There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.

Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

I and i

The biaryl structural motif is a predominant feature in many pharmaceutically relevant and biologically active compounds. As a result, for over a century 1 organic chemists have sought to develop new and more efficient aryl -aryl bond-forming methods. Although there exist a variety of routes for the construction of aryl -aryl bonds, arguably the most common method is through the use of transition-metalmediated reactions. 2-4 While earlier reports focused on the use of stoichiometric quantities of a transition metal to carry out the desired transformation, modern methods of transitionmetal-catalyzed aryl -aryl coupling have focused on the development of high-yielding reactions achieved with excellent selectivity and high functional group tolerance under mild reaction conditions. Typically, these reactions involve either the coupling of an aryl halide or pseudohalide with an organometallic reagent (Scheme 1), or the homocoupling of two aryl halides or two organometallic reagents. Although a number of improvements have developed the former process into an industrially very useful and attractive method for the construction of aryl -aryl bonds, the need still exists for more efficient routes whereby the same outcome is accomplished, but with reduced waste and in fewer steps. In particular, the obligation to use coupling partners that are both activated is wasteful since it necessitates the installation and then subsequent disposal of stoichiometric activating agents. Furthermore, preparation of preactivated aryl substrates often requires several steps, which in itself can be a time-consuming and economically inefficient process.

http://aether.cmi.ua.ac.be/artikels/Artikels%20Gitte/Artikels/Reviews/Heck-Type-lautens.pdf

Aryl-aryl bond formation by transition-metal-catalyzed direct arylation.

3.7. Palladium Nanoparticles as Catalysts 888 3.8. Other Transition-Metal Complexes 888 3.9. Transition-Metal-Free Reactions 889 4. Applications 889 4.1. Alkynylation of Arenes 889 4.2. Alkynylation of Heterocycles 891 4.3. Synthesis of Enynes and Enediynes 894 4.4. Synthesis of Ynones 896 4.5. Synthesis of Carbocyclic Systems 897 4.6. Synthesis of Heterocyclic Systems 898 4.7. Synthesis of Natural Products 903 4.8. Synthesis of Electronic and Electrooptical Molecules 906

https://www.chem.ccu.edu.tw/~joyce/referance/ericyang/Chem.%20Rev/Chem.%20Rev.%202007,%20107,%20874-922.pdf

The Sonogashira Reaction: A Booming Methodology in Synthetic Organic Chemistry†

The area of transition-metal-catalyzed direct arylation through cleavage of CH bonds has undergone rapid development in recent years, and is becoming an increasingly viable alternative to traditional cross-coupling reactions with organometallic reagents In particular, palladium and ruthenium catalysts have been described that enable the direct arylation of (hetero)arenes with challenging coupling partners—including electrophilic aryl chlorides and tosylates as well as simple arenes in cross-dehydrogenative arylations Furthermore, less expensive copper, iron, and nickel complexes were recently shown to be effective for economically attractive direct arylations

Transition-metal-catalyzed direct arylation of (hetero)arenes by C-H bond cleavage.

Recent applications of the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction in organic synthesis

http://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/7838/3/manuscript.pdf

Thienylpyrrole azo dyes : Synthesis, solvatochromic and electrochemical properties

DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs) are important enzymes involved in epigenetic control of gene expression and represent valuable targets in cancer chemotherapy. A number of nucleoside DNMT inhibitors (DNMTi) have been studied in cancer, including in cancer stem cells, and two of them (azacytidine and decitabine) have been approved for treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes. However, only a few non-nucleoside DNMTi have been identified so far, and even fewer have been validated in cancer. Through a process of hit-to-lead optimization, we report here the discovery of compound 5 as a potent non-nucleoside DNMTi that is also selective toward other AdoMet-dependent protein methyltransferases. Compound 5 was potent at single-digit micromolar concentrations against a panel of cancer cells and was less toxic in peripheral blood mononuclear cells than two other compounds tested. In mouse medulloblastoma stem cells, 5 inhibited cell growth, whereas related compound 2 showed high cell differentiation. To the best of our knowledge, 2 and 5 are the first non-nucleoside DNMTi tested in a cancer stem cell line.

Selective non-nucleoside inhibitors of human DNA methyltransferases active in cancer including in cancer stem cells.

https://repositorium.sdum.uminho.pt/bitstream/1822/2019/3/tetrahedron-2004.pdf

Synthesis of donor–acceptor substituted oligothiophenes by Stille coupling

Synthesis of Five- and Six-Membered Heterocycles Through Palladium- Catalyzed Reactions

In this review, we will present the different aspects of coumarins and derivatives, from natural origins or synthetically prepared, and their action on inflammation. Coumarins and also furo- and pyranocoumarins are found in many different plants. These compounds are very often investigated for antioxidant properties. Other biological properties are also possible and anti-inflammation activity is one of these. As coumarins are also available quite easily via synthesis, natural ones can be prepared this way but derivatives with special substituents are also feasible. A review on the same topic appeared in 2004 and our contribution will take into account everything published since then.

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/21/10/1322/pdf

Gilbert Kirsch

Papers

Thienylpyrrole azo dyes : Synthesis, solvatochromic and electrochemical properties

Selective non-nucleoside inhibitors of human DNA methyltransferases active in cancer including in cancer stem cells.

Synthesis of donor–acceptor substituted oligothiophenes by Stille coupling

Synthesis of Five- and Six-Membered Heterocycles Through Palladium- Catalyzed Reactions

Natural and Synthetic Coumarins with Effects on Inflammation.