1,2,3-triazoles represent a functional heterocyclic core that has been at the center of modern organic chemistry since the beginning of click chemistry. Being a versatile framework, such an aromatic ring can be observed in uncountable molecules useful in medicine and photochemistry, just to name a few. This review summarizes the progress achieved in their synthesis from 2015 to today, with particular emphasis on the development of new catalytic and eco-compatible approaches. In doing so, we subdivided the report based on their degree of functionalization and, for each subparagraph, we outlined the role of the catalyst employed.

The use of eco-compatible synthetic procedures in organic reactions and, in particular, in 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions, has recently received a great deal of attention and considerable progress has been achieved in this area in the last years. This review summarizes the approaches currently employed to synthesize heterocyclic compounds by catalyzed 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions in green solvents in the last six years. Our choice to do a selection of the literature from 2014 to 2019 was made considering the absence of a recent review about this period, to our knowledge. Several examples to construct heterocycles by 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions will be discussed in this work subdivided in function of the most important class of non-conventional and green solvents, i.e., ionic liquids (ILs), deep eutectic solvents (DES), and water.

Innovative and efficient conversion of cellulose in furan-based bio-oil and cellulose citrate.

A novel series of bio-based polyurethane composite foams was prepared, employing a cellulose-derived polyol for chain extension and cellulose-citrate as a thickener additive. The utilized polyol was obtained from the reduction reaction of cellulose-derived bio-oil through the use of sodium borohydride and iodine. Primarily, we produced both rigid and flexible polyurethane foams through chain extension of the prepolymers. Secondly, we investigated the role of cellulose citrate as a polyurethane additive to improve the mechanical properties of the realized composite materials. The products were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy and their morphologies were analysed by SEM. Mechanical tests were evaluated to open new perspectives towards different applications.

The synthesis, characterization, and evaluation of a new highly efficient organocatalyst, namely, (5S)‐2,2,3‐trimethyl‐5‐thiobenzylmethyl‐4‐imidazolidinone hydrochloride, has been achieved. The catalyst possesses important structural features that should increase the catalytic efficiency and solubility in polar media. The application of the ionic‐liquid‐supported imidazolidinone catalyst in enantioselective Diels–Alder reactions was investigated. The Diels–Alder reactions of several dienes and dienophiles proceeded efficiently in the presence of the catalyst to provide the desired products in moderate to good yields and from good to excellent enantioselectivities. The conformation study confirms that in the transition state the Re face is shielded completely by the phenyl ring and an approach on the less hindered Si face is preferred. Particularly remarkable is the fact that the entire ionic liquid/HCl 0.01 M/catalyst system can be recovered and reused in up to six runs without an appreciable loss of catalytic activity.

Here, we present a highly efficient approach to nucleobase-containing spiro-isoxazolidines with potential biological activity starting from isatinyl/indanyl nitrones.

The mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP), a high‐conductance channel triggered by a sudden Ca2+ concentration increase, is composed of the F1FO‐ATPase. Since mPTP opening leads to mitochondrial dysfunction, which is a feature of many diseases, a great pharmacological challenge is to find mPTP modulators. In our study, the effects of two 1,5‐disubstituted 1,2,3‐triazole derivatives, five‐membered heterocycles with three nitrogen atoms in the ring and capable of forming secondary interactions with proteins, were investigated. Compounds 3a and 3b were selected among a wide range of structurally related compounds because of their chemical properties and effectiveness in preliminary studies. In swine heart mitochondria, both compounds inhibit Ca2+‐activated F1FO‐ATPase without affecting F‐ATPase activity sustained by the natural cofactor Mg2+. The inhibition is mutually exclusive, probably because of their shared enzyme site, and uncompetitive with respect to the ATP substrate, since they only bind to the enzyme–ATP complex. Both compounds show the same inhibition constant (Kʹi), but compound 3a has a doubled inactivation rate constant compared with compound 3b. Moreover, both compounds desensitize mPTP opening without altering mitochondrial respiration. The results strengthen the link between Ca2+‐activated F1FO‐ATPase and mPTP and suggest that these inhibitors can be pharmacologically exploited to counteract mPTP‐related diseases.

The chemical synthesis of farnesyl and geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate synthase inhibitors are surveyed.