A Unified Strategy for the Synthesis of β-Carbolines, γ-Carbolines, and Other Fused Azaheteroaromatics under Mild, Metal-Free Conditions

Synthesis of pyrazino[1,2-b]indazoles via cascade cyclization of indazole aldehydes with propargylic amines

An efficient intermolecular annulation of indazole aldehydes with propargylic amines has been developed for the synthesis of pyrazinoindazoles under catalyst- and additive-free conditions. This straightforward methodology was found to feature a wide substrate scope, high atom economy and environmental advantages. The bioactivity results of these new pyrazino[1,2-b]indazoles showed that some of them exhibited significant antifungal activity.

Iodine-Catalyzed Synthesis of Benzo-β-carbolines through Desulfurative Cyclization of 2-(1H-Indol-3-ylsulfanyl)-phenylamines with Aryl Methyl Ketones

A novel transition metal-free strategy for the synthesis of benzene-fused β-carboline scaffolds has been developed. This protocol offers a rapid and direct pathway to access the benzene fused β-carboline from 2-(1H-indol-3-ylsulfanyl)-phenylamines and aryl methyl ketones using an efficient catalytic system of I2/DMSO. The present mild protocol proceeds through the sequential reactions of Kornblum oxidation, Pictet-Spengler cyclization, and desulfurization to afford the desired products in excellent yields up to 99%. Moreover, this method has a wide range of substrate tolerance and is operationally simple and applicable in gram-scale synthesis.

Synthesis of Nitrogen-Containing Heterocyclic Scaffolds through Sequential Reactions of Aminoalkynes with Carbonyls

Sequential reactions of aminoalkynes represent a powerful tool to easily assembly biologically important polyfunctionalized nitrogen heterocyclic scaffolds. Metal catalysis often plays a key role in terms of selectivity, efficiency, atom economy, and green chemistry of these sequential approaches. This review examines the existing literature on the applications of reactions of aminoalkynes with carbonyls, which are emerging for their synthetic potential. Aspects concerning the features of the starting reagents, the catalytic systems, alternative reaction conditions, pathways and possible intermediates are provided.

Rapid Access to 3-Substituted Pyridines and Carbolines via a Domino, Copper-free, Palladium-Catalyzed Sonogashira Cross-Coupling/6π-Aza Cyclization Sequence

Herein, we report a one-pot, three-component method for the preparation of 3-substituted pyridines and carbolines via copper-free, palladium-catalyzed Sonogashira cross-coupling with aryl iodides, followed by 6π-aza cyclization. This arylation cross-coupling/annulation cascade provides easy access to substituted, fused pyridines from readily available substrates in good yields (67-92%) with complete selectivity.

Synthesis of Conformationally Liberated Yohimbine Analogues and Evaluation of Cytotoxic Activity

A modular synthetic approach to strategically unique structural analogues of the alkaloid yohimbine is reported. The overall synthetic strategy couples the transition-metal-catalyzed decarboxylative allylation of 2,2-diphenylglycinate imino esters with a scandium triflate-mediated highly endo-selective intramolecular Diels-Alder (IMDA) cycloaddition to generate a small collection of de-rigidified yohimbine analogues lacking the ethylene linkage between the indole and decahydroisoquinoline units. One compound generated in this study contains an unprecedented pentacyclic urea core and appears to demonstrate increased cytotoxicity against the gastric cancer cell line SGC-7901 in comparison to a pancreatic cancer cell line (PATU-8988) and a normal human gastric mucosal cell line (GES-1).

Recent developments in the synthesis of azaindoles from pyridine and pyrrole building blocks

The azaindole framework is ubiquitous in bioactive natural products and pharmaceuticals. This review highlights the synthetic approaches to azaindoles with advantages and limitations, mechanistic pathways and biological importance.

Benzannulation strategies for the synthesis of carbazoles, indolocarbazoles, benzocarbazoles, and carbolines

This review presents a critical and authoritative analysis of several exciting benzannulation approaches developed in the past decade for the construction of carbazoles, indolocarbazoles, benzocarbazoles, and carbolines.

γ-Carboline synthesis enabled by Rh(iii)-catalysed regioselective C-H annulation

A redox-neutral Rh(iii)-catalyzed C-H annulation of indolyl oximes was developed. Relying on the use of various alkynyl silanes as the terminal alkyne surrogates, the reaction exhibited a reverse regioselectivity, thus giving an exclusive and easy way for the synthesis of a wide range of substituent free γ-carbolines at C3 position with high efficiency. Deuterium-labelling experiments and kinetic analysis have preliminarily shed light on the working mode of this catalytic system.

Preparation and Uses of Chlorinated Glycerol Derivatives

Crude glycerol (C3H8O3) is a major by-product of biodiesel production from vegetable oils and animal fats. The increased biodiesel production in the last two decades has forced glycerol production up and prices down. However, crude glycerol from biodiesel production is not of adequate purity for industrial uses, including food, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. The purification process of crude glycerol to reach the quality standards required by industry is expensive and dificult. Novel uses for crude glycerol can reduce the price of biodiesel and make it an economical alternative to diesel. Moreover, novel uses may improve environmental impact, since crude glycerol disposal is expensive and dificult. Glycerol is a versatile molecule with many potential applications in fermentation processes and synthetic chemistry. It serves as a glucose substitute in microbial growth media and as a precursor in the synthesis of a number of commercial intermediates or fine chemicals. Chlorinated derivatives of glycerol are an important class of such chemicals. The main focus of this review is the conversion of glycerol to chlorinated derivatives, such as epichlorohydrin and chlorohydrins, and their further use in the synthesis of additional downstream products. Downstream products include non-cyclic compounds with allyl, nitrile, azide and other functional groups, as well as oxazolidinones and triazoles, which are cyclic compounds derived from ephichlorohydrin and chlorohydrins. The polymers and ionic liquids, which use glycerol as an initial building block, are highlighted, as well.

Synthesis of Nitrogen-Containing Polyaromatics by Aza-Annulative π-Extension of Unfunctionalized Aromatics

Nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compounds (N-PACs) are an important class of compounds in materials science. Reported here is a new aza-annulative π-extension (aza-APEX) reaction that allows rapid access to a range of N-PACs in 11-84 % yields from readily available unfunctionalized aromatics and imidoyl chlorides. In the presence of silver hexafluorophosphate, arenes and imidoyl chlorides couple in a regioselective fashion. The follow-up oxidative treatment with p-chloranil affords structurally diverse N-PACs, which are very difficult to synthesize. DFT calculations reveal that the aza-APEX reaction proceeds through the formal [4+2] cycloaddition of an arene and an in situ generated diarylnitrilium salt, with sequential aromatizations having relatively low activation energies. Transformation of N-PACs into nitrogen-doped nanographenes and their photophysical properties are also described.

Differential formation of nitrogen-centered radicals leading to unprecedented, regioselective bromination of N,N′-(1,2-phenylene)bisamides and 2-amidophenols

A highly efficient, site-selective, visible light-accelerated, remote C–H halogenation of unsymmetrical aromatic bisamides/amidoesters has been developed.

Novel base-initiated cascade reactions of hemiindigos to produce dipolar γ-carbolines and indole-fused pentacycles

Novel continuous-flow cascade reactions are developed for producing 1,4-diaryl-disubstituted dipolar γ-carbolines 2 that contain a carboxylate group and their two pentacyclic precursors 6, 7 from hemiindigos 1. The nucleophilic and pro-electrophilic chemistry described is new to the hemiindigos 1, and it led to the discovery of antimycobacterial scaffold characteristic of rimino-type pentacycles 6, 7 and potent drug clofazimine. The new scaffold like clofazimine appears to be useful in developing lead agents active against drug-resistant/dormant TB.

Based on hemiindigos we developed novel reactions for producing γ-carbolines and their precursors that appeared to be active against MTB.

Metal-free propargylation/aza-annulation approach to substituted β-carbolines and evaluation of their photophysical properties

An efficient acid-catalyzed propargylation/aza-annulation sequence was developed under metal-free reaction conditions, thus leading to a one-pot synthesis of a variety of substituted β-carbolines starting from propargylic alcohols and indole 2-carbonyls. This versatile strategy was further extended to the synthesis of 5-azaindoles and 5-azabenzothiazoles. Optical properties suggested that manipulation of electron donor and acceptor moieties on β-carbolines has an impact on their ground and excited state electronic behavior. This leads to blue or green emission and should facilitate the development of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs). Electrochemical and stability studies revealed that 4a-6 shows ease of redox activity and photostability during illumination.

Indole bearing thiadiazole analogs: synthesis, β-glucuronidase inhibition and molecular docking study

Indole based thiadiazole derivatives (1-22) have synthesized, characterized by NMR and HREI-MS and evaluated for β-Glucuronidase inhibition. All compounds showed outstanding β-glucuronidase activity with IC50 values ranging between 0.5 ± 0.08 to 38.9 ± 0.8 µM when compared with standard d-saccharic acid 1,4 lactone (IC50 value of 48.1 ± 1.2 µM). The compound 6, a 2,3-dihydroxy analog was found the most potent among the series with IC50 value 0.5 ± 0.08 µM. Structure activity relationship has been established for all compounds. To confirm the binding interactions of these newly synthesized compounds, molecular docking study have been carried out which reveal that these compounds established stronger hydrogen bonding networks with active site residues.

Development of a Telescoped Flow Process for the Safe and Effective Generation of Propargylic Amines

Propargylic amines are important multifunctional building blocks that are frequently exploited in the synthesis of privileged heterocyclic entities. Herein we report on a novel flow process that achieves the safe and effective on-demand synthesis of propargylic amines in a telescoped manner. This process minimizes exposure to hazardous azide intermediates and renders a streamlined route into these building blocks. The value of this approach is demonstrated by the rapid generation of a small selection of drug-like thiazolines that result from a high-yielding reaction cascade between propargylic amines with different aryl isothiocyanates.

Copper-Catalyzed, Ceric Ammonium Nitrate Mediated N-Arylation of Amines

Cu-Catalyzed, ligand and base free cross-coupling of aryl boronic acids with primary and secondary amines has been reported. This 'Chan-Evans-Lam' reaction has revealed that at room temperature, catalytic copper(II) acetate and ceric ammonium nitrate (CAN) as an oxidant, N-arylation can result in an effective C-N bond formation. This air stable, practical, robust protocol enables a variety of functional group tolerance on both boronic acid and amine partners.

A simple, tandem approach to the construction of pyridine derivatives under metal-free conditions: a one-step synthesis of the monoterpene natural product, (−)-actinidine

(−)-Actinidine, along with various diversely substituted pyridines were synthesized from simple starting materials, including natural products, using a mild and metal-free method.