Introduction 4499 2. Diels-Alder Cycloadditions 4499 2.1. Unsaturated Sulfones as Dienophiles 4499 2.1.1. Early Studies 4499 2.1.2. Aromatization of Cycloaddition Products of Acetylenic Sulfones 4501 2.1.3. Iterative Diels-Alder and Ramberg-Backlund Reactions of Chloroalkylsulfonyl Allenes 4502 2.1.4. Diels-Alder Cycloadditions of Bis(sulfonyl)acetylenes and Their Equivalents 4502 2.1.5. Diels-Alder Cycloadditions of Acetylenic Sulfones Containing Heteroatom Substituents 4503 2.1.6. Diels-Alder Reactions of Dienyl Sulfones as Dienophiles 4504 2.1.7. Diels-Alder Reactions of Unsaturated Sulfones with Pyrroles 4505 2.1.8. Diels-Alder Reactions of Unsaturated Sulfones with Furans and Isobenzofurans 4507 2.1.9. Miscellaneous Cycloadditions 4508 2.2. Dienyl Sulfones As the Diene Components in Diels-Alder Reactions 4509 2.2.1. 1-Sulfonyl Derivatives † Dedicated to Professor David N. Harpp, for his inspiring contributions as a teacher, mentor and scholar.

The implementation of cyanation chemistry at manufacturing scales using batch equipment can be challenging because of the hazardous nature of the reagents employed and the tight control of reaction parameters, including cryogenic temperatures, that help to afford acceptable selectivity and conversion for the desired reaction. Application of continuous flow chemistry offers a means to mitigate the risk associated with handling large amounts of hazardous reagents and to better control the reaction parameters. A case study describing the cyanation of a glycoside using continuous flow chemistry toward the synthesis of the drug candidate remdesivir is presented.

Several representative acetylenic sulfones were immobilized on a polymer support derived from Merrifield resin by means of ester linkers that were used to couple free carboxylic acid groups on the solid support with benzylic hydroxyl functions on the arylsulfonyl moieties of the acetylenes. Several examples of reversed ester linkers, using Merrifield resin directly, were also successfully prepared. The 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of the solid-supported acetylenic sulfones were investigated with a series of 1,3-dipoles, including benzyl azide, ethyl diazoacetate, diazomethane, as well as representative nitrile oxides, nitrile imines, nitrile ylides, nitrones, azomethine imines, azomethine ylides, munchnones, and sydnones. In general, analogous cycloadditions were also performed with acetylenic sulfones in solution phase for comparison. The cycloadditions typically afforded good to excellent yields of the desired products in both solution and solid phase, although the latter reactions sometimes required more vigorous conditions. Except in the case of benzyl azide and diazo compounds, where mixtures of regioisomers were obtained, the other 1,3-dipoles reacted with high regioselectivity and afforded essentially unique regioisomers. Cleavage of the products from the resin was smoothly effected by alkaline hydrolysis, while several attempts at reductive desulfonylation with sodium amalgam or samarium diiodide-HMPA resulted in N-O or C-O scission, in addition to cleavage from the polymer. The method provides access to a number of important classes of heterocycles, including variously substituted and functionalized triazoles, pyrazoles, 1,2-oxazoles, pyrroles, as well as their dihydro and bicyclic analogues. The success of the cycloadditions on polymer supports paves the way to future investigations of sequential transformations leading to libraries of useful heterocycles.

A versatile new synthesis of indoles was achieved by the conjugate addition of N-formyl-2-haloanilines to acetylenic sulfones, ketones, and esters followed by a copper-catalyzed intramolecular C-arylation. The conjugate addition step was conducted under exceptionally mild conditions at room temperature in basic, aqueous DMF. Surprisingly, the C-arylation was performed most effectively by employing copper(II) acetate as the catalyst in the absence of external ligands, without the need for protection from air or water. An unusual feature of this process, for the case of acetylenic ketones, is the ability of the initial conjugate-addition product to serve as a ligand for the catalyst, which enables it to participate in the catalysis of its further transformation to the final indole product. Mechanistic studies, including EPR experiments, indicated that copper(II) is reduced to the active copper(I) species by the formate ion that is produced by the base-catalyzed hydrolysis of DMF. This process also served to recycle any copper(II) that was produced by the adventitious oxidation of copper(I), thereby preventing deactivation of the catalyst. Several examples of reactions involving acetylenic sulfones attached to a modified Merrifield resin demonstrated the feasibility of solid-phase synthesis of indoles by using this protocol, and tricyclic products were obtained in one pot by employing acetylenic sulfones that contain chloroalkyl substituents.

Air and water welcome—ligands need not apply! A simple and efficient new synthesis of variously functionalized and substituted indoles was achieved by the addition and copper‐catalyzed coupling of N‐formyl‐o‐haloanilines with acetylenic sulfones, esters and ketones (see scheme; EWG=electron‐withdrawing group). The reaction employs copper(II) acetate under ligand‐free conditions without the need for exclusion of air and moisture.