Front Cover: p-Anisil as a Versatile Catalyst for the E-to-Z Photoisomerization of Activated Alkenes - Application in Late-Stage Modification of Small Molecule Drugs, Di- and Tripeptides (Eur. J. Org. Chem. 7/2025)

Abstract

The Front Cover illustrates expedient access to complex Z-alkenes from drugs and oligopeptides through a two-step synthetic sequence: a metal-catalyzed, directed C−H bond olefination followed by an E-to-Z photoisomerization under blue light. While the former step is established in the literature, the latter requires the development of a highly effective and robust photocatalytic system. Key to the success is the discovery of p-anisil as a versatile photocatalyst that is able to convert E-alkenes to their Z-isomers with Z/E up to >99:1. During the course of this work, 11 Z-alkenes were successfully synthesized from five drugs and two oligopeptides, thus demonstrating the practicability of the concept. More information can be found in the Research Article by T. V. Q. Nguyen and P. R. Hansen (DOI: 10.1002/ejoc.202401338). Cover by T.V.Q.N. (AstraZeneca) and Dr. Binh Phan (Essity).