Gram Scale Total Synthesis of 2-Hydroxy-3-methylcarbazole, Pyrano[3,2-a]carbazole and Prenylcarbazole Alkaloids

Trends in carbazole synthesis - an update (2013-2023)

The interest of scientists in the carbazole core has risen steadily over the last 30 years, particularly over the last decade given its presence in several active pharmaceutical ingredients, functional materials and a wide range of biologically active natural products. The continuous development of more efficient, more (regio-)selective and "greener" methodologies to access the carbazole core is thus imperative. This review compares and evaluates synthetic strategies towards the carbazole core that have been reported since 2013, with a focus on their applicability towards the total synthesis of carbazole-containing natural products.

Ring closing metathesis for the construction of carbazole and indole-fused natural products

The synthesis and functionalization of carbazole ring systems have received considerable attention in organic synthesis due to their widespread occurrence in biologically active compounds. One of the classical methods for the synthesis of carbazoles involves C-C bond formation of a biaryl amine moiety by oxidizing agents. Over the last few years, various new strategies have evolved for the synthesis of carbazole ring systems. During the past two decades, ring-closing metathesis (RCM) based approaches have been efficiently employed for the synthesis of nitrogen containing heteroaromatic systems including carbazoles. Herein, we discuss the construction of carbazole ring systems using RCM and the application of RCM based methods in the preparation of other indole-fused heterocycles. The application of these methods in the synthesis of carbazole alkaloids and bioactive indole-fused natural products has been discussed to highlight the importance of RCM in total synthesis.

Catalytic Gold Chemistry: From Simple Salts to Complexes for Regioselective C-H Bond Functionalization

Gold coordinated to neutral phosphines (R₃ P), N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) or anionic ligands is catalytically active in functionalizing various C-H bonds with high selectivity. The sterics/electronic nature of the studied C-H bond, oxidation state of gold and stereoelectronic capacity of the coordinated auxiliary ligand are some of the associated selectivity factors in gold-catalyzed C-H bond functionalization reactions. Hence, in this review a comprehensive update about the action of different types of gold catalysts, from simple to sophisticated ones, on C-H bond reactions and their regiochemical outcome is disclosed. This review also highlights the catalytic applications of Au(I)- and Au(III)-species in creating new opportunities for the regio- and site-selective activation of challenging C-H bonds. Finally, it also intends to stress the potential applications in selective C-H bond activation associated with a variety of heterocycles recently described in the literature.

Deciphering the Chameleonic Chemistry of Allenols: Breaking the Taboo of a Onetime Esoteric Functionality

The allene functionality has participated in one of the most exciting voyages in organic chemistry, from chemical curiosities to a recurring building block in modern organic chemistry. In the last decades, a special kind of allene, namely, allenol, has emerged. Allenols, formed by an allene moiety and a hydroxyl functional group with diverse connectivity, have become common building blocks for the synthesis of a wide range of structures and frequent motif in naturally occurring systems. The synergistic effect of the allene and hydroxyl functional groups enables allenols to be considered as a unique and sole functionality exhibiting a special reactivity. This Review summarizes the most significant contributions to the chemistry of allenols that appeared during the past decade, with emphasis on their synthesis, reactivity, and occurrence in natural products.

Enantioselective Vanadium-Catalyzed Oxidative Coupling: Development and Mechanistic Insights

The evolution of a more reactive chiral vanadium catalyst for enantioselective oxidative coupling of phenols is reported, ultimately resulting in a simple monomeric vanadium species combined with a Brønsted or Lewis acid additive. The resultant vanadium complex is found to effect the asymmetric oxidative ortho-ortho coupling of simple phenols and 2-hydroxycarbazoles with good to excellent levels of enantioselectivity. Experimental and quantum mechanical studies of the mechanism indicate that the additives aggregate the vanadium monomers. In addition, a singlet to triplet crossover is implicated prior to carbon-carbon bond formation. The two lowest energy diastereomeric transition states leading to the enantiomeric products differ substantially with the path to the minor enantiomer involving greater torsional strain between the two phenol moieties.

Boronic acid/Brønsted acid co-catalyst systems for the synthesis of 2H-chromenes from phenols and α,β-unsaturated carbonyls

Protocols for the synthesis of substituted 2H-chromenes from α,β-unsaturated carbonyls and phenols are described. Optimal combinations of arylboronic acids and Brønsted acids have been identified, such that both can be employed in catalytic quantities to accelerate these condensations. The method has been used to synthesize a variety of substituted 2H-chromenes, as well as photochromic naphthopyrans. The use of pentafluorophenylboronic acid and diphenylphosphinic acid enabled an expansion of the electrophile scope to include α,β-unsaturated ketones. Hall's 'phase-switching' of boronic acids has been exploited to achieve the separation of the two co-catalysts from unpurified reaction mixtures by a simple liquid-liquid extraction.

Catalyst-free Synthesis of 6-Hydroxy Indoles via the Condensation of Carboxymethyl Cyclohexadienones and Amines

An efficient catalyst-free synthesis of 6-hydroxy indoles from carboxymethyl cyclohexadienones and primary amines has been developed. The aza-Michael addition of the in situ formed enamine, generated through the condensation of carboxymethyl unit of the substrates with an external amine, to cyclohexadienone moiety followed by rearomatization reaction to provide such indoles. Anilines, aliphatic amines, α-chiral aliphatic amines, or even ammonia were used as amine counterpart. Some of the cyclohexadienones gave 6-amino indoles instead of 6-hydroxy indoles using the Re₂O₇ catalyst. Various post methodological transformations were performed to explore the synthetic utility of the synthesized hydroxy indoles.

Recent advances on the total synthesis of alkaloids in mainland China

Alkaloids are a large family of natural products that mostly contain basic nitrogen atoms. Because of their intriguing structures and important functions, they have long been popular targets for synthetic organic chemists. China's chemists have made significant progress in the area of alkaloid synthesis over past decades. In this article, selected total syntheses of alkaloids from research groups in mainland China during the period 2011–16 are highlighted.