Multicomponent Reactions Involving Diazo Reagents: A 5-Year Update

Imines with rare α-heteroatom substituted amine components generated in situ via the Staudinger/aza-Wittig tandem reaction and their application in multicomponent reactions

A series of structurally diverse α-heteroatom substituted methyl azides (XCH2N3, where X = phthalimidoyl, benzotriazolyl, arylsulfanyl, aryloxy, alkoxy) have been prepared and evaluated for the in situ generation of imines via the Staudinger/aza-Wittig tandem reaction with aldehydes and triphenylphosphine. The obtained imines were successfully introduced into four types of multicomponent reactions: the Staudinger β-lactam synthesis with diazo carbonyl compounds, the Castagnoli-Cushman reaction with cyclic anhydrides, and the Ugi and azido-Ugi reactions with isocyanides and carboxylic acids or TMS-azides. These transformations allowed the preparation of four-to-seven-membered lactams, acyclic bisamides and 5-(aminomethyl)-1-alkyltetrazoles with a complex and previously poorly accessible periphery. Moreover, it was demonstrated that phthalimide derivatives can be deprotected to afford medicinally relevant N-aminomethyl lactams.

Multicomponent Reaction-Assisted Drug Discovery: A Time- and Cost-Effective Green Approach Speeding Up Identification and Optimization of Anticancer Drugs

Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) have emerged as a powerful strategy in synthetic organic chemistry due to their widespread applications in drug discovery and development. MCRs are flexible transformations in which three or more substrates react to form structurally complex products with high atomic efficiency. They are being increasingly appreciated as a highly exploratory and evolutionary tool by the medicinal chemistry community, opening the door to more sustainable, cost-effective and rapid synthesis of biologically active molecules. In recent years, MCR-based synthetic strategies have found extensive application in the field of drug discovery, and several anticancer drugs have been synthesized through MCRs. In this review, we present an overview of representative and recent literature examples documenting different approaches and applications of MCRs in the development of new anticancer drugs.

Zinc(II)-Catalyzed [2+2+1] Annulation of Internal Alkenes, Diazooxindoles, and Isocyanates to Access Spirooxindoles

Zinc(II)-catalyzed [2+2+1] annulation of internal alkenes, diazooxindoles, and isocyanates was successfully developed for the construction of multisubstituted spirooxindoles. This multicomponent transformation involves in situ generation of a sulfur-containing spirocyclic intermediate from the [4+1] annulation of diazooxindole to sulfonyl isocyanate, which subsequently reacts as a 1,3-dipole with the internal alkene, that is, α-oxo ketene dithioacetal, to furnish a formal [2+2+1] annulation in a one-pot manner. This synthetic protocol features a low-toxicity main group metal catalyst, readily available reagents, and ≤96% yields, offering an efficient route to multisubstituted spirooxindole derivatives.

In situ generation of imines by the Staudinger/aza-Wittig tandem reaction combined with thermally induced Wolff rearrangement for one-pot three-component β-lactam synthesis

A new efficient protocol for diastereoselective three-component one-pot lactam synthesis involving the in situ generation of imines via the Staudinger/aza-Wittig tandem reaction combined with the Wolff-rearrangement and ketene-imine cycloaddition was developed to produce a series of 24 novel structurally diverse β-lactam- or 1,3-oxazine-products. It was shown that this synthesis can be performed both as a two step-procedure and true MCR with simultaneous loading of all reactants. The intramolecular version of the 1^st step provided facile access to seven-membered cyclic imines, which allowed further preparation of a series of rare tricyclic β-lactams. For the intermolecular version of the 1^st step (acyclic imine generation), it was shown that the outcome of the synthesis is different from that using pre-synthesized and isolated imines. Additionally, this is the first example of the implementation of the Staudinger/aza-Wittig tandem reaction for the preparation of four-membered heterocycles.

An enantioselective four-component reaction via assembling two reaction intermediates

A reaction intermediate is a key molecular entity that has been used in explaining how starting materials converts into the final products in the reaction, and it is usually unstable, highly reactive, and short-lived. Extensive efforts have been devoted in identifying and characterizing such species via advanced physico-chemical analytical techniques. As an appealing alternative, trapping experiments are powerful tools in this field. This trapping strategy opens an opportunity to discover multicomponent reactions. In this work, we report various highly diastereoselective and enantioselective four-component reactions (containing alcohols, diazoesters, enamines/indoles and aldehydes) which involve the coupling of in situ generated intermediates (iminium and enol). The reaction conditions presented herein to produce over 100 examples of four-component reaction products proceed under mild reaction conditions and show high functional group tolerance to a broad range of substrates. Based on experimental and computational analyses, a plausible mechanism of this multicomponent reaction is proposed.