Recent advances in the synthesis of chalcogenylated heterocycles obtained by chalcogenocyclization

Abstract

Heterocyclic molecules containing organochalcogens are important scaffolds that have attracted scientific interest due to their remarkable pharmacological properties. As a consequence, in recent years several protocols have been developed for the synthesis of this class of compounds. More specifically, cyclization reactions have become a powerful tool in the synthesis of heterocycles containing two or more chalcogen atoms. This review summarizes the recent advances in the synthesis of heterocycles containing two or more chalcogens (S, Se, and Te), through a wide diversity of cyclization reactions with different substrates, with emphasis on cyclization reactions of chalcogenoalkynes and alkenes in chalcogenocyclization reactions, highlighting their scope, main advantages, synthetic differences, and limitations.