An efficient catalytic system has been developed for the synthesis of benzocyclobutenes by C-H activation of methyl groups. The optimal conditions employed a combination of Pd(OAc) 2 and P ( t )Bu 3 as catalyst, K 2CO 3 as the base, and DMF as solvent. A variety of substituted BCB were obtained under these conditions with yields in the 44-92% range, including molecules that are hardly accessible by other methods. The reaction was found limited to substrates bearing a quaternary benzylic carbon, but benzocyclobutenes bearing a tertiary benzylic carbon could be obtained indirectly from diesters by decarboxylation. Reaction substrates bearing a small substituent para to bromine gave an unexpected regioisomer that likely arose from a 1,4-palladium migration process. The formation of this "abnormal" regioisomer could be suppressed by introducing a larger subsituent para to bromine. DFT(B3PW91) calculations on the reaction of 2-bromo-tert-butylbenzene with Pd(P ( t )Bu 3) with different bases (acetate, bicarbonate, carbonate) showed the critical influence of the coordination mode of the base to induce both an easy C-H activation and to allow for a pathway for 1,4-palladium migration. Carbonate is shown to be more efficient than the two other bases because it can abstract the proton easily and at the same time maintain kappa (1)-coordination without extensive electronic reorganization.

The concept of chelation-assisted copper catalysis was employed for the development of new azides that display unprecedented reactivity in the copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne [3+2] cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction. Azides that bear strong copper-chelating moieties were synthesized; these functional groups allow the formation of azide copper complexes that react almost instantaneously with alkynes under diluted conditions. Efficient ligation occurred at low concentration and in complex media with only one equivalent of copper, which improves the biocompatibility of the CuAAC reaction. Furthermore, such a click reaction allowed the localization of a bioactive compound inside living cells by fluorescence measurements.

The discovery of new chemical reactions is a long-standing goal of organic chemists. For decades, synthetic problems motivated the development of new methodologies to continuously expand the reaction toolkit in organic synthesis. As alternatives to purely rational approaches, strategies that offer more room for serendipity have recently emerged. In these approaches, the discovery is a result of the systematic exploration of a large number of chemical reactions through the use of robust high-throughput screening methods based either on mass spectrometry techniques [1] or on DNA technologies. [2] Although this strategy was already proven to be efficient with the discovery of several new interesting reactions, [3] this does not guarantee the potential impact of the discovered reactions. A more powerful approach would be the increase of the level of selection in a manner that only powerful reliable reactions are discovered. Such a highly demanding selection should therefore be based not only on reaction efficiencies, but also on other parameters that would ensure the usefulness of the discovered reaction. In 2001, K. B. Sharpless introduced the concept of "click chemistry", which has been widely and successfully applied since then, and listed a series of important criteria that may influence the extent and the impact of a chemical reaction. [4] Among them, chemoselectivity, simplicity of reaction conditions, and high efficiency, even in complex media, are probably the most important ones. This can be highlighted by the startling number of applications in organic synthesis, materials science, and biotechnology of the copper-catalyzed alkyne-azide cycloaddition reaction (CuAAC), which is one of the most powerful click reactions described to date. [5] Herein, we disclose an approach to accelerate the discovery of such important chemical reactions through the use of an immunoassay technique. As we previously described, [6] sandwich immunoassays can be successfully applied to monitor cross-coupling reactions by connecting small-molecule tags to chemically reactive groups. Products of bond-forming coupling reactions can then be specifically detected by two specific antitag monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) using standard ELISA techniques: one mAb captures the doubletagged coupling product on a solid phase and a second acts as a detector. We recently showed that the throughput of this adapted immunoassay (typically around 1000 analyses per day and person) allows the fast identification of new reactions among thousands of combinations of reactive functions and catalysts. [7] One crucial advantage of this screening method relies on the high specificity of mAbs, permitting the precise and sensitive quantification of the double-tagged crosscoupling products in complex mixtures without work-up. Here, we decided to fully exploit this advantage by designing a series of successive screening in order to identify new, efficient, chemoselective, and biocompatible [3+2] cycloaddition reactions. Our approach (Figure 1) involves three mai...

This work describes the preparation and characterization of a library of alginate-supported palladium nanoparticles together with their catalytic capabilities to promote the Suzuki–Miyaura reaction. Using the chelating properties of the carboxylate functions of the alginate matrix a series of Ca, Ba, Mn, Zn, Ni, Ce, Cu, and Co alginate gels were first prepared and then reacted with Pd2+ salts. Partial exchange of metal cations followed by Pd reduction into palladium nanoparticles and supercritical CO2 drying generated a panel of bimetallic alginate aerogels. Physical characterizations of these materials showed a significant influence of both the gelling metal nature and the Pd loading on surface areas and nanoparticles size. A comparative study of the catalytic performances of these heterogeneous catalytic systems is then reported for the Suzuki–Miyaura reaction. This study highlighted the superior performances of palladium nanoparticles supported on copper-alginate aerogels. This heterogeneous catalyst showed high catalytic activities as illustrated by a TOF value of 10 s–1 and a TON value close to 106. The robustness of the catalyst allowed several reuses with no significant loss of activity or metal leaching.

Iridium dimer complexes were found to catalyze the [3 + 2] cycloaddition reaction of azides with bromoalkynes, yielding 1,5-disubstituted 4-bromo-1,2,3-triazoles in reasonable to excellent yields under mild conditions. The reaction offers a direct route to new 1,4,5-trisubstituted triazoles.

No abstract

Eine Immunassay‐basierte Methode dient zum Screening zahlreicher Kombinationen von Dipolen und Dipolarophilen bezüglich ihrer Fähigkeit, chemoselektive und biokompatible [3+2]‐Cycloadditionen einzugehen. Dieser Ansatz erfüllt die meisten Bedingungen des Klick‐Konzepts und führte zur Entdeckung einer Kupfer‐katalysierten Reaktion, die Pyrazole aus Sydnonen und Alkinreagentien aufbaut.

An efficient synthesis of polycyclic molecules has been performed by a sequence involving palladium-catalyzed C-H activation and [4 + 2] cycloaddition. The intermediate benzocyclobutenes underwent a microwave-enhanced electrocyclic ring-opening/cycloaddition process with complete torquoselectivity and diastereoselectivity.