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WERSA/glycerol is described as a powerful combination for the green approach of the Knoevenagel reaction, without any additional catalyst, base or promoter.

Transition metal catalysed direct sulfanylations of unreactive C-H bonds have become a unique and straightforward synthetic strategy in late-stage C-S bond formation of relevant complex molecules. Such transformations represent a breakthrough in modern synthetic organic chemistry, as they offer unusual reactivity patterns and avoid pre-functionalization of the starting materials. Despite inherent challenges in activating/functionalizing unreactive C-H bonds, a considerable number of different transition metals have shown the ability to selectively catalyze these processes toward C-S bond formation. In this sense, this review article covers the development and mechanistic analysis of the direct sulfanylation of Csp

We have developed an efficient chalcogenylation of electron-rich naphthalene derivatives catalyzed by FeCl3 and KI. The methodology provides access to several nonsymmetrical diorganoyl chalcogenides (S, Se) by selective C1 chalcogenylation of 2-naphthols or 2-naphthylamines using simple and cheap catalysts. Several control experiments supported the hypothesis that a redox reaction between Fe(III) and KI produces I2, which catalyzed the chalcogenylation.

A mild and efficient iron (III)-catalyzed C3 chalcogenylation of indoles has been developed and the role of the iodide ions in this transformation was investigated. EPR experiments revealed the reduction of Fe(III) to Fe(II) under the reaction conditions, supporting the formation of molecular iodine in the system, which in effect catalyze the reaction. The scope of the chalcogenylation was broad and the synthesis of more functionalized 3-selenylindoles was explored.

Breast and ovarian cancer are the most common cancers in women. Available cancer treatments, in general, have limited efficacy and frequent, undesirable side effects. Recently, scientists have focused on searching for new epigenetic modulators such as inhibitors of DNA methyltransferases and histone deacetylases (HDACs), with novel properties and selectivity. We report the synthesis of seven new analogs of Santacruzamate A. Molecular modeling showed that compounds 3–9 presented the best binding energies (kcal/mol) against HDAC4 compared to that of crystallographic ligand. The compounds were evaluated against MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 (breast cancer), TOV-21G (ovarian adenocarcinoma), and WI-26VA4 (non-tumor lung fibroblasts) cells. Compound 5, the most potent and selective of the series, exhibited remarkably enhanced anticancer potency, with IC50 values for the tumor cells of 24.3–44.93 μM, compared with that of etoposide (12–18.57 μM) and doxorubicin (2.1–4.37 μM). Further investigation showed that compound 5 could promote DNA damage, increase the activity of caspases-3 and -9, and upregulate mRNA levels of p21, TP53, and BAK, suggesting apoptotic cell death of the tumor cells via the intrinsic pathway. This study demonstrated that synthetic analogs of santacruzamate A with zinc-linked groups are effective for improving both HDAC inhibition and antitumor activity.