Current Organic Chemistry - Volume 17, Issue 18, 2013

This review aims to highlight the most significant recent developments on synthetic strategies involving consecutive, domino and multicomponent reactions featuring a Michael addition-initiating step for the synthesis of polycyclic heterocycles from 1,3- dicarbonyls. These original sequences constitute more efficient and eco-compatible alternatives to known synthetic approaches to heterocyclic compounds allowing for an eve Read More

Spiroheterocyclic ring systems are attractive synthetic targets due to their interesting conformational features and their structural implications on their activity in biological systems. Consequently, a vast deal of research by synthetic organic as well as medicinal chemists pertains to the synthesis of these heterocycles employing diverse synthetic methodologies. Among them, one-pot multicomponent 1,3-cycloaddition re Read More

Isatin and its derivatives have been widely studied due to their biological activities. Recently there has been a renewed interest in the synthesis of new derivatives by use of organocatalysts. This review deals with this area.

The synthetic utility of enolates in the heterocycles synthesis constitutes the main topic of this review. Appropriate enolates, in a number of synthetic approaches, are easily formed in situ from a variety of carbonyl compounds (aldehydes, ketones, amides, etc.) and used for the ring construction of (poly)substituted heterocycles. Often, the synthesis of five-membered rings such as isoxazoles, triazoles, pyrazoles, etc. Read More

The focus of the review is on the formation of multiple bonds by palladium catalyzed C-H activation and functionalization. These include alkanylation, alkenylation, arylations, annulations, domino, cascade reaction, coupling and synthesis of spiro compounds. The non-synchronous formation of new carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom (N, O) bonds for the construction of various heterocycles is also discussed.

An account of our development of the Pot, Atom and Step Economic (PASE) synthesis of tetrahydropyrans, dihydropyrans and piperidines, based on the Maitland-Japp reaction is given. The value of these reactions as a strategy in natural product synthesis is highlighted and recent further developments of the PASE syntheses in the literature is reported.

L-Proline is a cheap, water-soluble organocatalyst that is able to induce the synthesis of a large number of heterocyclic systems. This work is reviewed, with emphasis on the literature of the 2005-2011 period. The domino reactions have been classified according to the nature of the first step of their proposed mechanisms, as follows: (i) iminium-initiated domino mechanisms; (ii) enamineinitiated domino mechanisms; (iii) r Read More