Azetidines are four-membered saturated N-heterocycles that are of interest in drug discovery and medicinal chemistry. Here the authors report how sulfamoyl fluoride substituents tune the reactivity of...

Sulfinamides, sulfonamides, and sulfonimidamides are valuable motifs in medicinal chemistry, yet methods to synthesize alkyl variants from simple, readily available feedstocks remain scarce. In this report, we detail the synthesis of these three distinct sulfur functional groups, using readily available and structurally diverse alkyl carboxylic acids as the starting materials. The method harnesses alkyl radical generation from carboxylic acids using commercial iron salts and visible light irradiation, in combination with commercial sulfinylamine reagents, to deliver alkyl sulfinamide products. The method is operationally simple and scalable, exhibits broad functional group tolerance, and is translatable to continuous-flow synthesis. Furthermore, it facilitates late-stage diversification of complex molecules, highlighting its potential utility in medicinal chemistry applications.

Sulfinamides, sulfonamides, and sulfonimidamides are valuable motifs in medicinal chemistry, yet methods to synthesize alkyl variants from simple, readily available feedstocks remain scarce. In this report, we detail the synthesis of these three distinct sulfur functional groups, using readily available and structurally diverse alkyl carboxylic acids as the starting materials. The method harnesses alkyl radical generation from carboxylic acids using commercial iron salts and visible light irradiation, in combination with commercial sulfinylamine reagents, to deliver alkyl sulfinamide products. The method is operationally simple and scalable, exhibits broad functional group tolerance, and is translatable to continuous-flow synthesis. Furthermore, it facilitates late-stage diversification of complex molecules, highlighting its potential utility in medicinal chemistry applications.

Chem25: Marking 25 Years of Innovation in the 1 South Chemistry Building, University of Bath

Covalent inhibitor design is dominated by the use of electrophilic acrylamide warheads. One limitation of acrylamides is that there are limited opportunities to modify their electrophilicity, and henc...

Get to know the 2025 recipients, read their winning article, and learn about their plans for building upon their existing research.

Barry Enderwick has recreated more than 700 sandwich recipes from history, dating from 200BC to the present day. What has he learned – and crucially – which are the tastiest?