Mini-Reviews in Organic Chemistry - Volume 2, Issue 4, 2005

Detailed review on enantioselective synthesis of methyl (1R)-trans-chrysanthemate and related methyl (1R)-cis-deltamethrinate is presented. These commercially available esters of vinylcyclopropanecarboxylic acids belong to pyrethroids class of insecticides. They are used as single enantiomers for domestic and agricultural purpose. They are almost 3.5 10 4 more active than DDT and are biodegradable.

Combinatorial and high throughput methods have recently been applied to chemical reaction development as it greatly increases the reactivity "space" available to the chemist. Recent focus has been the development of detection methods, particularly those directed towards enantioselectivity. Progress in this area has been reviewed with particular emphasis placed on recent enantioselective methods.

During the last years, the stereoselective synthesis of a small group of styryl lactones has increased the interest in synthetic organic chemistry in which many research groups have focused much of their efforts. This review gives an overview of the different approaches for the total synthesis of novel styryl lactones, which were found to possess marginal to significant cytotoxicities against several human tumors reported to date.

Corrole is one of the first examples of porphyrin analogs reported in the literature. This class of compounds has received a great attention, because of their promising exploitation in different fields, ranging from medicine to material chemistry. Among them, corrole can be considered the prototypical example of contracted porphyrins, with one of the meso carbon bridges missing. Although this macrocycle was first reporte Read More

The preparation of selenophenes is here reviewed. Although it does not include the synthesis of fused rings systems with selenophenes, the entire range of reactions is covered: from acetylenes, olefins, β- diketo compounds, furan, imine, amide, cycle contraction using sodium selenide, cycloaddition, radical cyclisation and much more.

Ascidians (tunicates) are widely recognized as one of the most prolific producers of bioactive natural products in the marine environment. In particular, ascidians of the genus Aplidium are renowned for the variability in the metabolites that they content. The non-nitrogenous compounds are dominated by the presence of meroterpenoids exemplified by the longithorones. Among the nitrogen containing group, nucleosides, Read More