A facile synthesis of N-substituted 2,5-dimethylpyrroles with saccharin as a green catalyst

Synthetic drives for useful drug molecules through organocatalytic methods

The treatment of various pathological conditions in human beings involves the use of safe and efficacious drug substances. But there are different complications associated with the treatment of various disease states including drug resistance, adverse drug reactions, toxicity, etc. To minimize these problems, there is an urgent need to develop new therapeutics with suitable pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. So, the organocatalytic methods are emerged as a potential synthetic tool to accelerate the design of new drug candidates with improved physicochemical and pharmacological properties, selectivity, and efficiency for the treatment of life-threatening diseases. Organocatalytic reactions refer to the chemical reaction that is accelerated by organic catalysts instead of using organometallic catalysts. Organocatalysts are more advantageous in comparison to metallic catalysts because organocatalysts are cost-effective, stable, efficient, non-toxic, readily available, and easy to handle. In addition to this, the organocatalysis method involves an eco-friendly reaction by minimizing the formation of by-products and reducing the chemical hazards. Organocatalysts are categorized into four classes such as Lewis acids, Lewis bases, Bronsted acids, and Bronsted bases. These catalysts are generally involved in various reactions mechanisms such as Aldol reaction, Diels–Alder reactions, Michael Addition and Knoevenagal reactions, etc. The utility of organocatalyst in synthetic chemistry results in the development of medicinally active compounds with diverse structural features.

Recent approaches in the organocatalytic synthesis of pyrroles

Organocatalysis has emerged as one of the most important tools for the synthesis of diverse structural scaffolds, and has become one of the most important hot topics of current research. Construction of the pyrrole ring has gained much attention from the last few decades due to its remarkable biological activities, pharmaceutical application, intermediate in the synthesis of many natural products, and material science application. With access to these 5-membered aza heterocycles, organocatalytic approaches have provided a new alternative from the perspective of synthetic efficiency, as well as from the green chemistry point of view, and a vast array of synthetic procedures has been developed. Enlightened by the significance of this growing research area, we aim to describe the recent organocatalytic approaches developed for the construction of pyrroles, and organized them based on substrates employed.

Recent Advancements in Pyrrole Synthesis

This review article features selected examples on the synthesis of functionalized pyrroles that were reported between 2014 and 2019. Pyrrole is an important nitrogen-containing aromatic heterocycle that can be found in numerous compounds of biological and material significance. Given its vast importance, pyrrole continues to be an attractive target for the development of new synthetic reactions. The contents of this article are organized by the starting materials, which can be broadly classified into four different types: substrates bearing π-systems, substrates bearing carbonyl and other polar groups, and substrates bearing heterocyclic motifs. Brief discussions on plausible reaction mechanisms for most transformations are also presented.

Artificial sugar saccharin and its derivatives: role as a catalyst

The primary objective of this review was to demonstrate the significance of artificial sugar saccharin and its derivatives as catalysts for a wide variety of organic transformations. The application of saccharin and its derivatives represents a greener and superior catalytic approach for reactions. In particular, we were interested in bringing together the literature pertaining to these saccharin derivatives from a catalysis perspective. The present review reports synthesis of saccharin and its derivatives such as saccharin-N-sulfonic acid, sodium saccharin, N-halo saccharin, saccharin lithium-bromide, N-formyl saccharin, N-acyl saccharin, N-nitrosaccharin, N-SCF₃ saccharin, N-fluorosultam, N-phenylselenosaccharin, N-thiocyanatosaccharin palladium saccharin, DMAP-saccharin, and [Bmim]Sac. This catalytic application of saccharin and its derivatives includes reactions such as the Biginelli reaction, Paal-Knorr pyrrole synthesis, azo-coupling reaction, halogenations, domino Knoevenagel, Michael, deoximation reaction, catalytic condensation, functional group protection and oxidation etc. Also, these saccharin derivatives act as a source of CO, NH₂, SCN, SCF₃ and nitro groups. We reported all the available data on saccharin and its derivatives acting as a catalyst from 1957 to date.

Recent Progress in the Synthesis of Pyrroles

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Pyrrole derivatives are nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compounds and widely distributed in a large number of natural and non-natural compounds. These compounds possess a broad spectrum of biological activities such as anti-infammatory, antiviral, antitumor, antifungal, and antibacterial activities. Besides their biological activity, pyrrole derivatives have also been applied in various areas such as dyes, conducting polymers, organic semiconductors.

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Due to such a wide range of applicability, access to this class of compounds has attracted intensive research interest. Various established synthetic methods such as Paal-Knorr, Huisgen, and Hantzsch have been modified and improved. In addition, numerous novel methods for pyrrole synthesis have been discovered. This review will focus on considerable studies on the synthesis of pyrroles, which date back from 2014.

Catalytic Applications of Saccharin and its Derivatives in Organic Synthesis

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Saccharin (1,2-benzisothiazol-3(2H)-one-1,1-dioxide) is a very mild, cheap, commercially available, water soluble, environmentally benign and edible Brønsted acidic substance. Recently, with other utilities, saccharin and its derivatives were employed as catalysts for various organic transformations. In this review, catalytic applicability of saccharin and its derivatives under various reaction conditions is summarized.