Multicomponent Reactions
Multicomponent Reactions (MCRs) are convergent reactions, in which three or more starting materials react to form a product, where basically all or most of the atoms contribute to the newly formed product. In an MCR, a product is assembled according to a cascade of elementary chemical reactions. Thus, there is a network of reaction equilibria, which all finally flow into an irreversible step yielding the product. The challenge is to conduct an MCR in such a way that the network of pre-equilibrated reactions channel into the main product and do not yield side products. The result is clearly dependent on the reaction conditions: solvent, temperature, catalyst, concentration, the kind of starting materials and functional groups. Such considerations are of particular importance in connection with the design and discovery of novel MCRs. (A. Dömling, Org. Chem. Highlights 2004, April 5. Link)
A. Dömling, Org. Chem. Highlights 2004, April 5.
Multicomponent Reactions with Carbonyl Compounds
Some of the first multicomponent reactions to be reported function through derivatization of carbonyl compounds into more reactive intermediates, which can react further with a nucleophile. One example is the Mannich Reaction:
Obviously, this reaction only proceeds if one carbonyl compound reacts faster with the amine to give an imine, and the other carbonyl compound plays the role of a nucleophile. In cases where both carbonyl compounds can react as the nucleophile or lead to imines with the same reaction rate, preforming the intermediates is an alternative, giving rise to a standard multistep synthesis.
Carbonyl compounds played a crucial role in the early discovery of multicomponent reactions, as displayed by a number of name reactions:
Hantzsch Dihydropyridine (Pyridine) Synthesis
Isocyanide-based Multicomponent Reactions
Isocyanides play a dual role as both a nucleophile and electrophile, allowing interesting multicomponent reactions to be carried out. One of the first multicomponent reactions to use isocyanides was the Passerini Reaction. The mechanism shows how the isocyanide displays ambident reactivity. The driving force is the oxidation of CII to CIV, leading to more stable compounds.
This interesting isocyanide chemistry has been rediscovered, leading to an overwhelming number of useful transformations. One of these is the Ugi Reaction:
Both the Passerini and Ugi Reactions lead to interesting peptidomimetic compounds, which are potentially bioactive. The products of these reactions can constitute interesting lead compounds for further development into more active compounds. Both reactions offer an inexpensive and rapid way to generate compound libraries. Since a wide variety of isocyanides are commercially available, an equivalently diverse spectrum of products may be obtained.
Variations in the starting compounds may also lead to totally new scaffolds, such as in the following reaction, in which levulinic acid simultaneously plays the role of a carboxylic acid and a carbonyl compound:
H. Tye, M. Whittaker, Org. Biomol. Chem., 2004, 2, 813-815.
But how can multicomponent reactions be discovered? It's sometimes a simple matter of trial and error. Some very interesting MCRs have even been discovered by preparing libraries from 10 different starting materials. By analyzing the products of each combination (three-, four-, up to ten-component reactions), one is able to select those reactions that show a single main product. HPLC and MS are useful analytical methods, because the purity and mass of the new compounds help to decide rapidly whether a reaction might be interesting to investigate further. (L. Weber, K. Illgen, M. Almstetter, Synlett, 1999, 366-374. DOI)
Links of Interest
Organic Chemistry Highlights: Multicomponent Reactions
Reviews on Multicomponent Reactions
A. Dömling, I. Ugi, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2000, 39, 3168.
DOI
A. Dömling, Org. Chem. Highlights 2004, April 5.
Link
Books on Multicomponent Reactions
Multicomponent Reactions
Jieping Zhu, Hugues Bienaymé
Hardcover, 468 Pages
First Edition, 2005
ISBN: 3-527-30806-7 - Wiley-VCH
Recent Literature
An operationally simple, palladium-catalyzed three-component reaction between
terminal alkynes, isonitriles, and sodium carboxylates have provides N-acyl
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Y. He, Y. Wang, X. Liang, B. Huang, H. Wang, Y.-M. Pan, Org. Lett.,
2018, 20, 7117-7120.
A rhodium-catalyzed carbonylative annulation methodology with nonactivated
aromatic sulfides and terminal alkynes as the substrates provides
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13612-13617.
(NH4)2S2O8 mediates a metal-free
three-component alkene oxyalkynylation using H2O or alcohol as
oxygenation agent. The reversed regioselectivity should be dictated by an alkene
radical cation intermediate.
Y. Li, R. Lu, S. Sun, L. Liu, Org. Lett.,
2018, 20, 6836-6839.
A catalyst-free
Petasis reaction of sulfonamides as amine components, glyoxylic acid, and aryl- or
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A. M. Diehl, O. Ouadoudi, E. Andreadou, G. Manolikakes, Synthesis, 2018, 50,
3936-3946.
Chiral task-specific ionic liquids bearing chiral
anions as the catalysts enable an enantioselective multicomponent Biginelli
reaction. A combined role of asymmetric
counteranion-directed catalysis (ACDC) and ionic liquid effect (ILE) for the
chiral induction in the Biginelli multicomponent reaction is demonstrated.
H. G. O. Alvim D. L. J. Pinheiro, V. H. Carvalho-Silva, M. Fioramonte, F. C.
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12143-12153.
An electrochemical multicomponent reaction of aryl hydrazines,
paraformaldehyde, NH4OAc, and alcohols provides 1,5-disubstituted and
1-aryl 1,2,4-triazoles. Alcohols act as solvents as well as reactants and NH4OAc
is used as the nitrogen source. With the assistance of reactive iodide radical
or I2 and NH3 electrogenerated in situ, this process
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N. Yang, G. Yuan, J. Org. Chem., 2018, 83,
11963-11969.
An efficient two-step Ugi/cyclization reaction sequence provides hydantoins.
This microwave-assisted one-pot cyclization strategy, in which an alkyne group
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hydantoins.
Z.-G. Xu, Y. Ding, J.-P. Meng, D.-Y. Tang, Y. Li, J. Lei, C. Xu, Z.-Z. Chen, Synlett, 2018, 29,
2199-2202.
A Cu(I)-catalyzed three-component reaction of terminal alkynes,
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conditions.
X. Lv, Z. Kang, D. Xing, W. Hu, Org. Lett.,
2018, 20, 4843-4847.
A palladium-catalyzed oxidative three-component coupling of easily accessible
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functional group tolerance.
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9201-9209.
The use of K2S2O8 and DMSO enables an efficient and transition-metal-free synthesis of
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providing a highly atom-economical and environmentally benign approach for the
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P. R. Likhar, D. K. Tiwari, J. Org. Chem., 2018, 83,
9137-9143.
In a highly regioselective, direct visible-light-mediated aminofluorination of
styrenes, a shelf-stable N-Ts-protected 1-aminopyridine salt serves as
the nitrogen-radical precursor, and the commercially available hydrogen
fluoride-pyridine was used as the nucleophilic fluoride source.
J.-N. Mo, W.-L. Yu, J.-Q. Chen, X.-Q. Hu, P.-F. Xu, Org. Lett.,
2018, 20, 4471-4474.
A Ni-catalyzed regioselective alkylarylation of vinylarenes with alkyl halides
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S. KC, R. K. Dhungana, B. Shrestha, S. Thapa, N. Khanal, P. Basnet, R. W. Lebrun,
R. Giri, J. Am. Chem. Soc.,
2018,
140, 9801-9805.
A light-induced, Ru-catalyzed three-component alkyl-fluorination of olefins
under mild reaction conditions provides a wide range of fluorinated products
with good functional group tolerance. A key advantage of this photoredox
reaction is the use of generic alkyl groups and nucleophilic fluoride.
W. Deng, W. Feng, Y. Li, H. Bao, Org. Lett.,
2018, 20, 4245-4249.
A mild and metal-free multi-component reaction enables the synthesis of
4,5-disubstituted 1H-1,2,3-triazoles from phosphonium salts, aldehydes,
and sodium azide. An organocatalyzed coupling of the formyl group with the
phosphonium group provides an olefinic phosphonium salt as key intermediate,
that undergoes [3+2] cycloaddition with the azide.
G.-L. Wu, Q.-P. Wu, Synthesis, 2018, 50,
2768-2774.
A N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC)-catalyzed trifluoromethylation of α-chloro
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The unique combination of an electrophilic trifluoromethylation reagent with NHC
catalysis was the key for the functionalization of a broad range of substrate.
An enantioselective version of this reaction afforded products in moderate
yields with good ee values.
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2018, 20, 3897-3901.
A three-component reaction of potassium alkyltrifluoroborates, DABCO·(SO2)2
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radicals as key intermediates, and a reductive single-electron transfer.
T. Liu, Y. Li, L. Lai, J. Cheng, J. Sun, J. Wu, Org. Lett.,
2018, 20, 3605-3608.
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