Mini-Reviews in Organic Chemistry - Volume 9, Issue 3, 2012

The Editorial Board wishes to dedicate this issue of “Mini-Reviews in Organic Chemistry” to the Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Prof. Dr. Atta-ur-Rahman, FRS, on his 70th birthday. The Editorial Board acknowledges the tremendous achievements of Prof. Rahman in the fields of Organic Chemistry in general and on bioactive natural products in particular. Prof. Rahman's honors include: the first scientist from the Muslim w Read More

Pressure is a fundamental parameter which can accelerate reaction rates. The use of ultra high pressure (0.2-2 GPa) in organic chemistry can be particularly efficient, because it can fix problems of reactivity or regio- and stereoselectivity which could appear at ambient pressure, while being considered as an activation tool. The present review points out the last progresses in the area of glycochemistry with this technique. Sel Read More

Due to their particular properties the use of ionic liquids is growing. Because of their chiral discriminated properties chiral ionic liquids synthesized from mono, polysaccharides or cyclodextrins are used as catalysts in asymmetric synthesis, chiral selectors in NMR studies or as stationary phases in chiral chromatographic analysis. Chiral carbohydrate ionic liquids are a recent topic and only few examples in the literature describe Read More

The biosynthesis of glycoconjugates in bacteria and eukaryotic cells involves the formation of lipid-linked sugar precursors. The lipid component is a polyisoprenyl-phosphate (undecaprenyl phosphate in bacteria, and dolichyl-P in eukaryotes and Archaea). All cell types employ phosphoisoprenol-linked saccharides in the early stages of protein glycosylation, as well as for the synthesis of bacterial cell wall and surface polysaccharid Read More

Imidazoles comprise a major class of five-membered heterocyclic compounds and have been found to be an integral part of many significant pharmacological active compounds in the field of medicinal chemistry. Imidazoles are also of general synthetic utility, since they permit functional group and structural modifications to synthesize a number of substituted heterocycles. In literature, various conventional methods are r Read More

The pharmacological importance of substituted 1,4-and 1,5-benzodiazepines has been well established and some derivatives are known as anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, hypnotic and anticancer agents. In recent years, much effort has been done in the benzodiazepine area to develop new members of this family. This review focuses on the synthesis and the biological activities of benzodiazepam derivatives.

The genus of Forsythia (Oleaceae), composing ca. 10˜15 species, is mostly native to eastern Asia and used in oriental traditional medicines. Phytochemical investigations on Forsythia species have shown that triterpenoids, lignans, flavonoids, phenylethanoid glycosides and C6-C2 natural alcohols, accumulated mainly in the fruits, are the major components. Many studies have elucidated that phenolic compounds, including Read More

This review describes recent development in the aerobic oxidation of amines. A variety of ruthenium catalysts have shown excellent activity for the aerobic oxidation of amines. Several gold and copper catalysts are also effective for this reaction. Other metalcontaining complexes are revealed to be active catalysts and an enzyme is also investigated for this oxidation. Meanwhile, various supports have been explored for this rea Read More