Nitrovinylindoles as Heterotrienes: Electrocyclic Cyclization En Route to β-Carbolines: Total Synthesis of Alkaloids Norharmane, Harmane, and Eudistomin N

Unusual cascade transformation was developed involving microwave assisted electrocyclic cyclization of aci (alkylideneazinic acid) forms of nitrovinylindoles acting as heterotrienes. Subsequent one-pot reduction allowed for efficient access to β-carbolines, including several natural products, alkaloids norharmane, harmane and eudistomin N.

Bioactive natural products from Bacteroidetes

Covering: up to end of January 2022Bacteria representing the phylum Bacteroidetes produce a diverse range of natural products, including polyketides, peptides and lactams. Here, we discuss unique aspects of the bioactive compounds discovered thus far, and the corresponding biosynthetic pathways if known, providing a comprehensive overview of the Bacteroidetes as a natural product reservoir.

29th Annual GP2A Medicinal Chemistry Conference

The 29th Annual GP₂A (Group for the Promotion of Pharmaceutical chemistry in Academia) Conference was a virtual event this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and spanned three days from Wednesday 25 to Friday 27 August 2021. The meeting brought together an international delegation of researchers with interests in medicinal chemistry and interfacing disciplines. Abstracts of keynote lectures given by the 10 invited speakers, along with those of the 8 young researcher talks and the 50 flash presentation posters, are included in this report. Like previous editions, the conference was a real success, with high-level scientific discussions on cutting-edge advances in the fields of pharmaceutical chemistry.

Mo-Catalyzed One-Pot Synthesis of N-Polyheterocycles from Nitroarenes and Glycols with Recycling of the Waste Reduction Byproduct. Substituent-Tuned Photophysical Properties

A catalytic domino reduction-imine formation-intramolecular cyclization-oxidation for the general synthesis of a wide variety of biologically relevant N-polyheterocycles, such as quinoxaline- and quinoline-fused derivatives, and phenanthridines, is reported. A simple, easily available, and environmentally friendly dioxomolybdenum(VI) complex has proven to be a highly efficient and versatile catalyst for transforming a broad range of starting nitroarenes involving several redox processes. Not only is this a sustainable, step-economical as well as air- and moisture-tolerant method, but also it is worth highlighting that the waste byproduct generated in the first step of the sequence is recycled and incorporated in the final target molecule, improving the overall synthetic efficiency. Moreover, selected indoloquinoxalines have been photophysically characterized in cyclohexane and toluene with exceptional fluorescence quantum yields above 0.7 for the alkyl derivatives.

Total synthesis of pyrrolo[2,3-c]quinoline alkaloid: trigonoine B

The first total synthesis of the pyrrolo[2,3-c]quinoline alkaloid trigonoine B (1) was accomplished via a six-step sequence involving the construction of an N-substituted 4-aminopyrrolo[2,3-c]quinoline framework via electrocyclization of 2-(pyrrol-3-yl)benzene containing a carbodiimide moiety as a 2-azahexatriene system. The employed six-step sequence afforded trigonoine B (1) in 9.2% overall yield. The described route could be employed for the preparation of various N-substituted 4-aminopyrroloquinolines with various biological activities.

Formation of 6-Azaindoles by Intramolecular Diels-Alder Reaction of Oxazoles and Total Synthesis of Marinoquinoline A

A new variant of the intramolecular Diels-Alder oxazole (IMDAO) cycloaddition that provides direct access to 6-azaindoles was developed. The IMDAO reaction was applied in a total synthesis of the aminophenylpyrrole-derived alkaloid marinoquinoline A, also featuring the use of a Curtius reaction for preparation of a 5-aminooxazole, a propargylic C,H-bond insertion, an in situ alkyne-allene isomerization, and a ruthenium-catalyzed cycloisomerization for benzene ring annulation to the 6-azaindole.

Selective synthesis of pyrrolidin-2-ones and 3-iodopyrroles via the ring contraction and deformylative functionalization of piperidine derivatives

A selective synthesis of pyrrolidin-2-ones and 3-iodopyrroles through the oxidative ring contraction and deformylative functionalization of piperidine derivatives is presented.

The Palladium-Catalyzed Ullmann Cross-Coupling Reaction: A Modern Variant on a Time-Honored Process

Cross-coupling reactions, especially those that are catalyzed by palladium, have revolutionized the way in which carbon-carbon bonds can be formed. The most commonly deployed variants of such processes are the Suzuki-Miyaura, Mizoroki-Heck, Stille, and Negishi cross-coupling reactions, and these normally involve the linking of an organohalide or pseudohalide (such as a triflate or nonaflate) with an organo-metallic or -metalloid such as an organo-boron, -magnesium, -tin, or -zinc species. Since the latter type of coupling partner is often prepared from the corresponding halide, methods that allow for the direct cross-coupling of two distinct halogen-containing compounds would provide valuable and more atom-economical capacities for the formation of carbon-carbon bonds. While the venerable Ullmann reaction can in principle achieve this, it has a number of drawbacks, the most significant of which is that homocoupling of the reaction partners is a competitive, if not the dominant, process. Furthermore, such reactions normally occur only under forcing conditions (viz., often at temperatures in excess of 250 °C). As such, the Ullmann reaction has seen only limited application in this regard, especially as a mid- to late-stage feature of complex natural product synthesis. This Account details the development of the palladium-catalyzed Ullmann cross-coupling reaction as a useful method for the assembly of a range of heterocyclic systems relevant to medicinal and/or natural products chemistry. These couplings normally proceed under relatively mild conditions (<100 °C) over short periods of time and, usually, to the exclusion of (unwanted) homocoupling events. The keys to success are the appropriate choice of coupling partners, the form of the copper metal employed, and the choice of reaction solvent. At the present time, the cross-coupling partners capable of engaging in the title reaction are confined to halogenated and otherwise electron-deficient arenes and, as complementary reactants, α- or β-halogenated, α,β-unsaturated aldehydes, ketones, esters, lactones, lactams, and cycloimides. Nitro-substituted (and halogenated) arenes, in particular, serve as effective participants in these reactions, and the products of their coupling with the above-mentioned carbonyl-containing systems can be manipulated in a number of different ways. Depending on the positional relationship between the nitro and carbonyl groups in the cross-coupling product, the reduction of the former group, which can be achieved under a range of different conditions, provides, through intramolecular nucleophilic addition reactions, including Schiff base condensations, access to a diverse range of heterocyclic systems. These include indoles, quinolines, quinolones, isoquinolines, carbazoles, and carbolines. Tandem variants of such cyclization processes, in which Raney cobalt is used as a catalyst for the chemoselective reduction (by dihydrogen) of nitro and nitrile groups (but not olefins), allow for the assembly of a range of structurally challenging natural products, including marinoquinoline A, (±)-1-acetylaspidoalbidine, and (±)-gilbertine.

A Formal Total Synthesis of (±)-Kopsihainanine A Using a Raney-Cobalt Mediated Reductive Cyclization Route to Polyhydroquinolines

Perhydroquinoline 4, the product of a Raney-cobalt mediated reductive cyclization reaction, was readily converted into the cis-ring-fused perhydroquinoline 15 that could be epimerized to its trans-fused counterpart 2 on sequential treatment with iodosylbenzene then sodium borohydride. Tetracycle 2 is an advanced intermediate associated with a recently reported total synthesis of the alkaloid kopsihainanine A (1).

Convenient one-step synthesis of pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinolin-1-ones via TMSCl-catalyzed cascade reactions of isatins and β-enamino ketones

A series of pyrrolo[3,4-c]quinolin-1-ones were afforded by TMSCl-catalyzed isatins and β-enamino ketones in high yields under mild conditions.