Aryl(triethyl)silanes for Biaryl and Teraryl Synthesis by Copper(II)-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reaction

The 2-Pyridyl Problem: Challenging Nucleophiles in Cross-Coupling Arylations

Azine-containing biaryls are ubiquitous scaffolds in many areas of chemistry, and efficient methods for their synthesis are continually desired. Pyridine rings are prominent amongst these motifs. Transition-metal-catalysed cross-coupling reactions have been widely used for their synthesis and functionalisation as they often provide a swift and tuneable route to related biaryl scaffolds. However, 2-pyridine organometallics are capricious coupling partners and 2-pyridyl boron reagents in particular are notorious for their instability and poor reactivity in Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions. The synthesis of pyridine-containing biaryls is therefore limited, and methods for the formation of unsymmetrical 2,2'-bis-pyridines are scarce. This Review focuses on the methods developed for the challenging coupling of 2-pyridine nucleophiles with (hetero)aryl electrophiles, and ranges from traditional cross-coupling processes to alternative nucleophilic reagents and novel main group approaches.

Divergent Synthesis and Evaluation of the in vitro Cytotoxicity Profiles of 3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophenyl-2-propen-1-one Analogues

A new series of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT)-appended propenones were prepared by condensation reaction and their in vitro cytotoxicity effects were evaluated against five human cancer cell lines. Preliminary structure-activity relationships of EDOT-incorporated 2-propenone derivatives were also established. The EDOT-appended enones demonstrated significant cytotoxicity against human cancer cell lines. The most active analogue, (E)-3-(2,3-dihydrothieno[3,4-b][1,4]dioxin-5-yl)-1-(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)prop-2-en-1-one (3 p, GI₅₀ =110 nm), severely inhibited the clonogenic potential of cancer cells, and induced cell-cycle arrest in the G2/M phase and caused an accumulation of HCT116 colon cancer cells with >4 N DNA content. Also, 3 p exhibited weak inhibition of the enzymatic activity of human topoisomerase I. Molecular docking studies indicated preferential binding of the compounds to the ATP-binding pocket of the human checkpoint 2 kinase (Chk2) catalytic domain, thus, identifying a novel diaryl 2-propenone chemotype for the development of potent inhibitors of Chk2.

Designing Cross-Coupling Reactions using Aryl(trialkyl)silanes

Organo(trialkyl)silanes have several advantages, including high stability, low toxicity, good solubility, easy handling, and ready availability compared with heteroatom-substituted silanes. However, methods for the cross-coupling of organo(trialkyl)silanes are limited, most probably because of their exceeding robustness. Thus, a practical method for the cross-coupling of organo(trialkyl)silanes has been a long-standing challenging research target. This article discusses how aryl(trialkyl)silanes can be used in cross-coupling reactions. A pioneering example is Cu^II catalytic conditions with the use of electron-accepting aryl- or heteroaryl(triethyl)silanes and aryl iodides. The reaction forms biaryls or teraryls. This design concept can be extended to Pd/Cu^II -catalyzed cross-coupling polymerization reactions between such silanes and aryl bromides or chlorides and to Cu^I -catalyzed alkylation using alkyl halides.