A copper/N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) catalyzed oxidative vicinal diphosphination of styrenes with diphenyl(trimethylsilyl)phosphine proceeds in the presence of LiOtBu and a pyridine N-oxide/MnO2 combined oxidant to deliver the corresponding 1,2-bis(diphenylphosphino)ethanes (DPPEs) in good yields. The present copper catalysis can provide access to the DPPE-type ligands directly from the relati...

The first total synthesis of a tetracyclic marine pyridinium alkaloid hinged on recent advances in chemoselectivity management: While many classical methods failed to afford the perceptively simple pyridine-containing core target, nickel/iridium photoredox dual catalysis allowed critical C−C bond be formed good yield. Likewise, ring closing alkyne metathesis (RCAM) worked well presence unhinder...

Three-component reaction of dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates, isocyanides and 1,3- diimino isoindoline affords highly functionalized 2,6-dihydropyrimido[2,1-a]isoindole derivatives in good yields under catalyst free and mild reaction conditions.

W ithin the last years optically active oxazoline ligands have proven use in transition-metal catal­ ysed asymmetric synthesis. In copper-catalysed cy­ clopropanation reactions oxazolines turned out to be the ligands of choice [2, 3], Oxazolines substituted in 2-position with a heteroaromatic com pound such as pyridine [4] gave good results in many systems of asymmetric catalysis, e. g., in ena...

A concise and efficient total synthesis of the spermidine alkaloid (-)-isooncinotine (1) incorporating a 22-membered lactam ring is outlined. The approach is largely catalysis-based, involving a selective iron-catalyzed alkyl-aryl cross-coupling reaction of a difunctionalized pyridine substrate, a heterogeneous asymmetric hydrogenation step to set the chiral center of the target, and a highly i...

A novel palladium-catalyzed cyclization of bromoacrylamides with isocyanides gives substituted 2,5-diimino-furans, which can be used as the precursor of maleamides. This synthesis likely proceeds, after isonitrile insertion into C–Pd(II) bond, through the coordination of the amide oxygen atom to the Pd(II) centre as a key step.

Maleimides are often used for biomolecular conjugation with thiols. An underappreciated aspect of the imido group in a maleimide conjugate is its susceptibility to spontaneous hydrolysis, resulting in undesirable heterogeneity. Here, a chromophoric maleimide is used to demonstrate that both molybdate and chromate catalyze the hydrolysis of an imido group near neutral pH. Tungstate and 4-(dimeth...