Chapter 11 - Green Synthetic Approaches for Medium Ring-Sized Heterocycles of Biological Interest

Abstract

Medium ring-sized heterocyclic compounds constitute a class of important but challenging pharmaceutical scaffolds. Development of newer synthetic methodologies to such ring systems has remained an important activity over the last few decades. Many metal-mediated transformations have allowed synthesis of such otherwise difficult-to-access ring systems. In consonance with these developments, several green chemical techniques have found useful applications in the synthesis of such ring systems. In particular, use of microwave technology, ionic liquids, aqueous environment, solid-supported reagents, fluorous separations, and so on have provided better opportunities in many of the general synthetic methodologies available for the synthesis of medium ring-sized heterocycles. This chapter is an attempt to offer an overview of the green synthetic approaches developed for such heterocyclic scaffolds of pharmacological interest. An emphasis has also been given on the distinct advantages offered by these techniques over classical approaches.