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Updated: May 25, 2026

Synthesis of a Borylated Ibuprofen Derivative Through Suzuki Cross-Coupling and Alkene Boracarboxylation Reactions
Published on: November 30, 2022
Suzuki reactions of extended scope: the '9-MeO-9-BBN variant' as a complementary format for cross-coupling
Günter Seidel1, Alois Fürstner
1Max-Planck-Institut für Kohlenforschung, D-45470 Mülheim/Ruhr, Germany.
Abstract:
While the Suzuki coupling has gained paramount importance, the basic set-up of the reaction has remained essentially unchanged for decades. It consists of the palladium-catalyzed coupling of organoboron reagents with aryl- or alkenyl halides, -sulfonates or related electrophiles in the presence of a base. One of the few alternative formats for this transformation is the '9-MeO-9-BBN variant', which is distinguished by not requiring an added base as a promoter. Rather, polar organometallic reagents R-M (R = Me, alkyl, aryl, heteroaryl, alkenyl, alkynyl etc.) are first intercepted with 9-MeO-9-BBN to give the corresponding borinate complexes, which then pass the R-group onto an organopalladium complex generated in situ as the electrophilic partner. This procedure allowed the structural reach of the Suzuki coupling to be extended, and served in a host of advanced applications, most notably for elaborate sp-sp(2) and sp(3)-sp(2) coupling processes.
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