New 2-indolinone-indole hybrid compounds carrying a benzoyl moiety as tyrosine kinase inhibitors

In this study, new 2-indolinone-indole hybrid compounds (4a-s) carrying a benzoyl moiety were synthesized and their cytotoxic effects were examined against pancreatic (MIA-PaCa-2) and colon (HT-29 and HCT-116) cancer cells by MTT assays. Most of the tested compounds exhibited a better inhibitory activity and safety profile than the reference standard sunitinib malate against MIA-PaCa-2 and HCT-116 cancer cells. Compound 4e displayed the greatest cytotoxic effect on HCT-116 cell with an IC50 value of 0.16 µM and a remarkable selectivity profile (SI > 625). Compound 4g exhibited a selective activity against HCT-116 cancer cell (IC50 = 0.34 µM), with no activity against the other cells at the highest concentrations tested. Compound 4b demonstrated a potent inhibitory activity against MIA-PaCa-2 cell (IC50 = 0.54 µM). General tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) activities and apoptotic effects were examined for compounds 4b, 4e and 4g. The tested compounds were observed to significantly reduce general TK activities in HCT-116 cell and induce apoptosis in HCT-116 and MIA-PaCa-2 cells. Lead compound 4e, the most effective general TKI, was determined to have a specific SRC kinase inhibitor effect in HCT-116 cell and the molecular modelling studies were performed to understand the potential binding mode at the ATP-binding domain of SRC kinase.

Ru(II)-Catalyzed Skeletal Editing of Oxindole with Internal Alkyne To Synthesize C7-Alkylated Indole Derivatives

A Ru(II)-catalyzed skeletal editing of oxindole scaffolds was established to afford C7-alkyl acetate indole derivatives using internal alkyne and alkyl alcohol. The developed method is simple, efficient, and straightforward. The reaction was extended to substrates having wide chemoselective profiles. When unsymmetrical alkynes were used, promising regioselectivity was realized. A preliminary mechanistic study revealed that the reaction pathway proceeded by Ru(II)/Ag(I)-catalyzed amide cleavage and subsequent oxidative annulation.

Recent advances in oxidative dearomatization involving C-H bonds for constructing value-added oxindoles

Exploring three-dimensional chemical space is an important research objective of organic synthetic chemistry. Oxidative dearomatization (ODA) is one of the most important and powerful tools for realizing this goal, because it changes and removes aromatic structures from aromatic compounds to increase levels of saturation and stereoisomerism by direct addition reactions between functional groups with aromatic cores under oxidative conditions. As a hot topic in indole chemistry, the synthetic value of the oxidative dearomatization of indoles has been well recognized and has witnessed rapid development recently, since it could provide convenient and unprecedented access to fabricate high-value-added three-dimensional oxindole skeletons, such as C-quaternary indolones, polycycloindolones and spiroindolones, and be widely applied to the total synthesis of these oxindole alkaloids. Therefore, this article provides a review of recent developments in oxidative dearomatization involving the C-H bonds of indoles. In this article, the features and mechanisms of different types of ODA reactions of indoles are summarized and represented, and asymmetric synthesis methods and their applications are illustrated with examples, and future development trends in this field are predicted at the end.

"Cation Pool" generated from DMSO and 1,2-dihaloethanes and their application in organic synthesis

Conventionally, carbenium and onium ions are prepared in the presence of nucleophiles due to their instability and transient nature. The nucleophiles that are unstable or inert to the reaction media cannot be used for reaction with the cationic species to access the desired compounds. To overcome these limitations, developing methods for generating organic cations irreversibly in the absence of nucleophiles is essential. The "cation pool" method developed by Yoshida and co-workers stands out as a reliable strategy to generate and accumulate the reactive cations in solution in the absence of nucleophiles. The cation pool method involves the electrolysis of the substrate in the absence of nucleophiles, usually at low temperature. Moreover, the generation of halogen and chalcogen cations through electrolysis needs extra care because of their low stability. This review covers our effort in generating and accumulating halogen cations as "cation pools", most importantly by simply heating a mixture of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) and 1,2-dihaloethane (DXE, X = Cl, Br, I), and their use in the halogenation reactions. Furthermore, condition-dependent Pummerer-type fragmentations of DMSO-stabilized halogen cations to methyl(methylene)sulfonium ions and chlorodimethylsulfonium ions for synthetic applications are described.

A switch strategy for the synthesis of C4-ethylamine indole and C7-aminoindoline via controllable carbon elimination

Controllable β-carbon elimination to extrude norbornene remains a long-standing challenge in palladium and norbornene chemistry. Herein, this manuscript describes a switchable synthesis of biologically active C4-ethylaminoindole and C7-aminoindoline scaffolds by controlling β-carbon elimination, utilizing aziridine as a C-H ethylamination reagent through a C-N bond cleavage reaction. Furthermore, the protecting groups of the product can be easily removed, offering an unusual method for the synthesis of dopamine receptor agonists.

Unusual Regio- and Chemoselectivity in Oxidation of Pyrroles and Indoles Enabled by a Thianthrenium Salt Intermediate

A dearomative oxidation of pyrroles to Δ3-pyrrol-2-ones is described, which employs a sulfoxide as oxidant, in conjunction with a carboxylic acid anhydride and a Brønsted acid additive. 3-substituted pyrroles undergo regioselective oxidation to give the product isomer in which oxygen has been introduced at the more hindered position. Regioselectivity is rationalized by a proposed mechanism that proceeds by initial thianthrenium introduction at the less-hindered pyrrole α-position, followed by distal attack of an oxygen nucleophile and subsequent elimination of thianthrene. The same reaction conditions are also able to effect a chemoselective oxidation of indoles to indolin-3-ones and additionally of indolin-3-ones to 2-hydroxyindolin-3-ones. Here again, the regio- and chemoselectivities are rationalized through the intermediacy of a thianthrenium salt.

Electrochemical oxidation of 3-substituted indoles

2-Oxindoles are an abundant heteroaromatic motif in natural products and pharmaceuticals. An appealing method for accessing 2-oxindoles is by oxidation of the corresponding indole, a transformation currently executed using stoichiometric quantities of unsafe chemical oxidants that can also form unwanted side-products. Herein, we report that 3-substituted indoles undergo a logistically straightforward, electrochemical oxidation to the corresponding 2-oxindole in the presence of potassium bromide (>20 examples), with only traces of the oxidative dimer detected. Cyclic voltammetry and control studies infer that the reaction proceeds by electrochemical generation of elemental bromine (Br₂) that upon reaction with indole, followed by hydrolysis, delivers the 2-oxindole. This procedure is an appealing alternative to existing methods used to access 2-oxindoles by oxidation of the parent indole.

3-Arylidene-2-oxindoles as Potent NRH:Quinone Oxidoreductase 2 Inhibitors

The enzyme NRH:quinone oxidoreductase 2 (NQO2) plays an important role in the pathogenesis of various diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders, malaria, glaucoma, COVID-19 and cancer. NQO2 expression is known to be increased in some cancer cell lines. Since 3-arylidene-2-oxindoles are widely used in the design of new anticancer drugs, such as kinase inhibitors, it was interesting to study whether such structures have additional activity towards NQO2. Herein, we report the synthesis and study of 3-arylidene-2-oxindoles as novel NRH:quinone oxidoreductase inhibitors. It was demonstrated that oxindoles with 6-membered aryls in the arylidene moiety were obtained predominantly as E-isomers while for some 5-membered aryls, the Z-isomers prevailed. The most active compounds inhibited NQO2 with an IC₅₀ of 0.368 µM. The presence of a double bond in the oxindoles was crucial for NQO2 inhibition activity. There was no correlation between NQO2 inhibition activity of the synthesized compounds and their cytotoxic effect on the A549 cell line.

Transition metal-free functionalization of 2-oxindoles via sequential aldol and reductive aldol reactions using rongalite as a C1 reagent

A sequential one-pot classical aldol, transition-metal and hydride-free reductive aldol reaction is reported here for C(sp3)- H functionalization of 2-oxindoles using the multifaceted reagent rongalite. Here, rongalite functions as a hydride-free reducing agent and double C1 unit donor. This protocol enables the synthesis of a wide range of 3-methylindoline-2-ones and 3-(hydroxymethyl)-3-methylindolin-2-ones from 2-oxindoles (65-95% yields), which are the synthetic precursors for many natural products. Some of the important aspects of this synthetic approach include one-pot methylation and hydroxymethylation, low-cost rongalite (ca. $0.03 per 1 g), mild reaction conditions and applicability to gram-scale synthesis.

Synthesis of 3-substituted 2-oxindoles from secondary α-bromo-propionanilides via palladium-catalyzed intramolecular cyclization

In contrast to aromatic halides, coupling reactions involving oxidative addition of alkyl halides, especially secondary or tertiary halides, to transition metals tend to be more challenging. Herein a palladium-catalyzed intramolecular cyclization of α-bromo-propionanilides has been developed, delivering a series of 3-substituted 2-oxindoles in high yields. The method features easy to prepare starting materials, broad substrate scope and excellent functional group tolerance. A detailed mechanistic investigation has been performed.

Directing Group Guided Site-Selective Diversification of Indoles by Aziridine: Synthesis of β-Indolylethylamines

A palladium catalyzed directing group assisted cross-coupling of aliphatic aziridines with indole, indoline, tetrahydroquinoline, and aniline has been developed to furnish the corresponding β-arylethylamine derivatives. The substrate scope was very general, and the protocol was also tolerated in the presence of various external additives. Control experiments suggested that the C-H cleavage step is the rate-determining step.

Following Nature's Footprint: Mimicking the High-Valent Heme-Oxo Mediated Indole Monooxygenation Reaction Landscape of Heme Enzymes

Pathways for direct conversion of indoles to oxindoles have accumulated considerable interest in recent years due to their significance in the clear comprehension of various pathogenic processes in humans and the multipotent therapeutic value of oxindole pharmacophores. Heme enzymes are predominantly responsible for this conversion in biology and are thought to proceed with a compound-I active oxidant. These heme-enzyme-mediated indole monooxygenation pathways are rapidly emerging therapeutic targets; however, a clear mechanistic understanding is still lacking. Additionally, such knowledge holds promise in the rational design of highly specific indole monooxygenation synthetic protocols that are also cost-effective and environmentally benign. We herein report the first examples of synthetic compound-I and activated compound-II species that can effectively monooxygenate a diverse array of indoles with varied electronic and steric properties to exclusively produce the corresponding 2-oxindole products in good to excellent yields. Rigorous kinetic, thermodynamic, and mechanistic interrogations clearly illustrate an initial rate-limiting epoxidation step that takes place between the heme oxidant and indole substrate, and the resulting indole epoxide intermediate undergoes rearrangement driven by a 2,3-hydride shift on indole ring to ultimately produce 2-oxindole. The complete elucidation of the indole monooxygenation mechanism of these synthetic heme models will help reveal crucial insights into analogous biological systems, directly reinforcing drug design attempts targeting those heme enzymes. Moreover, these bioinspired model compounds are promising candidates for the future development of better synthetic protocols for the selective, efficient, and sustainable generation of 2-oxindole motifs, which are already known for a plethora of pharmacological benefits.

Practical Synthesis of 2-Iodosobenzoic Acid (IBA) without Contamination by Hazardous 2-Iodoxybenzoic Acid (IBX) under Mild Conditions

We report a convenient and practical method for the preparation of nonexplosive cyclic hypervalent iodine(III) oxidants as efficient organocatalysts and reagents for various reactions using Oxone® in aqueous solution under mild conditions at room temperature. The thus obtained 2-iodosobenzoic acids (IBAs) could be used as precursors of other cyclic organoiodine(III) derivatives by the solvolytic derivatization of the hydroxy group under mild conditions of 80 °C or lower temperature. These sequential procedures are highly reliable to selectively afford cyclic hypervalent iodine compounds in excellent yields without contamination by hazardous pentavalent iodine(III) compound.

Palladium-Catalyzed [2 + 2 + 1] Annulation of Alkyne-Tethered Aryl Iodides with Diaziridinone: Synthesis of 3,4-Fused Tricyclic Indoles

A novel palladium-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 1] annulation of alkyne-tethered aryl iodides with diaziridinone was developed, leading to the formation of 3,4-fused tricyclic indoles. From a mechanistic standpoint, the formation of fused tricyclic indole scaffolds involved C,C-palladacycles, which were synthesized through the intramolecular reaction of aryl halides and alkynes. The cascade reaction described herein could be carried out with a broad range of substrates and provided various 3,4-fused tricyclic indoles with yields up to 98%.

Rh(iii)-catalyzed, hydrazine-directed C–H functionalization with 1-alkynylcyclobutanols: a new strategy for 1H-indazoles

Rh(iii)-catalyzed coupling of phenylhydrazines with 1-alkynylcyclobutanols was realized through a hydrazine-directed C–H functionalization and [4+1] annulation pathway.

Green oxidation of indoles using halide catalysis

Oxidation of indoles is a fundamental organic transformation to deliver a variety of synthetically and pharmaceutically valuable nitrogen-containing compounds. Prior methods require the use of either organic oxidants (meta-chloroperoxybenzoic acid, N-bromosuccinimide, t-BuOCl) or stoichiometric toxic transition metals [Pb(OAc)₄, OsO₄, CrO₃], which produced oxidant-derived by-products that are harmful to human health, pollute the environment and entail immediate purification. A general catalysis protocol using safer oxidants (H₂O₂, oxone, O₂) is highly desirable. Herein, we report a unified, efficient halide catalysis for three oxidation reactions of indoles using oxone as the terminal oxidant, namely oxidative rearrangement of tetrahydro-β-carbolines, indole oxidation to 2-oxindoles, and Witkop oxidation. This halide catalysis protocol represents a general, green oxidation method and is expected to be used widely due to several advantageous aspects including waste prevention, less hazardous chemical synthesis, and sustainable halide catalysis.

Indole oxidation represents a fundamental organic transformation delivering valuable nitrogen compounds. Here, the authors report a general halide catalysis protocol applied to three classes of oxidation reactions of indoles with oxone as a sustainable terminal oxidant.

Photoinduced oxidation of an indole derivative: 2-(1'H-indol-2'-yl)-[1,5]naphthyridine

The UV-induced oxidation of 2-(1'H-indol-2'-yl)-[1,5]naphthyridine acetonitrile solution in the presence of air leads to the formation of 2-(1,5-naphthyridin-2-yl)-4H-3,1-benzoxazin-4-one as a major product and N-(2-formylphenyl)-1,5-naphthyridine-2-carboxamide as a minor one. The probable reaction mechanisms are different for the two photoproducts and may involve both the reaction with singlet oxygen generated by the excited substrate or the reaction of the excited substrate with the ground state oxygen molecule. Electronic absorption and IR spectra indicate that both photoproducts are formed as mixtures of syn and anti-rotameric forms. The obtained results indicate an efficient and easy method for the synthesis of molecules with a benzoxazinone structure.

Controllable synthesis of 3-chloro- and 3,3-dichloro-2-oxindoles via hypervalent iodine-mediated chlorooxidation

An efficient and controllable protocol for the synthesis of 3-chloro- and 3,3-dichloro-2-oxindoles has been developed via hypervalent iodine-promoted chlorooxidation. By using two equivalents of 1-chloro-1,2-benziodoxol-3-(1H)-one, a wide range of indoles were transformed into 3-chloro-2-oxindoles in DMF/CF3CO2H/H2O at room temperature with good yields. As far as we know, this is the first report on the selective C-2 oxidation and C-3 monochlorination of simple indoles. In addition, three equivalents of the same hypervalent iodine afforded 3,3-dichloro-2-oxindoles in up to 99% yields under optimized conditions (dioxane/H2O, 80 °C). The method features mild reaction conditions, the widespread availability of the substrates, and good functional group tolerance.

Regioselective oxidation of indoles to 2-oxindoles

Facile regioselective oxidation of indoles to 2-oxindoles promoted by sulfuric acid adsorbed on silica gel is reported. The demonstrated practical site-selective heterogeneous oxidation reactions conveniently take place with a broad substrate scope and functional group tolerances. The present oxidation strategy is also employed to accomplish the total synthesis of natural products donaxaridine and donaxarine. On the basis of analytical and spectral data it is evidenced that donaxarine stays in equilibrium with its hydrated ring opened form. The structural features essential for this type of oxidation and plausible mechanism are discussed in brief.

Metal-free synthesis of 2,2-disubstituted indolin-3-ones

A straightforward method for the synthesis of indolin-3-ones bearing a C2-quaternary functionality is reported. This cross-coupling reaction allows the facile synthesis of a series of 2,2-disubstituted indolin-3-ones in the absence of a metal catalyst in up to 94% yields.

Ru(ii)-Catalyzed C6-selective C–H amidation of 2-pyridones

An efficient Ru-catalyzed C6 site-selective amidation of 2-pyridones has been accomplished with dioxazolone under mild conditions.