Issue 12, 2018

The Curtius rearrangement: mechanistic insight and recent applications in natural product syntheses

Abstract

The Curtius rearrangement is a versatile reaction in which a carboxylic acid can be converted to an isocyanate through an acyl azide intermediate under mild conditions. The resulting stable isocyanate can then be readily transformed into a variety of amines and amine derivatives including urethanes and ureas. There have been wide-ranging applications of the Curtius rearrangement in the synthesis of natural products and their derivatives. Also, this reaction has been extensively utilized in the synthesis and application of a variety of biomolecules. In this review, we present mechanistic studies, chemical methodologies and reagents for the synthesis of isocyanates from carboxylic acids, the conversion of isocyanates to amines and amine derivatives, and their applications in the synthesis of bioactive natural products and their congeners.

Graphical abstract: The Curtius rearrangement: mechanistic insight and recent applications in natural product syntheses

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
17 Jan 2018
Accepted
12 Feb 2018
First published
26 Feb 2018

Org. Biomol. Chem., 2018,16, 2006-2027

The Curtius rearrangement: mechanistic insight and recent applications in natural product syntheses

A. K. Ghosh, A. Sarkar and M. Brindisi, Org. Biomol. Chem., 2018, 16, 2006 DOI: 10.1039/C8OB00138C

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