A short total synthesis of (±)-mersicarpine via visible light-induced cascade photooxygenation

Copper-Catalyzed Tunable Oxygenative Rearrangement of Tetrahydrocarbazoles

Herein, we report a general copper-catalyzed method for the tunable oxygenative rearrangement of tetrahydrocarbazoles to cyclopentyl-bearing spiroindolin-2-ones and spiroindolin-3-ones. The method demonstrates excellent chemoselectivity, regioselectivity, and product control simply by using the H2O and O2 as oxygen source, respectively. This open-flask method is safe and simple to operate, and no other chemical oxidants are required. Besides, inspired from the unique pathway of 1, 2-migration rearrangement, a highly controllable hydroxylation of indoles for the construction of C3a-hydroxyl iminium indolines was also developed. Mechanistic experiments suggest that a single-electron transfer-induced oxidation process is responsible for the tunable selectivity control.

Construction of C2-indolyl-quaternary centers by branch-selective allylation: enabling concise total synthesis of the (±)-mersicarpine alkaloid

Herein we report a branch-selective allylation strategy for accessing C2-indolyl-all-carbon quaternary centers using allylboronic acids. This approach boasts broad functional group tolerance, scalability, and relies on easily accessible allyl alcohol precursors. Importantly, the C3-position of the indole remains free, offering a handle for further synthetic refinement. Mechanistic pathways, corroborated by density functional theory (DFT), suggest the involvement of an indolenine intermediate and a Zimmerman-Traxler-like transition state during allylboration. Demonstrating its efficacy, the method was applied to the total synthesis of the (±)-mersicarpine alkaloid and enabled formal synthesis of additional alkaloids, such as (±)-scholarisine G, (±)-melodinine E, and (±)-leuconoxine.

A Recent Update on the Visible Light-promoted Organic Transformations - A Mini-review

Visible light-induced reactions are a rapidly developing and powerful technique to promote organic transformations. They provide green and sustainable chemistry and have recently received increasing attention from chemists due to their wide application in organic synthesis. Light energy is eco-friendly, cheap, green, and inexhaustible with potential industrial and pharmaceutical applications. In this review, the most recent advances in visible light-induced reactions (2021-till date) have been highlighted.

Electrochemical Annulation of Indole-Tethered Alkynes Enabling Synthesis of Exocyclic Alkenyl Tetrahydrocarbazoles

An electrochemical sulfonylation-triggered cyclization reaction of indole-tethered terminal alkynes with sulfinates as sulfonyl sources has been developed, which affords exocyclic alkenyl tetrahydrocarbazoles in good chemical yields. This reaction features convenient operation and tolerates a wide scope of substrates with a variety of electronically and sterically diverse substituents. Furthermore, high E-stereoselectivity is observed for this reaction, which provides an efficient method for the preparation of functionalized tetrahydrocarbazole derivatives.

Synthesis of azepane-fused pyrano[3,2-b]indoles by Lewis acid-catalysed oxa Diels-Alder reactions

The dihydroazepino[1,2-a]indole diones 3 are tricyclic oxindole-type enones which are readily accessible by catalytic photooxygenation of cyclohepta[b]indoles 1 followed by dehydration. Lewis acid-catalysed oxa Diels-Alder reactions of enones 3 with enol ethers 4 were developed that lead to novel tetracyclic azepane-fused pyrano[3,2-b]indoles 5, with high stereoselectivity and under mild reaction conditions.