Polyfunctional building blocks are essential for the implementation of diversity-oriented synthetic strategies, highly demanded in small molecule libraries’ design for modern drug discovery. Acyl(imidoyl)ketenes are highly reactive organic compounds, bearing both oxa- and aza-diene moieties, conjugated symmetrically to the ketene fragment, enabling synthesis of various skeletally diverse heterocycles on their basis. The highlights of reactions utilizing acyl(imidoyl)ketenes are high yields, short reaction time (about several minutes), high selectivity, atom economy, and simple purification procedures, which benefits the drug discovery. The present review focuses on the approaches to thermal generation of acyl(imidoyl)ketenes, patterns of their immediate transformations via intra- and intermolecular reactions, including the reactions of cyclodimerization, in which either symmetric or dissymmetric heterocycles can be formed. Recent advances in investigations on mechanisms, identifications of intermediates, and chemo- and regioselectivity of reactions with participation of acyl(imidoyl)ketenes are also covered.

The development of synthetic protocols to small molecules with a complex 3D shape is a relevant problem for modern chemists because such molecules are required by drug discovery. The Diels-Alder reaction is a good synthetic approach to complex three-dimensional structures. In the present paper, a reaction of aroylpyrrolobenzothiazinetriones (oxa-dienes) with electron-rich dienophiles is investigated in order to reach novel alkaloid-like pyrano [4,3-b]pyrroles fused to a 1,4-benzothiazine-2-one moiety. The studied reaction was found to proceed highly regioselectively. Its stereoselectivity was dramatically dependent on the reaction solvent. The experimental results are supplemented with computational studies, which demonstrate that the studied reaction proceeds via a one-step polar mechanism. In addition, an improved synthesis of alkaloid-like pentacyclic 6/6/5/6/5-and 6/6/5/6/6angularly fused pyrano [4,3-b]pyrroles via an acid-catalyzed intramolecular cyclization of Michael adducts to hetero-Diels-Alder cycloadducts was discovered. The synthesized alkaloidlike heterocycles represent an interest to pharmaceutics, since their close analogs show significant antiviral activity.

Pyrrolo[2,1-b][1,3]benzothiazoles are an important class of fused sulfur and nitrogen-containing heterocycles intensively studied in medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. In the present paper, a new synthetic approach to pyrrolobenzothiazoles is developed based on 1,4-thiazine ring contraction in 3-aroylpyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzothiazine-1,2,4-triones under the action of nucleophiles. The proposed approach works well with alkanols, benzylamine, and arylamines. The scope and limitations of the developed approach are studied. The synthesized pyrrolobenzothiazole derivatives represent an interest to pharmaceutics, since their close analogs show CENP-E inhibitory activity, interesting for the targeted cancer therapy development.

Acyl(imidoyl)ketenes are highly reactive heterocumulenes that enable diversity-oriented synthesis of various drug-like heterocycles. Such ketenes, bearing heterocyclic substituents, afford angularly fused pyridin-2(1H)-ones in their [4+2]-cyclodimerization reactions. We have utilized this property for the development of a new synthetic approach to pharmaceutically interesting pyrido[2,1-b][1,3]benzothiazol-1-ones via the [4+2]-cyclodimerization of acyl(1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl)ketenes generated in situ. The thermal behaviors of 3-aroylpyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzothiazine-1,2,4-triones and 3-benzoylpyrrolo[2,1-b][1,3]benzothiazole-1,2-dione (two new types of [e]-fused 1H-pyrrole-2,3-diones reported by us recently) have been studied by thermal analysis and HPLC to elucidate their capability to be a source of acyl(1,3-benzothiazol-2-yl)ketenes. As a result, we have found that only 3-aroylpyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzothiazine-1,2,4-triones are suitable for this. The experimental results are supplemented with computational studies that demonstrate that thermolysis of 3-aroylpyrrolo[2,1-c][1,4]benzothiazine-1,2,4-triones proceeds through an unprecedented cascade of two thermal decarbonylations. Based on these studies, we discovered a novel mode of thermal transformation of [e]-fused 1H-pyrrole-2,3-diones and developed a new pot, atom, and step economic synthetic approach to pyrido[2,1-b][1,3]benzothiazol-1-ones. The synthesized drug-like pyrido[2,1-b][1,3]benzothiazol-1-ones are of interest to pharmaceutics, since their close analogs show significant antiviral activity.

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