Heterogeneous palladium nanoparticle catalysts that are supported on amphiphilic carbon spheres (Pd@CSP) have been utilized for water-mediated Heck coupling reactions of aryl halides with different alkenes under phosphine free as well as aerobic conditions. Furthermore, a variety of Heck coupling reactions using different bases and solvents, including organic polar and non-polar solvents, have been explored. Aryl bromides are also well activated in Heck coupling reactions in organic polar solvent and as well as in water. In addition, Ullmann coupling reactions of aryl iodides have been catalyzed in water with the aid of phase transfer catalysts (PTC) in moderate yields. A plausible mechanism for the catalytic activity of Pd@CSP in the case of the Ullmann reaction is also established. It has been demonstrated that the hydrophobic effects of the catalyst surface play an important role in catalyst activity in water. In addition, the E-factor analysis verified that our present protocol is significantly comparable with other catalytic systems and explains the improved greenness. Moreover, the catalyst described in this process is not only greener, but also retains its significant activity for up to four catalytic cycles for the Heck coupling reactions. The surface polarity of the amphiphilic carbon spheres results in higher activity under these conditions. † Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available. See

Octahydroindolo[2,3-a]quinolizine ring system forms the basic framework comprised of more than 2000 distinct family members of natural products. Despite the potential applications of this privileged substructure in drug discovery, efficient, atom-economic and modular strategies for its assembly, is underdeveloped. Here we show a one-step build/couple/pair strategy that uniquely allows access to diverse octahydroindolo[2,3-a]quinolizine scaffolds with more than three contiguous chiral centers and broad distribution of molecular shapes via desymmetrization of the oxidative-dearomatization products of phenols. The cascade demonstrates excellent diastereoselectivity, and the enantioselectivity exceeded 99% when amino acids are used as chiral reagents. Furthermore, two diastereoselective reactions for the synthesis of oxocanes and piperazinones, is reported. Phenotypic screening of the octahydroindolo[2,3-a]quinolizine library identifies small molecule probes that selectively suppress mitochondrial membrane potential, ATP contents and elevate the ROS contents in hepatoma cells (Hepa1–6) without altering the immunological activation or reprogramming of T- and B-cells, a promising approach to cancer therapy.

A series of β-carboline-benzimidazole conjugates bearing a substituted benzimidazole and an aryl ring at C3 and C1 respectively were designed and synthesized. The key step of their preparation was determined to involve condensation of substituted o-phenylenediamines with 1-(substituted phenyl)-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indole-3-carbaldehyde using La(NO3)3·6H2O as a catalyst and their cytotoxic potential was evaluated. Conjugates 5a, 5d, 5h and 5r showed enhanced cytotoxic activity (GI50 values range from 0.3 to 7.1 μM in most of the human cancer cell lines) in comparison to some of the previously reported β-carboline derivatives. To substantiate the cytotoxic activity and to understand the nature of interaction of these conjugates with DNA, spectroscopy, DNA photocleavage and DNA topoisomerase I inhibition (topo-I) studies were performed. These conjugates (5a, 5d and 5r) effectively cleave pBR322 plasmid DNA in the presence of UV light. In addition, the effect of these conjugates on DNA Topo I inhibition was studied. The mode of binding of these new conjugates with DNA was also examined by using both biophysical as well as molecular docking studies, which supported their multiple modes of interaction with DNA. Moreover, an in silico study of these β-carboline-benzimidazole conjugates reveals that they possess drug-like properties.

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Copper oxide nanoparticles that are supported on graphene oxide as a catalytic system have been utilized for ligand‐free and solvent‐free CS cross‐coupling reactions with weak bases such as triethylamine. Symmetrical/unsymmetrical aryl sulfides have been synthesized by the coupling of different aryl halides with aromatic as well as aliphatic sulfides. Surprisingly, aryl chlorides also well reacted with different types of sulfides in the presence of dimethyl sulfoxide and cesium carbonate. Besides, this catalytic system is suitable for the synthesis of phenothiazines via cascade CS and CN cross‐coupling of ortho‐dihalides and ortho‐aminobenzothiazoles. In addition, this alternative approach is extremely useful for the synthesis of a variety of symmetrical diaryl sulfides by using thiourea as a sulfur source that is devoid of the foul smell of thiols. Indeed, the calculated E‐factor value of our present protocol is 2.52. Furthermore, this protocol is particularly attractive as an environmentally benign and practical method for the synthesis of different aryl sulfides. Moreover, the heterogeneous catalytic system described in this process represents not only a greener approach but retains its significant activity for up to six catalytic cycles.magnified image

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The indolo­[2,3-a]­quinolizines, canthines, and arborescidines natural products exhibit a wide range of bioactivities including anticancer, antiviral, antibacterial, and anti-inflammatory, among others. Therefore, the development of modular and efficient strategies to access the core scaffolds of these classes of natural products is a remarkable achievement. The Complexity-to-Diversity (CtD) strategy has become a powerful tool that transforms natural products into skeletal and stereochemical diversity. However, many of the reactions that could be utilized in this process are limited by the type of functional groups present in the starting material, which restrict transformations into a variety of products to achieve the desired diversity. In the course of employing a (CtD) strategy en route to the synthesis of nature-inspired compounds, unexpected stereoelectronic-driven rearrangement reactions have been discovered. These reactions provided a rapid access to indolo­[2,3-a]­quinolizines-, canthines-, and arborescidines-inspired alkaloids in a modular and diastereoselective manner. The disclosed strategies will be widely applicable to other late-stage natural product transformation programs and drug discovery initiatives.

Employing a build/couple/pair strategy, a serendipitous one-pot protocol for the diastereoselective construction of diverse collections of chromenopyrroles is described. This methodology features an unprecedented five-step cascade including azomethine ylide generation followed by in situ intramolecular [3 + 2]-cycloaddition. Furthermore, this protocol was extended to access enantiopure chromenopyrroles using amino acids as chiral auxiliary. Moreover, postpairing reactions were employed to increase the diversity and complexity of our pilot compound collections.