Multicomponent Reactions of Arylglyoxal, 4-Hydroxycoumarin, and Cyclic 1,3-C,N-Binucleophiles: Binucleophile-Directed Synthesis of Fused Five- and Six-Membered N-Heterocycles

Applications of innovative synthetic strategies in anticancer drug discovery: The driving force of new chemical reactions

The discovery of novel anticancer agents remains a critical goal in medicinal chemistry, with innovative synthetic methodologies playing a pivotal role in advancing this field. Recent breakthroughs in CH activation reactions, cyclization reactions, multicomponent reactions, cross-coupling reactions, and photo- and electro-catalytic reactions have enabled the efficient synthesis of new molecular scaffolds exhibiting potent biological activities, including anticancer properties. These methodologies have facilitated the functionalization of natural products, the modification of bioactive molecules, and the generation of entirely new compounds, many of which demonstrate strong antitumor activity. This review summarizes the latest synthetic strategies employed over the past five years for discovering anticancer agents, focusing on their influence on drug design. Additionally, the role of new chemical reactions in expanding chemical space and overcoming challenges, such as drug resistance and selectivity, is highlighted, further emphasizing the importance of discovering novel reactions as a key trend in future drug development.

New Bis(pyrazolo[5,1-b]quinazolines) and Bis(9H-xanthenediones) Linked to Alkane Cores: One-Pot Synthesis, Antibacterial Screening, and SAR Study

Effective one-pot methods were used to synthesize some new alkane-linked bis(pyrazolo[5,1-b]quinazolines) and bis(9H-xanthenediones). The first series was produced, in 80-88 % yields, via the reaction of one equivalent of the appropriate bis(aldehydes) with two equivalents of 1H-pyrazole-3,5-diamine and dimedone in DMF at 150 °C for 5-6 h. The second series was prepared, in 82-89 % yields, via the reaction one equivalent of the appropriate bis(aldehydes) with four equivalents of dimedone in acetic acid at 120 °C for 4-5 h. The new products displayed a broad range of antibacterial activity against different bacterial strains. Generally, the antibacterial activity of the alkane-linked bis(pyrazolo[5,1-b]quinazoline) units is more than 2-fold their bis(9H-xanthenedione) analogues. The (p-tolylthio)methyl)-linked bis(pyrazolo[5,1-b]quinazolines) demonstrate the best antibacterial activity with MIC/MBC values up to 3.3/6.6 μM.

Autocatalytic and DMSO-promoted regioselective synthesis of pyrimidine-fused quinolines from anilines and barbituric acids

Autocatalytic and DMSO-participating regioselective synthesis of N,N-disubstituted pyrimido[4,5-b]quinoline-2,4(1H,3H)-diones from anilines and barbituric acids has been achieved. In this newly developed one-pot tandem reaction, DMSO serves as a solvent cum methine source. Additionally, barbituric acid plays a dual role by acting as a substrate and a catalyst, making this reaction an environmentally benign approach to accessing valuable heterocycles. This method offers an auto-catalytic, additive-free, and operationally simple approach with a wide substrate scope and excellent tolerance for various functional groups. Furthermore, a few controlled experiments were conducted to gain insight into the reaction mechanism. Moreover, large-scale experiments have further enriched this methodology.

An Overview of the Synthesis of 3,4-Fused Pyrrolocoumarins of Biological Interest

3,4-Fused pyrrolocoumarins, synthetically prepared or naturally occurring, possess interesting biological properties. In this review, the synthetic strategies for the synthesis of the title compounds are presented along with their biological activities. Two routes are followed for that synthesis. In one, the pyrrole ring is formed from coumarin derivatives, such as aminocoumarins or other coumarins. In the other approach, the pyranone moiety is built from an existing pyrrole derivative or through the simultaneous formation of coumarin and pyrrole frameworks. The above syntheses are achieved via 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions, Michael reaction, aza-Claisen rearrangement reactions, multi-component reactions (MCR), as well as metal-catalyzed reactions. Pyrrolocoumarins present cytotoxic, antifungal, antibacterial, α-glucosidase inhibition, antioxidant, lipoxygenase (LOX) inhibition, and fluorescent activities, as well as benzodiazepine receptor ability.

Iodine-Catalyzed Diversity-Oriented Synthesis of 3,4-Heterocycle-Fused Coumarins from 4-Aminocoumarins and Aurones in Different Solvent

An unprecedented protocol has been developed for the synthesis of 3,4-heterocycle-fused coumarins from 4-aminocoumarins and aurones through iodine-catalyzed cascade reactions. Dihydropyridine-fused coumarin, pyridine-fused coumarin, and pyrrole-fused coumarin derivatives were achieved in good yields with high selectivity when CH3CN, AcOH, and DMSO were used as the solvent, respectively. This protocol provides several advantages, such as easily available starting materials, high atom economy, friendly environment, and simple procedure.

Regioselective synthesis and molecular docking studies of functionalized imidazo [1,2-a]pyridine derivatives through MCRs

A efficient protocol has been developed for the synthesis of regioselective imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine and imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine derivatives through cascade reaction between 2-aminopyridine, arylelglyoxal, and 4-hydroxypyran via three-component reaction to prepare targeted compounds with good to excellent yields. The advantages of this transformation are a catalyst-free reaction, green solvent, operationally simple, scalable, and eco-friendly. The product collects with simple filtration which avoided tedious and expensive purification techniques. In addition, computational studies like molecular docking were conducted to provide the theoretical possibilities of binding these types of synthesized compounds to the VEGFR2 receptors as potential key inhibitors of tumor cell growth and angiogenesis.

Multicomponent Reactions Using C,N-Binucleophilic Nature of Aminopyrazoles: Construction of Pyrazole-Fused Heterocycles

Synthesis of pyrazole-fused heterocycles has gained considerable attention in recent years due to their wide applications in medicinal chemistry. Aminopyrazoles are versatile building blocks for the synthesis of pyrazole-fused heterocycles by multicomponent reactions. Due to the presence of multiple reaction sites, they have fascinating chemical reactivity. Thus, they have been extensively used in multicomponent reactions for the construction of pyrazole-fused heterocycles. Although few review articles on the preparation and applications of aminopyrazoles are known in the literature, to date there is no dedicated review article on the construction of pyrazole-fused heterocycles exploring the reactivity of amino pyrazoles as C,N-binucleophiles in multicomponent reactions. Considering this, herein the multicomponent reactions for the construction of pyrazole-fused heterocycles exploring C,N-binucleophilic nature of amino pyrazoles have been reported.

Multicomponent Strategy to Pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyrrolo[3,4-d]pyridine Derivatives under Microwave Irradiation

A novel three-component reaction has been established that allows a flexible and practical approach to pyrazolo[3,4-b]pyrrolo[3,4-d]pyridine derivatives from phenylglyoxal, β-ketoamide, and 5-aminopyrazole with acetic acid as the solvent. Various dihydropyrazolo[3,4-b]pyrrolo[3,4-d]pyridin-6(3H)-one were isolated in moderate to good yields with broad functional group tolerance.

Divergent synthesis of two types of indolizines from pyridine-2-acetonitrile, (hetero)arylglyoxal, and TMSCN

Herein we describe the divergent synthesis of two types of indolizines via construction of the pyrrole moiety from pyridine-2-acetonitriles, arylglyoxals, and TMSCN. While one-pot three-component coupling provided 2-aryl-3-aminoindolizines via an unusual fragmentation process, a sequential two-step assembly protocol with these starting materials allowed efficient access to a wide range of new 2-acyl-3-aminoindolizines through an aldol condensation-Michael addition-cycloisomerization process. The subsequent manipulation of 2-acyl-3-aminoindolizines enabled direct access to novel polycyclic N-fused heteroaromatic skeletons.

Recent Advances in Organic Synthesis of 3-Amino- or 4-Aminocoumarins

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Coumarin is a privileged scaffold that contains the unique 2H-chromen-2-one motif, and its derivatives are widely distributed in nature, especially in plants. In recent years, due to their diverse pharmacological activities and remarkable photochemical properties, they have attracted significant attention from scientists, which has also prompted the research on the synthesis approaches and the availability of substrates for these compounds. This article is a brief description of the methods for the synthesis of various coumarin derivatives via two- or multi-component reactions involving 3-amino or 4-aminocoumarin reported during 2015-2021. This review may help expand the development of various analogues with coumarin as the basic unit.

Accessing Grignard Reluctant Aldehyde in 2-Oxoaldehyde by Organocuprates to Give [1,2] Addition and Oxidative Coupling Reactions

Novel finding of aldehyde in 2-oxoaldehyde (2OA) is presented as it unprecedentedly disinclines to react with Grignard reagents but reacts with moderate organocuprate reagents in anaerobic condition to give [1,2] addition (α-hydroxyketones) reaction. In the presence of air, the reaction produces an efficient protocol for the synthesis of 1,2-diones through a copper-catalyzed oxidative cross-coupling reaction at room temperature. Mechanistic studies indicate that α-hydroxy ketone perhaps is generated before the hydrolysis step/acid work-up process. The α-keto group of 2OA causes to exhibit this peculiar aldehyde behavior toward these organometallic reagents.

2-(2-(4-Methoxyphenyl)furo[3,2-h]quinolin-3-yl)acetic Acid

A simple and efficient protocol for the synthesis of the previously unknown 2-(2-(4-methoxyphenyl)furo[3,2-h]quinolin-3-yl)acetic acid was elaborated. The suggested method is based on the telescoped multicomponent reaction of 8-hydroxyquinoline, 4-methylglyoxal, and Meldrum’s acid. The studied process includes the initial interaction of the starting compounds in MeCN followed by intramolecular cyclization to the target product in refluxing acetic acid. The advantage of this approach is the application of readily available starting materials, atom economy, and a simple work-up procedure. The structure of the synthesized furylacetic acid derivative was proven by 1H, 13C, 2D-NMR, IR spectroscopy, and high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Synthesis of styryl-linked fused dihydropyridines by catalyst-free multicomponent reactions

Herein, we report a rapid catalyst-free three-component reaction of 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone, cinnamaldehydes and 3-aminopyrazoles in ethanol medium under reflux conditions for the easy access of styryl-linked dihydropyridines fused with naphthoquinone and pyrazole moiety. A wide variety of cinnamaldehyde derivatives and 3-aminopyrazoles were found suitable for this three-component reaction. All the products were fully characterized by spectroscopic tools and by recording single crystal XRD of one of the product. Catalyst-free reaction conditions, short reaction time, good yields of the products, easy purification process, formation of three new bonds (Two C-C and one C-N) in one-pot and products having four different bioactive moieties are the notable features of this methodology.

Modular Synthesis and Antiproliferative Activity of New Dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[1,3-b]pyridine Embelin Derivatives

A set of new dihydro-1H-pyrazolo[1,3-b]pyridine and pyrazolo[1,3-b]pyridine embelin derivatives was synthesized through a multicomponent reaction from natural embelin, 3-substituted-5-aminopyrazoles and aldehydes. The synthesized compounds were evaluated against three hematologic tumor cell lines, HEL (acute erythroid leukemia), K-562 (chronic myeloid leukemia) and HL-60 (acute myeloid leukemia), and five breast cancer cell lines (SKBR3, MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, BT-549, HS-578T). The primate non-malignant kidney Vero cell line was used as the control of cytotoxicity. From the obtained results, some structure–activity relationships were outlined. Furthermore, in silico prediction of physicochemical properties and ADME parameters were determined for the derivatives with the best antiproliferative values.

Diverse synthesis of pyrrolo/indolo[3,2-c]coumarins as isolamellarin-A scaffolds: a brief update

This review presents a different synthetic approach of pyrrolo/indolo[3,2-c]coumarins via classical reactions including metal-catalyzed and green reaction protocols.

The synthesis, biological evaluation and fluorescence study of chromeno[4,3-b]pyridin/quinolin-one derivatives, the backbone of natural product polyneomarline C scaffolds: a brief review

This review presents the synthesis, biological and fluorescence study of chromeno[4,3-b]pyridin/quinolin-ones via classical reactions including metal-catalyzed and green reaction protocols.

One-pot synthesis of pyrimidine linked naphthoquinone-fused pyrroles by iodine-mediated multicomponent reactions

Herein we report iodine-mediated multicomponent reactions for the synthesis of naphthoquinone-fused pyrroles tethered with a pyrimidine moiety. The reaction of aryl methyl ketones (3) or terminal aryl alkynes (5) in the presence of molecular iodine in DMSO medium followed by sequential addition of barbituric acids (2) and 2-amino-1,4-naphthoquinone (1) provides the corresponding three-component hybrid molecules 4 having naphthoquinone-fused pyrroles tethered with a barbituric acid moiety. This three-component reaction proceeds via metal-free C-H oxidation followed by multi-component cyclization forming three new bonds (2 C-C, 1 C-N) in one pot. Alternatively, the same molecules can also be prepared from the reaction of arylglyoxals, 2-aminonaphthoquinone, and barbituric acids in the presence of a catalytic amount of iodine in methanol medium under reflux conditions. The salient features of these methodologies are: one-pot metal-free method, good yields, wide substrate scope, easy purification of products, and the presence of medicinally important naphthoquinone, pyrrole and pyrimidine moieties in the products.

A green method for the synthesis of pyrrole derivatives using arylglyoxals, 1,3-diketones and enaminoketones in water or water-ethanol mixture as solvent

Three-component reaction between arylglyoxals, 1,3-dicetones and enaminoketones leads to new polyfunctionalized tetraone derivatives which may be easily converted to polyfunctionalized pyrroles. Reactions were conducted in water or water-ethanol mixture as green solvents, and all products were isolated by simple washing of the resulting solids with diethyl ether.

Synthesis of spirooxindoles fused with pyrazolo-tetrahydropyridinone and coumarin-dihydropyridine-pyrazole tetracycles by reaction medium dependent isatin-based multicomponent reactions

A reaction medium dependent three-component reaction of isatin, 4-hydroxycoumarin and aminopyrazole/aminoisoxazole has been reported under microwave heating conditions for the synthesis of two different types of fused spirooxindoles.

Synthesis of Pyrimidine Fused Quinolines by Ligand-Free Copper-Catalyzed Domino Reactions

Herein, we report two novel methods for the synthesis of pyrimidine fused quinolines using a one-pot C-C and C-N bond forming strategy from the reaction of 6-aminouracils with 2-bromobenzaldehydes or 2-bromobenzyl bromide derivatives in the presence of 10 mol % CuCl₂ without using any ligand. The reaction of 2-bromobenzaldehyde or its derivatives with 6-aminouracils in the presence of K₂CO₃ as base and a catalytic amount of CuCl₂ in DMF medium under microwave heating conditions provides corresponding pyrimidine fused quinoline derivatives in good yields within 30 min. Alternatively, pyrimidine fused quinoline derivatives have been synthesized from the reaction of 2-bromobenzyl bromides with 6-aminouracil derivatives in the presence of molecular oxygen, CuCl₂ (10 mol %), and K₂CO₃ as base in DMF under reflux conditions. Structures of all the products were unambiguously confirmed by spectroscopic techniques and by recording single crystal XRD of 3a.

A new synthesis of pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidine derivatives by a one-pot, three-component reaction in the presence of L-proline as an organocatalyst

A one-pot, three-component reaction of 4-hydroxycoumarin, arylglyoxals, and 6-aminouracil or 1,3-dimethyl-6-aminouracil in the presence of L-proline as an organocatalyst in acetic acid under reflux conditions provided a series of new pyrrolo[3,2-d]pyrimidine derivatives in good yields.

Lemon juice mediated multicomponent reactions for the synthesis of fused imidazoles

A green approach for the synthesis of diverse medicinally important tricyclic fused imidazoles has been described using one-pot multicomponent reactions in lemon juice as a biocatalyst as well as the reaction medium.