Crown Ethers for the Synthesis of Heterocycles

Heterocycles are abundant in nature and have considerable importance in life because of the presence of their structural subunits in many natural products such as hormones, vitamins, alkaloids, antibiotics, herbicides, pharmaceuticals, dyes, and many more compounds [1-3]. The synthetic heterocycles are biologically used as antimycobacterial, antibacterial, trypanocidal, antifungal, anti-HIV activity, antitumoral, genotoxic, antileishmanial agents, herbicidal, antitubercular, antimalarial, antidepressant, analgesic, anticancer and lipid peroxidation inhibitor, anti-inflammatory, muscle relaxants anticonvulsant, hypnotics, anthelmintic and insecticidal agents [4, 5]. Many heterocyclic compounds also have some other important applications such as agrochemicals, fungicides, sensitizers, anticorrosive agents, herbicides, photostabilizers, copolymer, photographic developers, dyestuff, fluorescent whiteners, antioxidant in rubber, and are used as booster and flavoring agents [6, 7]. The O-, S-, and N-containing heterocyclic skeletons are subunits present everywhere in biologically active molecules. Heterocycles are the most regularly encountered scaffolds in drugs and pharmaceutically related substances. A large number of heterocycles are employed in high-output screening at primitive stages of drug discovery programs due to their drug-like character and appre ABSTRACT Heterocyclic compounds are the largest and most diverse family of organic compounds. Among them, aromatic heterocyclic compounds are the structural motifs found in a great number of biologically active synthetic and natural compounds, agrochemicals, and medicines. Moreover, aromatic heterocyclic compounds are extensively utilized for the formation of dyes and polymeric materials of great importance. In organic synthesis, there are several reports on the uses of aromatic heterocyclic compounds as intermediates. In this review article, we have focused on the synthesis of heterocycles using crown ethers.

Automated summary

Heterocyclic compounds are abundant in nature and play important roles in various applications such as pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals, and dyes. Aromatic heterocyclic compounds, in particular, are prevalent in biologically active molecules and are widely utilized in organic synthesis. The synthesis of heterocycles using crown ethers has been a focus in organic chemistry research.