Ring by ring: (±)‐Agelastatin A has been synthesized through the use of domino and one‐pot reactions while minimizing protecting group usage. The core was accessed through a stereoselective domino condensation/ring‐opening/4π‐conrotatory electrocyclization and elaborated using newly developed protocols for urea and amide formation. Oxidation of an unprotected pre‐agelastatin A and an intramolecular aza‐Michael reaction completed the synthesis in only six steps.

A high-yielding synthesis of N-methyl carbamoylimidazole from 1,1-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) and MeNH(3)Cl is described. The product is a crystalline, readily storable, water-stable compound that reacts as a methyl isocyanate (MIC) substitute. Reaction of N-methyl carbamoylimidazole in the presence of a base such as triethylamine occurs with nucleophiles such as amines, protected and unprotected amino acids, thiols and alcohols. The product N-methylureas, carbamates and thiocarbamates are obtained in good to excellent yields, with reactions occurring in either organic solvents or water. The protocol for the synthesis of N-methyl carbamoylimidazole is both scalable and general, occurring in quantitative yield at scales ranging from 300 mg to 20 g. The success of this method relies upon the reaction of CDI with the ammonium salt rather than the free amine, resulting in a significant improvement in the yield of N-methyl carbamoylimidazole. The reaction presumably involves a proton transfer from MeNH(3)Cl to the CDI, which results in the release of MeNH(2) with simultaneous activation of the CDI as its protonated form. Other primary ammonium hydrochloride salts, including protected α-amino acid salts, give excellent yields of the corresponding N-alkyl carbamoylimidazoles and serve as alkyl isocyanate surrogates. The resultant N-alkyl carbamoylimidazoles can be converted to ureas in high yields without the formation of intermediary isocyanates.

The radical addition of thiols to alkenes is reported under photoredox conditions, using visible light and TiO2 as a cheap and readily available photocatalyst.

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A general method for the synthesis of amides involving the direct coupling of alkali metal carboxylate salts with amines is described. Amidation of a wide variety of carboxylate salts with either free amines or their ammonium hydrochloride salts can be achieved using HBTU as a coupling agent in combination with Hünig's base. The reaction is highly efficient and is generally complete in as little as 1-2 h, giving the products in good to excellent yields. The protocol is valuable for the coupling of carboxylates for which the corresponding carboxylic acids or acyl chlorides are unstable, less conveniently manipulated/isolated, or are not commercially available. For example, the coupling of amines and α-amino acids with lithium 5-bromo-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylate, whose corresponding acid that is prone to decarboxylation, allowed for the synthesis of 5-bromo-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamides, which are analogues of the pyrrole-2-aminoimidazole marine alkaloids. The protocol can be combined with other reactions in a sequenced fashion, as exemplified by the synthesis of acetylenic amides, in a one-pot procedure, via the coupling of a lithium carboxylate salt formed initially by the addition of carbon dioxide to a lithiated terminal alkyne.