Sequential directed ortho metalation reactions. A synthesis ofanthramycin

Multicomponent reactions as a potent tool for the synthesis of benzodiazepines

Benzodiazepines (BZDs), a diverse class of benzofused seven-membered N-heterocycles, display essential pharmacological properties and play vital roles in some biochemical processes. They have mainly been prescribed as potential therapeutic agents, which interestingly represent various biological activities such as anticancer, anxiolytic, antipsychotic, anticonvulsant, antituberculosis, muscle relaxant, and antimicrobial activities. The extensive biological activities of BZDs in various fields have encouraged medicinal chemists to discover and design novel BZD-based scaffolds as potential therapeutic candidates with the favorite biological activity through an efficient protocol. Although certainly valuable and important, conventional synthetic routes to these bicyclic benzene compounds contain methodologies often requiring multistep procedures, which suffer from waste materials generation and lack of sustainability. By contrast, multicomponent reactions (MCRs) have recently advanced as a green synthetic strategy for synthesizing BZDs with the desired scope. In this regard, MCRs, especially Ugi and Ugi-type reactions, efficiently and conveniently supply various complex synthons, which can easily be converted to the BZDs via suitable post-transformations. Also, MCRs, especially Mannich-type reactions, provide speedy and economic approaches for the one-pot and one-step synthesis of BZDs. As a result, various functionalized-BZDs have been achieved by developing mild, efficient, and high-yielding MCR protocols. This review covers all aspects of the synthesis of BZDs with a particular focus on the MCRs as well as the mechanism chemistry of synthetic protocols. The present manuscript opens a new avenue for organic, medicinal, and industrial chemists to design safe, environmentally benign, and economical methods for the synthesis of new and known BZDs.

Isolation, chemistry, and biology of pyrrolo[1,4]benzodiazepine natural products

The isolation of the antitumor antibiotic anthramycin in the 1960s prompted extensive research into pyrrolo[1,4]benzodiazepines (PBD) as potential therapeutics for the treatment of cancers. Since then, nearly 60 PBD natural products have been isolated and evaluated with regard to their biological activity. Synthetic studies and total syntheses have enabled access to PBD analogues, culminating in the development of highly potent anticancer agents. This review provides a summary of the occurrence and biological activity of PBD natural products and covers the strategies employed for their total syntheses.