Non-Conventional Redox Chemistry of Dihydropyridines and Pyridinium Salts

The classical redox chemistry of the NADH-NAD+ cofactors and their synthetic analogues (dihydropyridines and pyridinium salts) has been extended to non-biomimetic processes. These involve reactions that bypass the electron transfer processes and allow the functionalization of the heterocyclic parent systems with a broad variety of carbon- and heteroatom-based functional groups. The scope of the methodology, and its applications to organic synthesis are analyzed.