Cyclizations of Alkenyl(Alkynyl)-Functionalized Quinazolinones and their Heteroanalogues: A Powerful Strategy for the Construction of Polyheterocyclic Structures

Quinazolin-4-one, its heteroanalogues, and derivatives represent an outstandingly important class of compounds in modern organic, medicinal, and pharmaceutical chemistry, as these molecular structures are noted for their wide synthetic and pharmacological potential. In the last years, ever-increasing research attention has been paid to quinazolinone derivatives bearing alkenyl and alkynyl substituents on the pyrimidinone nucleus. The original structural combination of synthetically powerful endocyclic amidine (or amidine-related) and exocyclic unsaturated moieties provides a driving force for cyclizations, which offer an efficient toolkit to construct a variety of fused pyrimidine systems with saturated N- and N,S-heterocycles. In this connection, the present review article is mainly aimed at systematic coverage of the progress in using alkenyl(alkynyl)quinazolinones and their heteroanalogues as convenient bifunctional substrates for regioselective annulation of small- and medium-sized heterocyclic nuclei. Much attention is paid to elucidating the structural and electronic effects of reagents on the regio- and stereoselectivity of the cyclizations as well as to clarifying the relevant reaction mechanisms.

The Use of Electrophilic Cyclization for the Preparation of Condensed Heterocycles

Condensed heterocycles are well-known for their excellent biological effects and they are undeniably important compounds in organic chemistry. Electrophilic cyclization reactions are widely used for the synthesis of mono-heterocyclic compounds. This review highlights the utility of electrophilic cyclization reactions as an effective generic tool for the synthesis of various condensed heterocycles containing functional groups that are able to undergo further chemical transformations, such as nucleophilic substitution, elimination, re-cyclization, cleavage, etc. This review describes the reactions of unsaturated derivatives of different heterocycles with various electrophilic agents (halogens, arylsulfanyl chlorides, mineral acids) resulting in annulation of an additional partially saturated heterocycle. The electrophilic reaction conditions, plausible mechanisms and the use of such transformations in organic synthesis are also discussed. The review mainly focuses on research published since 2002 in order to establish the current state of the art in this area.

1 Introduction

2 Electrophilic Cyclization Pathways Involving a Nitrogen Nucleo­philic Center

3 Electrophilic Cyclization Pathways Involving a Chalcogen Nucleophilic Center

3.1 Sulfur Centers

3.2 Oxygen Centers

3.3 Selenium Centers

4 Strategies and Mechanisms

5 Conclusion