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A practical, one-pot approach to 3-anilino-4-(het)arylmaleimides by simple heating of aqueous DMSO solution of 2'-nitrochalcones with potassium cyanide in the presence of formic acid has been developed. This new reaction provides effective access to a variety of β-substituted α-aminomaleimides which have recently become a subject of growing interest as small, easily modified and environmentally responsive fluorescent probes.

Indolizines and pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyridines were prepared via [3 + 2]-cycloaddition of pyridinium ylides to 1-chloro-2-nitrostyrenes. The synthesized molecules were evaluated for antiproliferative activities against a BE(2)-C neuroblastoma cell line with several compounds decreasing the viability of cancer cells. Indolizine 9db showed higher potency than that of all-trans-retinoic acid, an approved cancer drug. Mechanistically, it was found to inhibit tubulin polymerization and it is thus proposed that the discovered chemistry can be exploited for the development of novel microtubule-targeting anticancer agents.

We discovered a reaction of nitroalkanes with 2-hydrazinylquinolines, 2-hydrazinylpyridines and bis-2,4-dihydrazinylpyrimidines in polyphosphoric acid (PPA) affording 1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]quinolines, 1,2,4-triazolo[4,3-a]pyridines and bis[1,2,4]triazolo[4,3-a:4',3'-c]pyrimidines, respectively. The reaction expands the scope of heterocyclic annulations involving phosphorylated nitronates, believed to be the electrophilic intermediates formed from nitroalkanes in PPA. Several of the synthesized triazoles showed promising anticancer activity by inducing differentiation in neuroblastoma cancer cells. Due to the urgent need for novel differentiation agents for neuroblastoma therapy, this finding warrants further evaluation of this class of compounds against neuroblastoma.

Correction for 'Directed nucleophilic addition of phenoxides to cyclopropenes' by Pavel Yamanushkin et al., Org. Biomol. Chem., 2017, 15, 8153-8165.

The polyphosphoric acid-mediated reaction of 2-(2-aminophenyl)indenes with nitroalkenes was tested in the frame of synthetic studies towards CDK inhibitors with the paullone core. Unexpectedly, this reaction proceeded via a different mechanistic pathway affording derivatives of the natural alkaloid isocryptolepine. The scope of this unusual transformation was investigated and a mechanistic rationale explaining this outcome is offered.

An unusual reaction is described, involving a formal intramolecular nucleophilic substitution of bromocyclopropanes with nitrogen ylides generated in situ from N-benzyl carboxamides. It is shown that this reaction involves cyclopropene intermediates and allows for the facile and expeditious preparation of 3-azabicyclo[3.1.0]hexan-2-one scaffolds.

The alkali metal-templated addition of aryloxides across the double bond of non-conjugated cyclopropenes is described. High cis-selectivity is achieved through a directing effect of a strategically positioned carboxamide functionality.

PPA-induced umpolung triggers efficient nucleophilic addition of unactivated anilines to nitroalkanes to produce N-hydroxyimidamides. The latter undergo sequential acid-promoted cyclocondensation with ortho-OH or ortho-NHR moieties to afford benzoxazoles and benzimidazoles, respectively.

A modular approach to 3-substituted 2-quinolones via a cascade annulation reaction between 4-nitroketones and hydrazines has been developed.