A cascade reaction, consisting of a palladium-catalyzed regioselective aerobic oxidative carbocyclization-borylation of bisallenes and a final aldehyde trapping, afforded triene alcohols with high diastereoselectivity. The cascade reaction occurs under mild reaction conditions and proceeds via an allylboron intermediate that is trapped by the aldehyde in a stereoselective manner.

Herein we report a highly efficient and site selective palladium-catalyzed oxidative carbocyclization arylation reaction of bisallenes and arylboronic acids under operationally simple conditions for the selective synthesis of cyclohexadiene derivatives. The palladium source and the solvent proved to be crucial for the selectivity and the reactivity displayed. Interestingly, in the absence of the nucleophile, an oxidative carbocyclization-beta-elimination pathway predominates. The reaction conditions are compatible with a wide range of functional groups, and the reaction exhibits broad substrate scope. Furthermore, key information regarding the mechanism was obtained using control experiments and kinetic studies.

A highly efficient oxidative carbocyclization-carbonylation reaction cascade of allenynes and enallenes has been developed using a Pd-II salt in low catalytic amounts under ambient temperature and pressure (1 atm of carbon monoxide). The use of DMSO as an additive was found to be important for an efficient reaction. A wide range of alcohols as trapping reagents were used to give the corresponding esters in good yields.

An oxidative carbocyclization-carbonylation-alkynylation reaction cascade has been developed using catalytic amounts of palladium(II) salts. The domino reaction proceeds efficiently, giving the corresponding ynones in good to excellent yields under operationally simple conditions. A wide range of aromatic and aliphatic terminal alkynes with various functional groups are tolerated under the reaction conditions.

The first reported click reaction, copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition had limited biocompatibility due to the high toxicity of copper. Since alternative bioorthogonal click reactions have been developed, they have strongly influenced the field of chemical biology. Here are summarized three main metal-free click methodologies based on cycloaddition, Staudinger and thio-ene reactions. This review contains the basic principles, some mechanistic considerations and a collection of reagents that can be used in each method. Firstly, Diels-Alder and strain promoted inverse electron demand Diels-Alder cycloadditions are outlined together with triazole and isoxazole formation by 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions. Secondly, Staudinger-Bertozzi ligation, a chemoselective reaction of azides and engineered triarylphosphines, is discussed. Finally, thio-click chemistries including thiol-ene, thiol-yne, thio-Michael and fluoro-thio-click reactions are reviewed. Among the most important bioapplications of these click methodologies is the labeling of glycans, proteins, lipids and DNA. Additionally, synthetic methods and surface immobilization of biomolecules and biologically useful polymeric materials are also reviewed.