Nature-inspired innovation: Alginic-kojic acid material for sustainable antibacterial and carbon dioxide fixation

The current environmental consciousness of the world's population encourages researchers to work on new materials that are environmentally benign and able to display the appropriate features for the needed application. To develop high-performing, inexpensive eco-materials, scientists have frequently turned to nature, attempting to mimic its processes' excellent performance at a reasonable price. In this regard, we decided to focus on alginic acid (AA), a polysaccharide widely found in brown algae, and kojic acid (KA), a chelating agent fungi produces. This study proposes rapidly synthesizing a sustainable, biocompatible material (AK) based on AA and KA, employing chlorokojic acid (CKA). The material has a dual function: antibacterial activity on both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, without any cytotoxic action on human cells in vitro, and catalytic ability to convert CO2 into cyclic carbonates at atmospheric pressure, without solvents, with high yields, and without the use of metals. Furthermore, the material's insolubility in organic solvents allows it to be easily separated from the reaction product and reused for other catalytic cycles. Both applications have a key role in the medical and environmental fields, combating the outbreak of infections and providing an innovative methodology to fix the CO2 on specific substrates.

Synthesis of Bench-stable Polycyclic Organophosphorus Heterocycles via Staudinger-type Annulations of ortho-Azidophenols

The formation of a five- or six-membered ring is known to stabilize unstable molecular structures such as hemiacetals. This idea can also be extended to stabilize other high-coordinated p-block element species. Herein, we synthesized two novel polycyclic organophosphorus heterocycles via Staudinger-type annulations. Reactions of either ortho-phosphinoarenesulfonyl fluorides 1 or ortho-phosphinobenzoic acid methyl esters 4 with ortho-azidophenols 2 gave rise to penta-coordinated P(V) heterocycles, benzo-benzo-1,2,3-thiazaphospholo-1,3,2-oxazaphosphole (B-B-TAP-OAP) 3 and benzo-benzo-1,2-azaphospholo-1,3,2-oxazaphosphol-12-one (B-B-AP-OAP) 5 in satisfactory yields. It is remarkable that heterocycles 3 and 5 are both bench-stable and exhibit considerable stability in a 10 % aqueous tetrahydrofuran solution. Preliminary computational studies disclosed that the formation of nitrogen gas is the key driving force for the annulations. In addition, the formation of a strong Si-F bond is another contributor to the annulation of 1 and 2.

Using Triazolobenzodiazepine as the Cyclic Imine in Various Types of Joullié-Ugi Reactions

The triazolobenzodiazepine as a cyclic imine was employed in a variety of Joullié-Ugi reactions, and three new families of unique triazolobenzodiazepine connected to carboxamide and tetrazole products were synthesized via a three-component reaction of the cyclic imine and isocyanides with each species of a carboxylic acid/water/TMSN3 under mild conditions in high yields. Furthermore, triazolobenzodiazepine imine was used in an interesting strategy based on the modified Ugi reaction (pseudo-Joullié-Ugi reaction) of cyclic imines with an isocyanide and acetylenedicarboxylates under catalyst-free conditions for the synthesis of triazolobenzodiazepine-fused pyrroles. Mechanistic investigation reveals that triazolobenzodiazepine-fused pyrroles have been generated via a surprising route. Significantly, the use of triazolobenzodiazepine in the Joullié-Ugi, azido-Joullié-Ugi, and pseudo-Joullié-Ugi reactions of a broad scope of biological scaffolds occurred under mild, simple conditions without any catalyst.

Direct Decarboxylative C-2 Alkylation of Azoles through Minisci-Type Coupling

This note discusses the application of a Minisci-type reaction for the direct alkylation of azoles with carboxylic acids as radical precursors. Different reaction conditions were investigated to achieve high yield of the desired products, focusing on acid strength and solvent screening. Moreover, the reactivity of imidazoles with various carboxylic acids was investigated, showing good yield for most cases. The study reveals the potential of this approach for late-stage functionalization in drug discovery.

Electrocatalytic Reactions for Converting CO2 to Value-Added Products: Recent Progress and Emerging Trends

Carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions are an important environmental issue that causes greenhouse and climate change effects on the earth. Nowadays, CO₂ has various conversion methods to be a potential carbon resource, such as photocatalytic, electrocatalytic, and photo-electrocatalytic. CO₂ conversion into value-added products has many advantages, including facile control of the reaction rate by adjusting the applied voltage and minimal environmental pollution. The development of efficient electrocatalysts and improving their viability with appropriate reactor designs is essential for the commercialization of this environmentally friendly method. In addition, microbial electrosynthesis which utilizes an electroactive bio-film electrode as a catalyst can be considered as another option to reduce CO₂. This review highlights the methods which can contribute to the increase in efficiency of carbon dioxide reduction (CO₂R) processes through electrode structure with the introduction of various electrolytes such as ionic liquid, sulfate, and bicarbonate electrolytes, with the control of pH and with the control of the operating pressure and temperature of the electrolyzer. It also presents the research status, a fundamental understanding of carbon dioxide reduction reaction (CO₂RR) mechanisms, the development of electrochemical CO₂R technologies, and challenges and opportunities for future research.

Synthetic Routes to Approved Drugs Containing a Spirocycle

The use of spirocycles in drug discovery and medicinal chemistry has been booming in the last two decades. This has clearly translated into the landscape of approved drugs. Among two dozen clinically used medicines containing a spirocycle, 50% have been approved in the 21st century. The present review focuses on the notable synthetic routes to such drugs invented in industry and academia, and is intended to serve as a useful reference source of synthetic as well as general drug information for researchers engaging in the design of new spirocyclic scaffolds for medicinal use or embarking upon analog syntheses inspired by the existing approved drugs.

Recent Developments in Carbon-11 Chemistry and Applications for First-In-Human PET Studies

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a molecular imaging technique that makes use of radiolabelled molecules for in vivo evaluation. Carbon-11 is a frequently used radionuclide for the labelling of small molecule PET tracers and can be incorporated into organic molecules without changing their physicochemical properties. While the short half-life of carbon-11 (11C; t½ = 20.4 min) offers other advantages for imaging including multiple PET scans in the same subject on the same day, its use is limited to facilities that have an on-site cyclotron, and the radiochemical transformations are consequently more restrictive. Many researchers have embraced this challenge by discovering novel carbon-11 radiolabelling methodologies to broaden the synthetic versatility of this radionuclide. This review presents new carbon-11 building blocks and radiochemical transformations as well as PET tracers that have advanced to first-in-human studies over the past five years.

Ring-opening of non-activated aziridines with [11C]CO2 via novel ionic liquids

Novel ionic liquids based on DBU and DBN halide salts were developed as a catalytic system for ring-opening of non-activated aziridines with [¹¹C]CO₂. The ability of ionic liquids to activate aziridines represents a simple methodology for the synthesis of ¹¹C-carbamates and can be extended for CO₂-fixation in organic and radiochemistry.

Novel ionic liquids based on DBU and DBN halide salts were developed as a catalytic system for ring-opening of non-activated aziridines with [¹¹C]CO₂.

Late-Stage Carbon-14 Labeling and Isotope Exchange: Emerging Opportunities and Future Challenges

Carbon-14 (¹⁴C) is a gold standard technology routinely utilized in pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries for tracking synthetic organic molecules and providing their metabolic and safety profiles. While the state of the art has been dominated for decades by traditional multistep synthetic approaches, the recent emergence of late-stage carbon isotope labeling has provided new avenues to rapidly access carbon-14-labeled biologically relevant compounds. In particular, the development of carbon isotope exchange has represented a fundamental paradigm change, opening the way to unexplored synthetic transformations. In this Perspective, we discuss the recent developments in the field with a critical assessment of the literature. We subsequently discuss research directions and future challenges within this rapidly evolving field.

Catalytic synthesis of phenols with nitrous oxide

The development of catalytic chemical processes that enable the revalorization of nitrous oxide (N₂O) is an attractive strategy to alleviate the environmental threat posed by its emissions^1–6. Traditionally, N₂O has been considered an inert molecule, intractable for organic chemists as an oxidant or O-atom transfer reagent, owing to the harsh conditions required for its activation (>150 °C, 50‒200 bar)^7–11. Here we report an insertion of N₂O into a Ni‒C bond under mild conditions (room temperature, 1.5–2 bar N₂O), thus delivering valuable phenols and releasing benign N₂. This fundamentally distinct organometallic C‒O bond-forming step differs from the current strategies based on reductive elimination and enables an alternative catalytic approach for the conversion of aryl halides to phenols. The process was rendered catalytic by means of a bipyridine-based ligands for the Ni centre. The method is robust, mild and highly selective, able to accommodate base-sensitive functionalities as well as permitting phenol synthesis from densely functionalized aryl halides. Although this protocol does not provide a solution to the mitigation of N₂O emissions, it represents a reactivity blueprint for the mild revalorization of abundant N₂O as an O source.

A study demonstrates that nitrous oxide can act as the source of O in a catalytic conversion of aryl halides to phenols, releasing N₂ as by-product.

A Direct Fixation of CO2 for Isotopic Labelling of Hydantoins Using Iodine-Phosphine Charge Transfer Complexes

Herein, we report a method for the isotopic labelling of hydantoins directly from CO2 by means of trimethyl-λ5-phosphine diiodide mediated carbonyl insertion. The method is suitable for 13C-labelling of diverse...

A general procedure for carbon isotope labeling of linear urea derivatives with carbon dioxide

Carbon isotope labeling is a traceless technology, which allows tracking the fate of organic compounds either in the environment or in living organisms. This article reports on a general approach to label urea derivatives with all carbon isotopes, including 14C and 11C, based on a Staudinger aza-Wittig sequence. It provides access to all aliphatic/aromatic urea combinations.

Interrupted aza-Wittig reactions using iminophosphoranes to synthesize 11C-carbonyls

A direct CO2-fixation methodology couples structurally diverse iminophosphoranes with various nucleophiles to synthesize ureas, carbamates, thiocarbamates, and amides, and is amenable for 11C radiolabeling. This methodology is practical, as demonstrated by the synthesis of >35 products and isolation of the molecular imaging radiopharmaceuticals [11C]URB694 and [11C]glibenclamide.

Hot off the Press

A personal selection of 32 recent papers is presented covering various aspects of current developments in bioorganic chemistry and novel natural products such as longisglucinol A from Hypericum longistylum.