On Regioselectivity of Aldol Condensation of Aromatic Aldehydes with Borate Complex of Acetylacetone

High Yield Synthesis of Curcumin and Symmetric Curcuminoids: A "Click" and "Unclick" Chemistry Approach

The worldwide known and employed spice of Asian origin, turmeric, receives significant attention due to its numerous purported medicinal properties. Herein, we report an optimized synthesis of curcumin and symmetric curcuminoids of aromatic (bisdemethoxycurcumin) and heterocyclic type, with yields going from good to excellent using the cyclic difluoro-boronate derivative of acetylacetone prepared by reaction of 2,4-pentanedione with boron trifluoride in THF (ca. 95%). The subsequent cleavage of the BF₂ group is of significant importance for achieving a high overall yield in this two-step procedure. Such cleavage occurs by treatment with hydrated alumina (Al₂O₃) or silica (SiO₂) oxides, thus allowing the target heptanoids obtained in high yields as an amorphous powder to be filtered off directly from the reaction media. Furthermore, crystallization instead of chromatographic procedures provides a straightforward purification step. The ease and efficiency with which the present methodology can be applied to synthesizing the title compounds earns the terms "click" and "unclick" applied to describe particularly straightforward, efficient reactions. Furthermore, the methodology offers a simple, versatile, fast, and economical synthetic alternative for the obtention of curcumin (85% yield), bis-demethoxycurcumin (78% yield), and the symmetrical heterocyclic curcuminoids (80-92% yield), in pure form and excellent yields.

Rice straw ash extract/glycerol: an efficient sustainable approach for Knoevenagel condensation

WERSA/glycerol is described as a powerful combination for the green approach of the Knoevenagel reaction, without any additional catalyst, base or promoter.

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in Organic Synthesis: A Review of its Recent Applications Towards Fine Chemicals

Background:

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) is a biomass-derived platform chemical, which can be produced from carbohydrates. In the past decades, 5- HMF has received tremendous attention because of its wide applications in the production of various value-added chemicals, materials and biofuels. The manufacture and the catalytic conversion of 5-HMF to simple industrially-important bulk chemicals have been well reviewed. However, employing 5-HMF as a building block in organic synthesis has never been summarized exclusively, despite the rapid development in this area.

Objective:

The aim of this review is to bring a fresh perspective on the use of 5-HMF in organic synthesis, to the exclusion of already well documented conversion of 5-HMF towards relatively simple molecules such as 2,5-furandicarboxylic acid, 2,5-dimethylfuran and so on notably used as monomers or biofuels.

Conclusion:

As it has been shown throughout this review, 5-HMF has been the object of numerous studies on its use in fine chemical synthesis. Thanks to the presence of different functional groups on this platform chemical, it proved to be an excellent starting material for the preparation of various fine chemicals. The use of this C-6 synthon in novel synthetic routes is appealing, as it allows the incorporation of renewable carbonsources into the final targets.