Subscribe to RSS
DOI: 10.1055/a-2669-6239
Recent Advances in Strain-Release Functionalization of [1.1.1]Propellanes Using Organometallic Reagents
Supported by: National Institute of Technology Puducherry, Karaikal, India
Funding Information The author would like to thank the ANRF-SERB-Ramanujan Fellowship (Grant No. RJF/2020/000038) and the Core research grant (CRG/2022/001855) for financial support.

Dedication
Dedicated to Prof. Paul Knochel’s on the occasion of his 70th birthday.
Abstract
The highly strained bicyclic hydrocarbon bicyclo[1.1.1]propellane has emerged as a versatile scaffold in synthetic organic and medicinal chemistry due to the remarkable structural reactivity of its central bond between the two bridgehead carbons. Over the past decade, many research groups have harnessed this strain-release reactivity to advance an efficient synthetic approach for constructing bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane (BCP) scaffolds. This review presents a comprehensive overview of the most recent advancements in the functionalization of bicyclo[1.1.1]propellane using commercially accessible organometallic reagents (RMX). Organo-lithium, magnesium, zinc, and boron reagents have demonstrated excellent ring-opening reactivity under mild and sustainable conditions, furnishing highly functionalized 1,3-disubstituted BCP derivatives and related amine scaffolds in excellent yields, acting as broad functional group tolerant, eco-friendly, and low-toxicity reagents. These organometallic reagent–mediated strain-release functionalization methods are expected to have noteworthy synthetic utility, mostly in medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry.
Keywords
Bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane - Bicyclo[1.1.1]propellane - Catalysis - Organometallic reagents - Cross-couplingPublication History
Received: 30 June 2025
Accepted after revision: 28 July 2025
Accepted Manuscript online:
29 July 2025
Article published online:
16 September 2025
© 2025. Thieme. All rights reserved.
Georg Thieme Verlag KG
Oswald-Hesse-Straße 50, 70469 Stuttgart, Germany
-
References
- 2 Dilmaç AM, Spuling E, de Meijere A, Bräse S. Angew Chem, Int Ed 2017; (56) 5684
- 3a Pihko AJ, Koskinen AMP. Tetrahedron 2005; 61: 8769
- 3b Kanazawa J, Uchiyama M. Synlett 2019; 30: 1
- 4 Wu W, Gu J, Song J, Shaik S, Hiberty PC. Angew Chem, Int Ed 2009; (48) 1407
- 5 Yang Y. J Phys Chem A 2012; 116: 10150
- 6 Wiberg KB, Walker FH. J Am Chem Soc 1982; 104: 5239
- 7 Semmler K, Szeimies G, Belzner J. J Am Chem Soc 1985; 107: 6410
- 8 Das T, Mohar M, Hajra A. Chem Rec 2025; 25: e202500018
- 9 He F-S, Xie S, Yao Y, Wu J. Chin Chem Lett 2020; 31: 3065
- 10 Levin MD, Kaszynski P, Michl J. Chem Rev 2000; 100: 169
- 11 Wiberg KB, Connor DS. J Am Chem Soc 1966; 88: 4437
- 12 Stepan AF. et al. J Med Chem 2012; 55: 3414
- 13 Pellicciari R, Raimondo M, Marinozzi M, Natalini B, Costantino G, Thomsen C. J Med Chem 1996; 39: 2874
- 14 Pu Q, Zhang H, Guo L. et al. ACS Med Chem Lett 2020; 11 (08) 1548
- 15a Levin MD, Kaszynski P, Michl J. Chem Rev 2000; 100: 169-234
- 15b Mikhailiuk PK, Afonin S, Chernega AN. et al. Angew Chem, Int Ed 2006; 45: 5659-5661
- 16 Dilmaç AM, Spuling E, de Meijere A, Bräse S. Angew Chem, Int Ed 2017; (56) 5684-5718
- 17 Sterling AJ, Dürr AB, Smith RC, Anderson EA, Duarte F. Chem Sci 2020; 11: 4895-4903
- 18 Hedberg L, Hedberg K. J Am Chem Soc 1985; 107: 7257-7260
- 19 Dhayalan V, Dodke VS, Pradeep Kumar M. et al. Chem Soc Rev 2024; 53: 11045-11099
- 20a Dhayalan V, Sharma D, Chatterjee R, Dandela R. Eur J Org Chem 2023; 26: e202300285
- 20b Dhayalan V, Dodke VS, Sharma D, Dandela R. Eur J Org Chem 2024; 27: e202301263
- 21 Wiberg KB, McMurdie N. J Am Chem Soc 1991; 113: 8995
- 22 Adcock JL, Gakh AA. J Org Chem 1992; 57: 6206
- 23 Gianatassio R, Lopchuk JM, Wang J. et al. Science 2016; 351: 241
- 24 Makarov IS, Brocklehurst CE, Karaghiosoff K, Koch G, Knochel P. Angew Chem, Int Ed 2017; (56) 12774
- 25 Lopchuk JM, Fjelbye K, Kawamata Y. et al. J Am Chem Soc 2017; 139: 3209
- 26 Shelp RA, Walsh PJ. Angew Chem, Int Ed 2018; (57) 15857
- 27 Shelp RA, Ciro A, Pu Y, Merchant RR, Hughes JME, Walsh P. J Chem Sci 2021; 12: 7066
- 28 Trongsiriwat N, Pu Y, Nieves-Quinones Y, Shelp RA, Kozlowski MC, Walsh PJ. Angew Chem, Int Ed 2019; 58: 13416
- 29 Hughes JME, Scarlata DA, Chen ACY, Burch JD, Gleason JL. Org Lett 2019; 21: 6800
- 30 Yu S, Jing C, Noble A, Aggarwal VK. Angew Chem, Int Ed 2020; (59) 3917
- 31 Schwärzer K, Zipse H, Karaghiosoff K, Knochel P. Angew Chem, Int Ed 2020; (59) 20235