarizes the recent advances in one particular field: the copper‐catalyzed C?N bond formation reactions via C?H bond functionalization to furnish a comprehensive range of nitrogen heterocycles. Applicability and synthetic feasibility of a particular reaction represent major requirements for the inclusion in this review.     

Carbon–sulfur bond formation via photochemical strategies: An efficient method for the synthesis of sulfur-containing compounds

The development of green and convenient methods for C–S bond formation has received significant attention because C–S bond widely occurs in many important pharmaceutical and biological compounds.Recently, visible-light photoredox catalysis has been established as an efficient and general tool for the construction of C–C and C-heteroatom bonds. In this review, we have focused on the research on recent advances in C–S bond formation via visible-light photoredox catalysis, and the growing opportuni...     

Annulative Allylic Alkylation Reactions between Dual Electrophiles and Dual Nucleophiles: Applications in Complex Molecule Synthesis

Metal-catalyzed allylic alkylation reactions between dual nucleophiles and dual electrophiles represent a powerful set of methods for the synthesis of small-, medium-, and even large-sized rings. Using this strategy, a handful of simple allylic diol derivatives can be transformed into a broad array of complex carbo- and heterocycles of varying ring sizes in just a single step. Because of their ability to rapidly generate complexity, annulative allylic alkylation reactions between dual nucleophiles and dual electrophiles have been extensively employed in the total synthesis of both natural products and pharmaceutical compounds.     

Synthesis and Transformations of NH-Sulfoximines

Recent years have seen a marked increase in the occurrence of sulfoximines in the chemical sciences, often presented as valuable motifs for medicinal chemistry. This has been prompted by both pioneering works taking sulfoximine containing compounds into clinical trials and the concurrent development of powerful synthetic methods. This review covers recent developments in the synthesis of sulfoximines concentrating on developments since 2015. This includes extensive developments in both S−N and S−C bond formations. Flow chemistry processes for sulfoximine synthesis are also covered. Finally, subsequent transformations of sulfoximines, particularly in N-functionalization are reviewed, including N−S, N−P, N−C bond forming processes and cyclization reactions.     

Indole‐N‐Carboxylic Acids and Indole‐N‐Carboxamides in Organic Synthesis

Indoles are ubiquitous structures that are found in natural products and biologically active molecules. The synthesis of indoles and indole‐involved synthetic methodologies in organic chemistry have been receiving considerable attention. Indole‐N‐carboxylic acids and derived indole‐N‐carboxamides are intriguing compounds, which have been widely used in organic synthesis, especially in multicomponent reactions and C?H functionalization of indoles. This Minireview summarizes the advances of reactions involving indole‐N‐carboxylic acids and indole‐N‐carboxamides in organic chemistry, and discusses the synthetic potential and perspective of this field.     

Rhodium‐Catalyzed C(sp2)‐ or C(sp3)−H Bond Functionalization Assisted by Removable Directing Groups

In recent years, transition‐metal‐catalyzed C?H activation has become a key strategy in the field of organic synthesis. Rhodium complexes are widely used as catalysts in a variety of C?H functionalization reactions because of their high reactivity and selectivity. The availability of a number of rhodium complexes in various oxidation states enables diverse reaction patterns to be obtained. Regioselectivity, an important issue in C?H activation chemistry, can be accomplished by using a directing group to assist the reaction. However, to obtain the target functionalized compounds, it is also necessary to use a directing group that can be easily removed. A wide range of directed C?H functionalization reactions catalyzed by rhodium complexes have been reported to date. In this Review, we discuss Rh‐catalyzed C?H functionalization reactions that are aided by the use of a removable directing group such as phenol, amine, aldehyde, ketones, ester, acid, sulfonic acid, and N‐heteroaromatic derivatives.     

氧杂环丁烷的扩环反应

氧杂环丁烷是一类重要的小杂环化合物,也是重要有机合成中间体,在有机化学、药物化学和高分子化学中都有广泛的应用.作为具有较大环张力的小杂环化合物,氧杂环丁烷类化合物除可以发生开环反应外,也很容易发生扩环反应,构建含氧普通环到大环化合物.主要总结了氧杂环丁烷的扩环反应,包括重氮化合物作为卡宾前体与氧杂环丁烷的扩环反应、金属催化的分子间环加成和邻基参与的分子内环加成反应及亲核扩环反应等.分析了一些扩环反应的机理,并对扩环反应未来的发展提出了新的展望.     

Overview on the phosphonation of the C=X functional groups utilizing alkyl phosphites

The main objective of this survey is to provide a comprehensive review of recent achievements related to the phosphonation processes, applying alkyl phosphites and different electrophiles (C?X, X: O, N, or C). The review discusses the important reactions of trialkyl and dialkyl phosphite reagents with a variety of aldehydes, ketones, aldimines, ketimines, hydrazones, oximes, diazo compounds, thio- and isocyanates as well as activated olefins as a convenient methodology for the synthesis of biologically important α-hydroxy- and α-aminophosphonates as well as heterocycles containing phosphorus and substituted heterocyclic phosphor esters. We are herein concentrating only on reactions that lead to phosphorylated products as they represent a vast and important research area of interest for academic, as well as for industrial, pharmaceutical and phytopharmaceutical chemists. The literature survey has been fully covered up by our group and others over the last 25 years.     

Organic Chemistry on Solid Supports

Until recently, repetitive solid-phase synthesis procedures were used predominantly for the preparation of oligomers such as peptides, oligosaccharides, peptoids, oligocarbamates, peptide vinylogues, oligomers of pyrrolin-4-one, peptide phosphates, and peptide nucleic acids. However, the oligomers thus produced have a limited range of possible backbone structures due to the restricted number of building blocks and synthetic techniques available. Biologically active compounds of this type are generally not suitable as therapeutic agents but can serve as lead structures for optimization. “Combinatorial organic synthesis” has been developed with the aim of obtaining low molecular weight compounds by pathways other than those of oligomer synthesis. This concept was first described in 1971 by Ugi.^[56f,g,59c] Combinatorial synthesis offers new strategies for preparing diverse molecules, which can then be screened to provide lead structures. Combinatorial chemistry is compatible with both solution-phase and solid-phase synthesis. Moreover, this approach is conducive to automation, as proven by recent successes in the synthesis of peptide libraries. These developments have led to a renaissance in solid-phase organic synthesis (SPOS), which has been in use since the 1970s. Fully automated combinatorial chemistry relies not only on the testing and optimization of known chemical reactions on solid supports, but also on the development of highly efficient techniques for simultaneous multiple syntheses. Almost all of the standard reactions in organic chemistry can be carried out using suitable supports, anchors, and protecting groups with all the advantages of solid-phase synthesis, which until now have been exploited only sporadically by synthetic organic chemists. Among the reported organic reactions developed on solid supports are Diels–Alder reactions, 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions, Wittig and Wittig–Horner reactions, Michael additions, oxidations, reductions, and Pd-catalyzed C? C bond formation. In this article we present a comprehensive review of the previously published solid-phase syntheses of nonpeptidic organic compounds.