(Z)-Stereoselective Synthesis of Mono- and Bis-heterocyclic Benzimidazol-2-ones via Cascade Processes Coupled with the Ugi Multicomponent Reaction

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.

One-Pot Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Bis-Heterocycles: Benzimidazole-, Benzoxazole-, and Benzothiazole-Linked Thiazolidines

A one-pot, three-component synthesis of benzimidazole-linked thiazolidines from 2-cyanomethyl benzimidazole, iso-, isothio-, or isoselenocyanates and 1,2-dichloroethane is reported. Isolation of the key intermediate formed during the course of the reaction validates its mechanistic pathway. Under the same reaction conditions, benzimidazole-linked/fused thiazinanes were obtained when 1,3-dichloropropane or diiodomethane was used.

Doebner-type pyrazolopyridine carboxylic acids in an Ugi four-component reaction

Substituted 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine-4- and 1H-pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyridine-6-carboxamides have been synthetized through a Doebner-Ugi multicomponent reaction sequence in a convergent and versatile manner using diversity generation strategies: combination of two multicomponent reactions and conditions-based divergence strategy. The target products contain as pharmacophores pyrazolopyridine and peptidomimetic moieties with four points of diversity introduced from readily available starting materials including scaffold diversity. A small focused compound library of 23 Ugi products was created and screened for antibacterial activity.

Direct and Enantioselective Synthesis of N-H-Free 1,5-Benzodiazepin-2-ones by an N-Heterocyclic Carbene Catalyzed [3+4] Annulation Reaction

An NHC-catalyzed formal [3+4] annulation of α,β-unsaturated acylazoliums with protecting-group-free aryl 1,2-diamines was developed for a direct and highly enantioselective synthesis of 4-aryl N-H-free 1,5-benzodiazepin-2-ones. This methodology offers an efficient and rapid access to a wide range of enantioenriched target compounds from easily accessible starting materials. The protocol is also scalable and the desired products can easily undergo subsequent N-functionalization to afford diverse N-substituted derivatives. Additionally, a mechanism was proposed to explain the high enantioselectivity in this process.

One-pot synthesis of 1H-isochromenes and 1,2-dihydroisoquinolines by a sequential isocyanide-based multicomponent/Wittig reaction

A one-pot synthesis of 1H-isochromenes and 1,2-dihydroisoquinolines by a I-MCR/Wittig sequence was developed. The reaction of phosphonium salt , an acid, an amine (or without), and an isocyanide gave the 1H-isochromenes or 1,2-dihydroisoquinolines in good yields by a sequential Passerini or Ugi condensation and an intramolecular Wittig reaction in the presence of K2CO3.