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Direct installation of boron groups offers boost to medicinal chemistry

Compounds called borylated azines have untapped potential for organic synthesis, but have faced problems associated with their preparation, stability and reactivity. A new class of these compounds provides a solution.
  1. Christine M. Le

    1. Christine M. Le is in the Department of Chemistry, York University, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada.

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The search for new pharmaceutical drugs by medicinal chemists relies on the synthesis of diverse compound libraries for biological testing. Of the reactions used for this purpose, those involving boron-containing organic molecules (known as organoboron compounds) are among the most popular because of the commercial availability and wide reactivity of these reagents1. Writing in Nature, Kim et al.2 report a method for the synthesis of organoboron compounds called borylated azines. The authors demonstrate that these compounds can participate in reactions common to other organoboron compounds, but offer distinct advantages, such as ease of preparation and impressive stability. Importantly, these reagents will allow a full exploration of the therapeutic potential of molecules that have previously been difficult to prepare.

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Nature 595, 652-653 (2021)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-02007-6

References

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Competing Interests

The author declares no competing interests.

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