Cu(OAc)2 catalysed aerobic oxidation of aldehydes to nitriles under ligand-free conditions

Green one-pot synthesis of quinoxaline derivatives using sulfo-anthranilic acid functionalized alginate-MCFe2O4 nanostructures: a novel superparamagnetic catalyst with antiproliferative potential

This study reports a green, multi-component synthesis of 2-aminoimidazole-linked quinoxaline Schiff bases using a novel superparamagnetic acid catalyst. The catalyst consists of sulfo-anthranilic acid (SAA) immobilized on MnCoFe2O4@alginate magnetic nanorods (MNRs), achieving high SAA loading (1.8 mmol g-1) and product yields (91-97%). Characterization of the MCFe2O4@Alginate@SAA MNR catalyst revealed an inverse spinel structure (XRD), a saturation magnetization of 31 emu g-1 (VSM), 17.5% organic content (TGA), and a rod-like morphology with diameters of 30-60 nm and lengths of 150-250 nm (SEM). Elemental composition confirmed by EDX analysis indicated successful SAA immobilization and high catalyst purity. The synthesized quinoxaline derivatives were evaluated for antiproliferative activity against SKOV3 and HCT-116 cancer cell lines using the MTT assay. Several compounds, notably 4a, 4s, 4t, 4w, and 4x, exhibited potent activity, inhibiting HCT-116 proliferation by >50% at 50 μg mL-1. Compound 4a demonstrated the most significant inhibition, with 82.3% against SKOV3 cells after 48 h and 69.0% against HCT-116 cells after 24 h, both at 50 μg mL-1. These results suggest the potential of 2-aminoimidazole-linked quinoxaline Schiff bases, particularly 4a, as promising multi-target chemotherapy agents.

Stereoselective synthesis of vinyl nitriles through a Ramberg-Bäcklund approach

The applicability of vinyl nitriles in the preparation of pharmaceuticals, polymers, and other valuable materials benefits from robust preparative methodologies. In this work, we present a novel approach for the synthesis of vinyl nitriles based on the Ramberg-Bäcklund olefination reaction (RBR). While there are few examples for accessing functionalized olefins using the RBR, we believe that this methodology embodies useful means for installing privileged vinylnitrile building blocks, such as the acrylonitrile fragment of the US FDA-approved antiviral rilpivirine.

Palladium-Catalyzed Direct Decarbonylative Cyanation of Aryl Carboxylic Acids

The direct transformation of aryl carboxylic acids to aryl nitrile compounds is an interesting topic because carboxylic acids are not only abundant in nature but are also inexpensive and stable. Here, the synthesis of a series of aryl nitriles by palladium-catalyzed decarbonylative cyanation of carboxylic acids without base has been achieved. The successful decarbonylative cyanation of drug molecules and Gram-scale reaction to verify the practicality and operability of this method are analyzed.