Recent Advances in the Cycloisomerizations of Methylenecyclopropanes using Gold Catalysis

During the past decades, cycloisomerizations of methylenecyclopropanes using gold catalysis have attracted much attention from organic chemists. The different patterns of gold(I)-catalyzed cycloisomerizations of methylenecyclopropanes have been developed, and they can be classified as ring-opening and ring-expansion reaction patterns. This synthetic methodology provides a new approach to novel cyclic- or polycyclic compounds. The corresponding products have great potential for material science, medicinal chemistry and total synthesis. This Concept article will mainly focus on the recent advances in the cycloisomerizations of methylenecyclopropanes in the past four years.