Recent Advances in Copper-catalyzed Heterocyclic Syntheses

Abstract

<div>Heterocycles have gained significant attention from the research community</div><div>due to their prevalence in numerous natural products and their applications as</div><div>pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and new materials. The application of transition metal</div><div>catalysts in the synthesis of heterocyclic compounds is an indispensable tool in the field</div><div>of organic synthesis and has acquired notable recognition in scientific society all over</div><div>the world. The popularity of copper-based catalysts is attributed to their costeffectiveness,</div><div>easy accessibility, and environmentally benign nature. In addition to this,</div><div>the ability of copper catalysts to coordinate with heteroatoms and to activate</div><div>unsaturated systems has resulted in the growing interest of synthetic and medicinal</div><div>chemists in this field. Copper-based catalysts have shown their application in various</div><div>cross-coupling reactions, C–H functionalization, radical alkylations, conjugate</div><div>additions, and trifluoromethylation. Furthermore, they have also exhibited tremendous</div><div>scope in heterocyclic syntheses, which include many important reactions, such as</div><div>azide-alkyne click reaction (a type of 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition), nitrone-olefin</div><div>cycloaddition (Kinugasa reaction), multi-component reactions, and other similar</div><div>strategies which result in the construction of 4-8 membered heterocyclic adducts of</div><div>biological and industrial relevance. The copper-catalyzed heterocyclic syntheses have</div><div>many advantages, such as easily accessible substrates, good atom economy, high</div><div>functional group tolerance, excellent yields, and remarkable selectivities. In addition to</div><div>this, the targetted heterocycles exhibited diverse biological activities viz. antibacterial,</div><div>antifungal, anticancer, antitubercular, anti-HIV, anti-inflammatory, analgesics, and</div><div>antiviral activities. The main aim of this chapter is to summarize the advances made in</div><div>copper-catalyzed synthesis of heterocyclic compounds in the last ten years.</div>