A general anti-Baldwin radical 4-exo-dig cyclization from nitrogen-substituted alkynes is reported. Upon reaction with a heteroleptic copper complex in the presence of an amine and under visible light irradiation, a range of ynamides were shown to smoothly cyclize to the corresponding azetidines, useful building blocks in natural product synthesis and medicinal chemistry, with full control of the regioselectivity of the cyclization resulting from a unique and underrated radical 4-exo-dig pathway.

A synthesis of neomarchantin A has been achieved wherein key bond constructions involving C-O or C-C bond formations were augmented via continuous flow techniques. Of note, the synthesis of neomarchantin A represents the first demonstration of catalytic macrocyclic olefin metathesis as a key step for the synthesis of a macrocyclic bisbibenzyl natural product.

A straightforward and divergent entry to α-fluorinated carbonyl and carboxyl derivatives is reported. Upon activation of amides with triflic anhydride and a 2-halo-pyridine and subsequent trapping of the resulting keteniminium ions with nucleophiles followed by a second electrophilic activation with NFSI and final hydrolysis, a range of amides can be transformed to α-fluorinated ketones, esters, and amides under mild conditions. Moreover, this reaction can be performed to yield enantioenriched products with a traceless chiral auxiliary.

Estetrol is a natural biogenic estrogen with a promising forecast in hormonal-dependent treatments and growing established markets for oral contraception. Approved in 2021 by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and...