Chitosan: An efficient biodegradable and recyclable green catalyst for one-pot synthesis of 3,4-dihydropyrimidinones of curcumin in aqueous media

An efficient procedure for the synthesis of curcumin 3,4-dihydropyrimidinones has been developed by simple one-pot condensation of curcumin, aromatic aldehydes and urea/thiourea in the presence of commercially available chitosan in 2% acetic acid in aqueous media at 60 degrees C for 80-90 min. In the reaction, curcumin: a potential biologically active molecule has been used as a component of multi-component synthesis using chitosan as an efficient biodegradable and recyclable green catalyst. The resultant product curcumin 3,4-dihydropyrimidinone is formed in excellent yield (97%). The chitosan catalyst can be reused for without. loss of catalytic activity. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.