2 - Direct synthesis of heterocycles via MCRs, using a name reaction

Abstract

Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) convert more than two molecules straightly to the expected products. Remarkably, a name reaction is a chemical reaction, which has reached to such status from different points of view, being named after its discoverers or developers. Among the tens of thousands of organic reactions that are known, hundreds of such reactions are well-known enough to be named after people. As organic chemistry developed during the 20th century, chemists started associating synthetically useful reactions with the names of the discoverers or developers; in many cases, the name is merely a mnemonic. Since MCRs are one-pot reactions, expectedly, they can be conducted much easier than multistep reactions. Combined, with high-throughput library screening, this protocol can be considered as an important development in the rational drug design in the terms of rapid and unambiguous identification and optimization of biologically active lead compounds. There are several important name reactions in organic chemistry. Among the tens of thousands of organic reactions that are known, hundreds of such reactions have reached such status to be named after its discoverers or developer. Well-known examples include the Biginelli reaction, Hantzsch reaction, Click reaction, Gewald reaction, Ugi reaction, Ugi-azide reaction. Due to importance of name reactions in synthesis of heterocycles, in this chapter, we try to highlight synthesis of heterocycles using one-pot and multicomponent reactions through a name reaction.