Synthesis of 3-Aryl/benzyl-4,5,6,6a-tetrahydro-3aH-pyrrolo[3,4-d]isoxazole Derivatives: A Comparison between Conventional, Microwave-Assisted and Flow-Based Methodologies

A comprehensive review of flow chemistry techniques tailored to the flavours and fragrances industries

Due to their intrinsic physical properties, which includes being able to perform as volatile liquids at room and biological temperatures, fragrance ingredients/intermediates make ideal candidates for continuous-flow manufacturing. This review highlights the potential crossover between a multibillion dollar industry and the flourishing sub-field of flow chemistry evolving within the discipline of organic synthesis. This is illustrated through selected examples of industrially important transformations specific to the fragrances and flavours industry and by highlighting the advantages of conducting these transformations by using a flow approach. This review is designed to be a compendium of techniques and apparatus already published in the chemical and engineering literature which would constitute a known solution or inspiration for commonly encountered procedures in the manufacture of fragrance and flavour chemicals.

1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition Reactions of Nitrile Oxides under "Non-Conventional" Conditions: Green Solvents, Irradiation, and Continuous Flow

The 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions (DCs) of nitrile oxides (NOs) to alkenes and alkynes are useful methods for the synthesis of 2-isoxazolines and isoxazoles respectively, which are important classes of heterocyclic compounds in organic and medicinal chemistry. Most of these reactions are carried out in organic solvents and under thermal activation. Nevertheless the use of supercritical carbon dioxide (scCO₂ ) and ionic liquids (Ils) as alternative solvents and the application of microwave (MW) and ultrasound (US) as alternative activation procedures have evident advantages from the "Green Chemistry" point of view. The critical discussion on the applications of these "unconventional" activation methods and reaction conditions in the 1,3-DCs of NOs is the objective of the present Review.

Flow Chemistry for Cycloaddition Reactions

Continuous flow reactors form part of a rapidly growing research area that has changed the way synthetic chemistry is performed not only in academia but also at the industrial level. This Review highlights the most recent advances in cycloaddition reactions performed in flow systems. Cycloadditions are atom-efficient transformations for the synthesis of carbo- and heterocycles, involved in the construction of challenging skeletons of complex molecules. The main advantages of translating these processes into flow include using intensified conditions, safer handling of hazardous reagents and gases, easy tuning of reaction conditions, and straightforward scaling up. These benefits are especially important in cycloadditions such as the copper(I)-catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC), Diels-Alder reaction, ozonolysis and [2+2] photocycloadditions. Some of these transformations are key reactions in the industrial synthesis of pharmaceuticals.

Microwave-assisted efficient synthesis of 3-substituted bis-isoxazole ether bearing 2-chloro-3-pyridyl via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition

An efficient strategy for synthesizing of 3-substituted bis-isoxazole ether bearing 2-chloro-3-pyridyl under microwave radiation was reported. The reactive regioselectivity was improved by changing mainly the solvent and acid-binding agent. 3-(2-Chloropyridin-3-yl)-5-(((3-substituted phenyl isoxazol-5-yl)methoxy)methyl)isoxazoles were synthesized in 31-92% yields and were characterized by FT-IR, HRMS, ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectroscopy. The single crystal of 3-(2-chloropyridin-3-yl)-5-(((3-(p-tolyl)isoxazol-5-yl)methoxy)methyl)isoxazole was obtained, and the structure of compound has also been determined by X-ray diffraction technique. Weak intra- and intermolecular C-H∙∙∙O interactions and a C-H∙∙∙π interaction link molecules into a three-dimensional network. The results showed that the synthesized compounds belonged to triclinic system, and their regioselectivity depended on the solvent and acid-binding agent. The merits of this method include the environmentally friendly, efficient, simple operation, and higher regional selectivity. An efficient synthesis of 3-substituted bis-isoxazole ethers was developed via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction starting from 3-substituted phenyl-5-((prop-2-yn-1-yloxy))methyl)isoxazoles and (Z)-2-chloro-N-hydroxynicotinimidoyl chloride using NaHCO3 as an acid-binding agent in THF solvent-dissolved trace water under catalyst-free microwave-assisted conditions.

Metal-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides

In this review recent advances in the metal-catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions of nitrile oxides are highlighted, covering references from the period 2000 until August 2018.

Development of hydrogelator-based gel-entrapped base catalysts (GEBCs) as heterogeneous basic catalysts for the synthesis of 3-acetylcoumarins

New gel entrapped base catalysts (GEBCs) have been prepared by entrapping some organic and inorganic bases into a solid aqueous gel matrix.

Synthesis and pharmacological evaluation of conformationally constrained glutamic acid higher homologues

Homologation of glutamic acid chain together with conformational constraint is a commonly used strategy to achieve selectivity towards different types of glutamate receptors. In the present work, starting from two potent and selective unnatural amino acids previously developed by us, we investigated the effects on the activity/selectivity profile produced by a further increase in the distance between the amino acidic moiety and the distal carboxylate group. Interestingly, the insertion of an aromatic ring as a spacer produced a low micromolar affinity NMDA ligand that might represent a lead for the development of a new class of NMDA antagonists.

Synthesis of unusual isoxazoline containing and -dipeptides as potential glutamate receptor ligands

Unconventional beta and gamma dipeptides as tools to investigate the iGluR binding domain.

A continuous-flow synthesis of 1,4-benzodiazepin-5-ones, privileged scaffolds for drug discovery

A continuous-flow strategy to achieve the benzodiazepine privileged structure.

The rapid generation of isothiocyanates in flow

Isothiocyanates are versatile starting materials for a wide range of chemical reactions. However, their high nucleophilic susceptibility means they are best prepared and used immediately. We report here on a flow platform for the fast and efficient formation of isothiocyanates by the direct conversion of easily prepared chloroximes. To expedite this chemistry a flow insert cartridge containing two immobilised reagents is used to affect the chemical transformation which typically eliminates the requirements for any conventional work-up or purification of the reaction stream.

Synthesis and evaluation of hexahydropyrrolo[3,4-d]isoxazole-4,6-diones as anti-stress agents

A series of 2,3-diphenyl-5-(naphthalen-1-yl)-4H-2,3,3a,5,6,6a-hexahydropyrrolo[3,4-d]isoxazole-4,6-dione derivatives were synthesized via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine N-oxides with N-(α-naphthyl)maleimide. The pyrrolo-isoxazole derivatives were assigned cis- and trans- configurations (3-A and 3-B) with respect to proton C(3)-H on azomethinic carbon on the basis of their (1)H NMR. The reaction proceeds through cis- endo addition rule indicating the predominance of cis isomer. The cis- and trans- isomers of a prototype compound 3ai.e., compound 3a-A and compound 3a-B were evaluated for anti-stress activity in immobilization-induced acute stress. Compound 3a-A (5 and 10 mg/kg) and compound 3a-B (10 mg/kg) attenuated immobilization stress-induced behavioral alterations in Swiss albino mice suggesting that pyrrolo-isoxazole may serve as lead molecule for the development of anti-stress agents.

Small molecule library synthesis using segmented flow

Flow chemistry has gained considerable recognition as a simple, efficient, and safe technology for the synthesis of many types of organic and inorganic molecules ranging in scope from large complex natural products to silicon nanoparticles. In this paper we describe a method that adapts flow chemistry to the synthesis of libraries of compounds using a fluorous immiscible solvent as a spacer between reactions. The methodology was validated in the synthesis of two small heterocycle containing libraries. The reactions were performed on a 0.2 mmol scale, enabling tens of milligrams of material to be generated in a single 200 μL reaction plug. The methodology allowed library synthesis in half the time of conventional microwave synthesis while maintaining similar yields. The ability to perform multiple, potentially unrelated reactions in a single run is ideal for making small quantities of many different compounds quickly and efficiently.

Synthesis of a drug-like focused library of trisubstituted pyrrolidines using integrated flow chemistry and batch methods

A combination of flow and batch chemistries has been successfully applied to the assembly of a series of trisubstituted drug-like pyrrolidines. This study demonstrates the efficient preparation of a focused library of these pharmaceutically important structures using microreactor technologies, as well as classical parallel synthesis techniques, and thus exemplifies the impact of integrating innovative enabling tools within the drug discovery process.

Nitrile Oxide 1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition by Dehydration of Nitromethane Derivatives Under Continuous Flow Conditions

Aliphatic nitrile oxides were generated in situ, by dehydration of terminal nitro compounds, and reacted with dipolarophiles using continuous flow techniques to afford substituted isoxazolines. The yields of cycloadducts were comparable with traditional flask-based reactions but reaction times were much shorter. In-line scavenger cartridges conveniently removed by-products and unreacted reagents to give almost pure crude products. The process was demonstrated up to gram scale.