Chemistry of nitronaphthyridines

Publisher Summary The chemistry of naphthyridines has developed significantly since the late 1970s. Many compounds containing the naphthyridine ring system show interesting and useful chemical and biological properties and are applied in medical treatment. This chapter reviews naphthyridines that are characterized as π-deficient systems. Introduction of an electron-withdrawing group such as the nitro group further depletes the ring of its π-electrons and lowers its electron density. Because of this low electron density, nitronaphthyridines show a high reactivity to nucleophilic reagents and low reactivity to electrophiles; several characteristic examples of this behavior are explained in the chapter. The chapter reviews the chemistry of the nitro-1,5-, -1,6-, -1,7-, and -1,8-naphthyridines with special attention to the results obtained in the laboratories. The chapter mainly refers to the synthesis and reactivity of the nitronaphthyridines along with their physical and spectroscopic properties and biological activity.