Transition-Metal-Free One-Pot Synthesis of Naphthoquinonefuran Derivatives Through Sequential Nucleophilic Substitution-Nucleophilic Addition Reaction

A review on synthesis of furonaphthoquinones through lawsone derivatives annulation reactions and their biological properties

Furonaphthoquinones and their dihydro derivatives have attracted significant attention due to their diverse pharmacological activities. These compounds can be derived from natural sources, including various plants, or synthesized through chemical methods, resulting in a wide variety of structures with distinct biological properties. As a result, numerous methods have been developed over the past decades for the preparation of these compounds, particularly utilizing 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives as key precursors. Considering these concepts, this review aims to offer a comprehensive overview of the chemical synthesis of linear and angular furonaphthoquinones, along with their dihydro derivatives derived from 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinones annulation reactions, and to explore their diverse biological activities.

An Efficient Synthesis of Naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-diones via Visible-Light-Mediated [3+2] Cycloaddition Reaction

Naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-dione is an important privileged structural motif which is present in natural products, drugs, and drug candidates. Herein, visible-light-mediated [3+2] cycloaddition reaction for the synthesis of naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-diones and dihydronaphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-diones has been developed. Under environmentally friendly conditions, a variety of title compounds were delivered in good yields. This new protocol shows excellent regioselectivity and remarkable functional group tolerance. This approach provides a powerful, green, efficient, and facile means to expand the structural diversity of naphtho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-diones and dihydronaph-tho[2,3-b]furan-4,9-diones as promising scaffolds for novel drug discovery.

The Relevance and Insights on 1,4-Naphthoquinones as Antimicrobial and Antitumoral Molecules: A Systematic Review

Natural product derivatives are essential in searching for compounds with important chemical, biological, and medical applications. Naphthoquinones are secondary metabolites found in plants and are used in traditional medicine to treat diverse human diseases. Considering this, the synthesis of naphthoquinone derivatives has been explored to contain compounds with potential biological activity. It has been reported that the chemical modification of naphthoquinones improves their pharmacological properties by introducing amines, amino acids, furan, pyran, pyrazole, triazole, indole, among other chemical groups. In this systematic review, we summarized the preparation of nitrogen naphthoquinones derivatives and discussed their biological effect associated with redox properties and other mechanisms. Preclinical evaluation of antibacterial and/or antitumoral naphthoquinones derivatives is included because cancer is a worldwide health problem, and there is a lack of effective drugs against multidrug-resistant bacteria. The information presented herein indicates that naphthoquinone derivatives could be considered for further studies to provide drugs efficient in treating cancer and multidrug-resistant bacteria.

Revisiting applications of molecular iodine in organic synthesis

Molecular iodine contributes significantly to organic transformations in synthetic organic chemistry. It works effectively due to its mild Lewis acidic character, ability as an oxidizing agent, good moisture stability, and easy availability.