SUSTAINABILITY AND INNOVATION OF CATALYTIC PROCESSES FOR THE SYNTHESIS AND TRANSFORMATION OF HETEROCYCLIC SYSTEMS OF BIOLOGICAL INTEREST

Functionalized heterocycles represent one of the most widespread structural motifs found in both molecules of natural origin and in synthetic compounds exhibiting diverse activities across biological, pharmacological, agrochemical fields, and as materials endowed with different properties. For these reasons, the demand for new, cleaner, and sustainable processes for the syntheses of heterocyclic compounds is continually increasing, as the known heterocyclic-forming reactions are often expensive, wasteful, and produce by-products. Among the modern synthetic methods, transition-metal catalysed reactions have emerged as a powerful and efficient tool for constructing a variety of heterocycle rings, resulting in shorter reaction times and higher yields when compared to other well-known methods reported in literature. On these bases, the project proposed herein studies and develops synthetic strategies for heterocycles, based on different transition-metals i.e. copper, platinum, ruthenium, alongside organocatalysis and metal-free reactions. The involved reactions aim to be innovative, leading to sustainable, green, and cost-efficient preparation of this important class of compounds.