Enediynes, enyne‐allenes, their reactions, and beyond

Abstract

Enediynes undergo a Bergman cyclization reaction to form the labile 1,4‐didehy‐drobenzene (p‐benzyne) biradical. The energetics of this reaction and the related Schreiner–Pascal reaction as well as that of the Myers–Saito and Schmittel reactions of enyne‐allenes are discussed on the basis of a variety of quantum chemical and available experimental results. The computational investigation of enediynes has been beneficial for both experimentalists and theoreticians because it has led to new synthetic challenges and new computational methodologies. The accurate description of biradicals has been one of the results of this mutual fertilization. Other results have been the computer‐assisted drug design of new antitumor antibiotics based on the biological activity of natural enediynes, the investigation of hetero‐ and metallo‐enediynes, the use of enediynes in chemical synthesis and materials science, or an understanding of catalyzed enediyne reactions.This article is categorized under: Structure and Mechanism > Molecular Structures