The Baylis-Hillman reaction: a novel source of attraction, opportunities, and challenges in synthetic chemistry

The Baylis-Hillman reaction is a successful, useful, and atom-economical carbon-carbon bond forming reaction, which has grown from an obscure level to the level of high synthetic popularity due to its operational simplicity and also due to the enormous applications of the Baylis-Hillman adducts in organic synthesis. In this tutorial review, we briefly describe the way this reaction has grown to its present heights and the opportunities, attractions, and challenges the reaction offers with respect to its asymmetric and intramolecular versions, and mechanistic aspects

Simple and facile synthesis of tetralone-spiro-glutarimides and spiro-bisglutarimides from Baylis-Hillman acetates

A simple and convenient synthesis of di(E)-arylidene-tetralone-spiro-glutarimides from Baylis-Hillman acetates via an interesting biscyclization strategy involving facile C-C and C-N bond formation is described. Also, one-pot multistep transformation of the Baylis-Hillman acetates into di(E)-arylidene-spiro-bisglutarimides is presented

Simple, facile, and one-pot conversion of the Baylis-Hillman adducts into functionalized 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroacridines and cyclopenta[b]quinolines

A simple, facile, and one-pot synthesis of functionalized 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroacridines and cyclopenta[b]quinolines from the Baylis-Hillman alcohols, i.e., 2-[hydroxy(2-nitroaryl)methyl]cycloalk-2-enones, is described

The Baylis-Hillman adducts as valuable source for one-pot multi-step synthesis: a facile synthesis of substituted piperidin-2-ones

A facile, convenient, and one-pot multi-step synthesis of substituted piperidin-2-ones from the Baylis-Hillman alcohols derived from various aldehydes and acrylonitrile, involving Johnson-Claisen rearrangement, reduction of an α, β-unsaturated nitrile moiety into the saturated amine-skeleton, followed by cyclization, in an operationally simple procedure, is described

Synthesis of the 1‑Phenethyltetrahydroisoquinoline Alkaloids (+)-Dysoxyline, (+)-Colchiethanamine, and (+)-Colchiethine

Asymmetric total syntheses of the 1-phenethyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline alkaloids (+)-dysoxyline (<b>1</b>), (+)-colchiethanamine (<b>2</b>), and (+)-colchiethine (<b>3</b>) are described. In the synthetic routes, coupling of a key, enatiomerically pure 1-(sulfonylmethyl)­tetrahydroisoquinoline with aromatic aldehydes, performed by using the Julia–Kocienski reaction, afforded the corresponding 1-(β-styryl)-substituted tetrahydroisoquinolines with complete retention of the absolute configuration at the C1 carbon atom. Functionalization of the products generated in these processes by using four- or five-step sequences gave the target alkaloids <b>1</b>–<b>3</b>

TiCl<SUB>4</SUB> catalyzed tandem construction of C-C and C-O bonds: a simple and one-pot atom-economical stereoselective synthesis of spiro-oxindoles

An atom-economical stereoselective synthesis of [{1-acetyl- 5-methyl-6,8-dioxabicyclo(3.2.1) octane}-7-spiro-3'- (indolin-2'-one)] derivatives, containing both the oxindole and 6,8-dioxabicyclo(3.2.1)octanemoieties via TiCl<SUB>4</SUB> catalyzed coupling of 2-acetyl-6-methyl-2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran with isatin derivatives is described