Current Organic Chemistry - Volume 20, Issue 22, 2016

Application of the Diels-Alder technology to the total synthesis of natural products is highlighted for the period 2009-2014 with some selected examples.

In this non-comprehensive review a selection of tandem processes combining sigmatropic rearrangement with Diels-Alder reactions is presented. The synthetic utility of these two transformations is indisputable as they can lead to complex natural products in an efficient and selective way. Most of the examples presented here have been chosen in view of their application to natural products synthesis. The emphasis of the discus Read More

Diels-Alder reactions have emerged as highly powerful transformations for the generation of structurally complex polycyclic scaffolds essentially due to their associated rapidity and atom-economy. Since its discovery in 1928, a better understanding of steric and electronic effects have allowed the development of many different versions including intramolecular [4+2] cycloadditions, hetero-Diels-Alder reactions, and catalytic as Read More

Carbohydrates and their analogs are key molecules with a wide range of biological activities. These bioactive compounds are usually synthesized through derivatization of naturally occurring carbohydrates. Nevertheless, this strategy suffers from a limited range of naturally available monosaccharide building blocks and the necessity of laborious steps of protection and deprotection. Consequently new methods began t Read More

Molecules containing bridged bicyclic systems, such as the (7-hetero)bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane ring system, are interesting synthetic targets because these systems are present in many molecules with biologically relevant activity. Common precursors for these sytems are the (7-hetero)nobornadienes. This review covers the different approaches used in the last ten years for the synthesis of (7-hetero)norbornadie Read More

The Diels-Alder cycloaddition is one of the most utilized reactions for the construction of cyclic systems with high regio-, chemo- and stereoselectivity. Accordingly, this versatile reaction has been broadly exploited in synthetic organic chemistry for the transformation of natural products, structurally diverse molecules of biological interests, pharmaceuticals, polymers and new materials. Nature has also used this Read More