Solid-phase synthesis of complex and pharmacologically interesting heterocycles

Efficient routes for the creation of heterocycles continue to be one of the primary goals for solid-phase synthesis. Recent advances in this field rely most notably on transition-metal-catalysis and N-acyliminium chemistry to mediate a range of cyclization processes for the generation of compounds with significant structural complexity and diversity. This review describes some of the most systematic solid-phase approaches that are potentially suited for pharmaceutical applications, that is, the methods described are useful for the synthesis of compound collections, and exhibit tunable stereochemistry, scaffold structure, and appendage modification.