Rhodium-catalyzed synthesis of isothiocyanate from isonitrile and sulfur

Classics in Chemical Neuroscience: Xylazine

Xylazine (also known as "tranq") is a potent nonopioid veterinary sedative that has recently experienced a surge in use as a drug adulterant, most often combined with illicitly manufactured fentanyl. This combination may heighten the risk of fatal overdose. Xylazine has no known antidote approved for use in humans, and age-adjusted overdose deaths involving xylazine were 35 times higher in 2021 than 2018. In April 2023, the Biden Administration declared xylazine-laced fentanyl an emerging drug threat in the United States. In 2022, the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reported nearly a quarter of seized fentanyl powder contained xylazine. This dramatic increase in prevalence has solidified the status of xylazine as an emerging drug of abuse and an evolving threat to public health. The following narrative review outlines the synthesis, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, and adverse effects of xylazine, as well as the role it may play in the ongoing opioid epidemic.

Recent Advances in the Synthesis of Isothiocyanates Using Elemental Sulfur

Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are biologically active molecules found in several natural products and pharmaceutical ingredients. Moreover, due to their high and versatile reactivity, they are widely used as intermediates in organic synthesis. This review considers the best practices for the synthesis of ITCs using elemental sulfur, highlighting recent developments. First, we summarize the in situ generation of thiocarbonyl surrogates followed by their transformation in the presence of primary amines leading to ITCs. Second, carbenes and amines afford isocyanides, and the further reaction of this species with sulfur readily generates ITCs under thermal, catalytic or basic conditions. Additionally, we also reveal that in the catalyst-free reaction of isocyanides and sulfur, two—until this time overlooked and not investigated—different mechanistic pathways exist.

A more sustainable isothiocyanate synthesis by amine catalyzed sulfurization of isocyanides with elemental sulfur

Isothiocyanates (ITCs) are typically prepared using amines and highly toxic reagents such as thiophosgene, its derivatives, or CS2. In this work, an investigation of a multicomponent reaction (MCR) using isocyanides, elemental sulfur and amines revealed that isocyanides can be converted to isothiocyanates using sulfur and catalytic amounts of amine bases, especially DBU (down to 2 mol%). This new catalytic reaction was optimized in terms of sustainability, especially considering benign solvents such as Cyrene™ or γ-butyrolactone (GBL) under moderate heating (40 °C). Purification by column chromatography was further optimized to generate less waste by maintaining high purity of the product. Thus, E-factors as low as 0.989 were achieved and the versatility of this straightforward procedure was shown by converting 20 different isocyanides under catalytic conditions, while obtaining moderate to high yields (34-95%).

Chromatography-Free Multicomponent Synthesis of Thioureas Enabled by Aqueous Solution of Elemental Sulfur

The development of a new three-component chromatography-free reaction of isocyanides, amines and elemental sulfur allowed us the straightforward synthesis of thioureas in water. Considering a large pool of organic and inorganic bases, we first optimized the preparation of aqueous polysulfide solution from elemental sulfur. Using polysulfide solution, we were able to omit the otherwise mandatory chromatography, and to isolate the crystalline products directly from the reaction mixture by a simple filtration, retaining the sulfur in the solution phase. A wide range of thioureas synthesized in this way confirmed the reasonable substrate and functional group tolerance of our protocol.

Synthesis of Isothiazoles and Isoselenazoles through Rhodium-Catalyzed Oxidative Annulation with Elemental Sulfur and Selenium

A rhodium-catalyzed oxidative annulation of benzimidates with elemental sulfur for the direct construction of isothiazole rings is reported. The proposed reaction mechanism involving Rh(I)/Rh(III) redox is supported by a stoichiometric reaction of metallacycle species as well as DFT calculations. This method is also applicable to selenium cyclization to produce isoselenazole derivatives. The alkoxy substituent at C3 can be used for further functionalization of the azole core.

Rhodium-Catalyzed Synthesis of Organosulfur Compounds Involving S-S Bond Cleavage of Disulfides and Sulfur

Organosulfur compounds are widely used for the manufacture of drugs and materials, and their synthesis in general conventionally employs nucleophilic substitution reactions of thiolate anions formed from thiols and bases. To synthesize advanced functional organosulfur compounds, development of novel synthetic methods is an important task. We have been studying the synthesis of organosulfur compounds by transition-metal catalysis using disulfides and sulfur, which are easier to handle and less odiferous than thiols. In this article, we describe our development that rhodium complexes efficiently catalyze the cleavage of S-S bonds and transfer organothio groups to organic compounds, which provide diverse organosulfur compounds. The synthesis does not require use of bases or organometallic reagents; furthermore, it is reversible, involving chemical equilibria and interconversion reactions.

A novel three-component reaction between isocyanides, alcohols or thiols and elemental sulfur: a mild, catalyst-free approach towards O-thiocarbamates and dithiocarbamates

A new multicomponent reaction has been developed between isocyanides, sulfur and alcohols or thiols under mild reaction conditions to afford O-thiocarbamates and dithiocarbamates in moderate to good yields. The one-pot reaction cascade involves the formation of an isothiocyanate intermediate, thus a catalyst-free synthesis of isothiocyanates, as valuable building blocks from isocyanides and sulfur is proposed, as well. The synthetic procedure suits the demand of a modern organic chemist, as it tolerates a wide range of functional groups, it is atom economic and easily scalable.

Staudinger/aza-Wittig reaction to access Nβ-protected amino alkyl isothiocyanates

A unified approach to access Nβ-protected amino alkyl isothiocyanates using Nβ-protected amino alkyl azides through a general strategy of Staudinger/aza-Wittig reaction is described. The type of protocol used to access isothiocyanates depends on the availability of precursors and also, especially in the amino acid chemistry, on the behavior of other labile groups towards the reagents used in the protocols; fortunately, we were not concerned about both these factors as precursor-azides were prepared easily by standard protocols, and the present protocol can pave the way for accessing title compounds without affecting Boc, Cbz and Fmoc protecting groups, and benzyl and tertiary butyl groups in the side chains. The present strategy eliminates the need for the use of amines to obtain title compounds and thus, this method is step-economical; additional advantages include retention of chirality, convenient handling and easy purification. A few hitherto unreported compounds were also prepared, and all final compounds were completely characterized by IR, mass, optical rotation, and 1H and 13C NMR studies.

Catalytic Isonitrile Insertions and Condensations Initiated by RNC-X Complexation

Isonitriles are delicately poised chemical entities capable of being coaxed to react as nucleophiles or electrophiles. Directing this tunable reactivity with metal and non-metal catalysts provides rapid access to a large array of complex nitrogenous structures ideally functionalized for medicinal applications. Isonitrile insertion into transition metal complexes has featured in numerous synthetic and mechanistic studies, leading to rapid deployment of isonitriles in numerous catalytic processes, including multicomponent reactions (MCR). Covering the literature from 1990-2014, the present review collates reaction types to highlight reactivity trends and allow catalyst comparison.

A general and facile one-pot process of isothiocyanates from amines under aqueous conditions

A general and facile one-pot protocol for the preparation of a broad range of alkyl and aryl isothiocyanates has been developed from their corresponding primary amines under aqueous conditions. This synthetic process involves an in situ generation of a dithiocarbamate salt from the amine substrate by reacting with CS(2) followed by elimination to form the isothiocyanate product with cyanuric acid as the desulfurylation reagent. The choice of solvent is of decisive importance for the successful formation of the dithiocarbamate salt particularly for highly electron-deficient substrates. This novel and economical method is suitable for scale-up activities.

Transition-metal-catalyzed synthesis of organosulfur compounds

Rhodium complexes are efficient catalysts for the synthesis of organosulfur compounds. They catalyze the addition reaction of organosulfur groups to unsaturated compounds, the substitution of C-H with organosulfur groups, and single-bond metathesis reactions. They cleave S-S bonds and transfer the organosulfur groups to various organic and inorganic molecules, including alkynes, allenes, disulfides, sulfur, isonitriles, imines, diphosphines, thiophosphinites, hydrogen, 1-alkylthio-1-alkynes, thioesters, and allyl sulfides.