A green one-pot synthesis of N-alkyl-2-(2-oxoazepan-1-yl)-2-arylacetamide derivatives via an Ugi four-center, three-component reaction in water

Isocyanide-Based Multicomponent Reactions in Water: Advanced Green Tools for the Synthesis of Heterocyclic Compounds

Reaction rate acceleration using green methods is an intriguing area of research for chemists. In this regard, water as a "green solvent" plays a crucial role in the acceleration of some organic transformations and reveals exclusive selectivity and reactivity in comparison with conventional organic solvents. In particular, multicomponent reactions (MCRs) as sustainable tools lead to the rapid generation of small-molecule libraries in water and aqueous media due to the prominent role of the hydrophobic effect. MCRs, as diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) methods, have great efficiency with simple operations, atom, pot, and step economy synthesis, and mechanistic beauty. Among diverse classes of MCRs, isocyanide-based multicomponent reactions (I-MCRs), as sustainable and versatile reactions, have gained considerable attention in the synthesis of diverse heterocycle rings, especially in drug design because of the peculiar nature of isocyanide as a particular active reactant. I-MCRs that are performed in water are mild, environmentally friendly, and easily controlled, and have a reduced number of workup, purification, and extraction steps, which fit well with the advantages of "green" chemistry. Performing these powerful organic transformations in water and aqueous media is accompanied by acceleration owing to negative activation volumes, which originate from connecting several reactants together to generate a single product. It should be noted that the combination of MCR strategy and aqueous phase reaction is of growing interest for the development of sustainable synthetic techniques in organic conversions. However, an exclusive account focusing on the recent progress in eco-friendly I-MCRs for the construction of heterocycles in water and aqueous media is particularly lacking. This review highlights the progress of various kinds of I-MCRs in water and aqueous media as benign methods for the efficient construction of vital heterocyclic scaffolds, with a critical discussion of the subject in the period 2000-2021. We hope that this themed collection will be of interest and beneficial for organic and pharmaceutical chemists and will inspire more reaction development in this fascinating field.

The Ugi three-component reaction and its variants

A broad variety of α-aminoamide-based compounds have been synthesized via the three-component version of the Ugi reaction (U-3CR) or by any of its variants (Ugi-Zhu-3CR, Orru-3CR, Ugi-4C-3CR, Ugi-Joullié-3CR, GBB-3CR, Ugi-Reissert-3CR, and so on).

Synthesis of Lactams via Isocyanide-Based Multicomponent Reactions

Lactams are very important heterocycles as a result of their presence in a wide range of bioactive molecules, natural products and drugs, and also due their utility as versatile synthetic intermediates. Due to these reasons, numerous efforts have focused on the development of effective and efficient methods for their synthesis. Compared to conventional two-component reactions, multicomponent reactions (MCRs), particularly isocyanide-based MCRs, are widely used for the synthesis of a range of small heterocycles including lactam analogues. Despite their numerous applications in almost every field of chemistry, as yet there is no dedicated review on isocyanide-based multicomponent reactions (IMCRs) concerning the synthesis of lactams. Therefore, this review presents strategies towards the synthesis of α-, β-, γ-, δ- and ε-lactams using IMCRs or IMCRs/post-transformation reactions reported in the literature between 2000 and 2020.

1 Introduction

2 Developments in Lactam Synthesis

2.1 α-Lactams

2.2 β-Lactams

2.3 γ-Lactams

2.3.1 General γ-Lactams

2.3.2 Benzo-Fused γ-Lactams

2.3.3 Spiro γ-Lactams

2.3.4 α,β-Unsaturated γ-Lactams

2.3.5 Polycyclic Fused γ-Lactams

2.4 δ-Lactams

2.5 ε-Lactams

3 Conclusions

The status of isocyanide-based multi-component reactions in Iran (2010-2018)

Isocyanides as key intermediates and magic reactants have been widely applied in organic reactions for direct access to a broad spectrum of remarkable organic compounds. Although the history of these magical compounds dates back more than 100 years, it still has been drawing widespread attention of chemists who confirmed their versatility and effectiveness. Because of their wide spectrum of pharmacological, industrial and synthetic applications, many reactions with the utilization of isocyanides are reported in the literature. In this context, Iranian scientist played a significant role in the growth of isocyanides chemistry. The present review article covers literature from the period starting from 2010 onward and encompasses new synthetic routes and organic transformation involving isocyanides by Iranian researchers. During this period, a diverse range of isocyanide-based multi-component reactions (I-MCRs) has been reported such as a new modification of Ugi, post-Ugi, Passerini and Groebke-Blackburn-Bienayme condensation reactions, isocyanide-based [1 + 4] cycloaddition reactions, isocyanide-acetylene-based MCRs, isocyanide and Meldrum's acid-based MCRs, several unexpected reactions besides green mediums and novel catalytic systems for the synthesis of diverse kinds of pharmaceutically and industrially remarkable heterocyclic and linear organic compounds. This review also emphasizes the neoteric applications of I-MCR for the synthesis of valuable peptide and pseudopeptide scaffolds, enzyme immobilization and functionalization of materials with tailorable properties that can play important roles in the plethora of applications.

Three-component one-pot synthesis of dihydrochromeno[4,3-b]pyrazolo[4,3-e]pyridines

A series of dihydrochromeno[4,3-

Experimental and computational evidence for KOt-Bu-promoted synthesis of oxopyrazino[1,2-a]indoles

Metal-free intramolecular hydroamination of some Ugi adducts in the presence of KOt-Bu in DMF at room temperature led to the formation of novel oxopyrazino[1,2-a]indole derivatives.