Ruthenium-Catalyzed Switchable N-H/C-H Alkenylation of 6-Phenyl(dihydro)pyridazinones with Alkynes

Transition-metal-catalyzed C-H bond activation/functionalization and annulation of phthalazinones

Phthalazinones and their higher congeners are commonly prevalent structural motifs that occur in natural products, bioactive molecules, and pharmaceuticals. In the past few decades, transition-metal-catalyzed reactions have received an overwhelming response from organic chemists as challenging organics and heterocycles could be built with ease. Currently, the synthesis of phthalazinones largely depends on transition-metal catalysis, especially by palladium-catalyzed carbonylation. Further, the dominance of transition-metal catalysts was realized from the phthalazinones viewpoint, as nitrogen and oxygen atoms endowed upon them act as directing groups to facilitate diverse C-H activation/functionalization/annulation reactions. This highlight describes the various synthetic methods used to access phthalazinones and functionalize them by reacting with various coupling partners via chelation assistance strategy involving C(sp²)-H/N-H bond activation in the presence of transition-metal (Rh, Ru, Pd, and Ir) catalysts. The mechanisms of sulfonylation, halogenation, acylmethylation, alkylation, and annulation reactions are discussed.

Early Diagnosis of Cerebral Ischemia Reperfusion Injury and Revelation of Its Regional Development by a H3R Receptor-Directed Probe

In vivo imaging of cerebral hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) may facilitate early diagnosis of cerebral ischemia reperfusion injury (CIRI) and a revelation of its pathological progression. In this study, we report our rational design of a brain-targeting fluorescent probe using the basis of a pyridazinone scaffold. A structure-activity relationship study reveals that PCAB is the best candidate (K_i = 15.8 nM) for a histamine H3 receptor (H3R), which is highly expressed in neurons of the central nervous system. As a two-photon fluorescent probe, PCAB exhibits a fast, selective reaction toward both extra- and intracellular H2O2 in SH-SY5Y cells under oxygen glucose deprivation and resupply. In vivo fluorescent imaging of a middle cerebral artery occlusion mouse confirms that PCAB is an ultrasensitive probe with potent blood-brain barrier penetration, precise brain targeting, and fast detection of CIRI.

Lactonization of 2-Alkynylbenzoates for the Assembly of Isochromenones Mediated by BF3·Et2O

A general and efficient lactonization method of readily available 2-alkynylbenzoates affording biologically important isochromenones has been realized via a solely BF₃·Et₂O-mediated 6-endo-dig cyclization process under mild conditions. An alternative mechanistic pathway in which BF₃·Et₂O activates the carbonyl of the ester moiety, rather than the alkyne triple bond, was postulated on the basis of control experiment results. Gram-scale reaction and further application for the assembly of more complex molecules demonstrated the practicability of the protocol.

ReI-Catalyzed highly regio- and stereoselective C–H addition to terminal and internal alkynes

Re(i)-Catalyzed ortho alkenylation of arylpyridines and N-pyrimidyl indoles with alkynes provides excellent regio- and stereoselectivity with lower catalytic loadings.

Development of novel proteasome inhibitors based on phthalazinone scaffold

In this study we designed a series of proteasome inhibitors using pyridazinone as initial scaffold, and extended the structure with rational design by computer aided drug design (CADD). Two different synthetic routes were explored and the biological evaluation of the phthalazinone derivatives was investigated. Most importantly, electron positive triphenylphosphine group was first introduced in the structure of proteasome inhibitors and potent inhibition was achieved. As 6c was the most potent inhibitor of proteasome, we examined the structure-activity relationship (SAR) of 6c analogs.