Hydroxymethylation of quinolines via iron promoted oxidative C-H functionalization: synthesis of arsindoline-A and its derivatives

Electrophotocatalytic Hydroxymethylation of Azaarenes with Methanol

The merging of electrochemistry and photocatalysis allowed the required selectivity for the hydroxymethylation of functionalized azaarenes with methanol, including bioactive substrates. The two electrophotocatalytic protocols developed in this work address this transformation, using nontoxic and readily available reagents under mild reaction conditions with electricity as the only "sacrificial oxidant".

Efficient Aerobic Oxidative Coupling of Methyl Heteroarenes with Indoles

Direct oxidative coupling of inert C(sp³ )-H bond has been a great challenge. Herein, an environmentally friendly aerobic oxidative coupling of α-methyl substituted N-heteroarenes with indoles is reported. A variety of diheteroaryl ketones were prepared in good yields (up to 72 %). This protocol features simple operation and broad substrates scope (26 examples). Significantly, a plausible mechanism about catalytic cycle was proposed, and two key intermediates were confirmed by high resolution mass spectrometry.

Discovery of antibacterial agents targeting biofilm formation: total synthesis and in vitro investigation of amycolasporins

Three monoterpene alkaloids amycolasporin A and (±) amycolasporins B and C have been synthesized for the first time from commercially available materials in yields of 31%, 14% and 21%, respectively. Their six analogues (18, 19, 30a and 30d-30f) were synthesized through a similar protocol. Meanwhile, the antibacterial activity of all synthesized molecules was evaluated, showing different levels of bioactivity. Among them, analogue 30d was screened as the most effective antibacterial candidate against E. coli (MIC value, 12.5 μg mL^-1) and S. aureus (MIC value, 12.5 μg mL^-1). Further investigation showed that 30d obviously inhibited biofilm formation and disrupted the preformed biofilm of E. coli and S. aureus by promoting intracellular ROS release.

Photoredox Neutral Decarboxylative Hydroxyalkylations of Heteroarenes with α-Keto Acids

Photoredox neutral decarboxylative hydroxyalkylations of heteroarenes with α-keto acids under mild conditions are described. Stable and readily available α-keto acids were employed as hydroxyalkylating reagents with only CO₂ released as the byproduct. A range of aromatic and aliphatic α-keto acids were successfully converted into hydroxyalkylated products with various heteroarenes. This transformation proceeded through a decarboxylation/Minisci addition/SCS sequence, generating a variety of valuable hydroxyalkylated heteroarenes.