Recent Progress in Palladium-Catalyzed Cascade Cyclizations for Natural Product Synthesis

Cascade reactions (also represented as domino reactions) realize the step-economical direct construction of natural product core structures. The use of atom-economical elementary reactions in cascade processes can minimize waste production and avoid prefunctionalization of the substrates. Palladium catalysis, which promotes a variety of atom-economical elementary reactions, has long been used as a powerful approach to the direct formation of complex heterocycles. In this short review, palladium-catalyzed cascade reactions for the construction of core structures of natural products reported in the last decade are highlighted. 1 Introduction 2 Reactions Terminated with Heteronucleophiles 2.1 Termination with Nitrogen Nucleophiles 2.2 Termination with Oxygen Nucleophiles 3 Reactions Terminated with Carbon Functional Groups 3.1 Termination with Carbon Nucleophiles 3.2 Termination with Heck-Type Reactions 4 Conclusion