Related Experiment Video
Updated: Oct 16, 2025

Free Radicals in Chemical Biology: from Chemical Behavior to Biomarker Development
Published on: April 15, 2013
Radical-mediated rearrangements: past, present, and future.
Xinxin Wu1, Zhigang Ma1, Tingting Feng1
1Key Laboratory of Organic Synthesis of Jiangsu Province, College of Chemistry, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science, Soochow University, 199 Ren-Ai Road, Suzhou, Jiangsu 215123, China. chzhu@suda.edu.cn.
Radical rearrangements are revolutionizing organic chemistry, offering new ways to build complex molecules efficiently. This review highlights recent advances and future prospects in this rapidly growing field.
Area of Science:
- Organic Chemistry
- Synthetic Chemistry
Background:
- Rearrangement reactions are crucial for synthetic efficiency and molecular complexity.
- Ionic rearrangements have historically dominated research in this area.
- Recent advances in radical chemistry have spurred interest in radical-mediated rearrangements.
Purpose of the Study:
- To provide a comprehensive overview of radical rearrangements.
- To highlight recent achievements and emerging trends.
- To inspire future research and development of synthetic tools.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing literature on radical rearrangements.
- Analysis of migratory behaviors in functional groups.
- Discussion of past, present, and future developments.
Main Results:
- Significant increase in the discovery of new radical rearrangements in the last decade.
- Elucidation of diverse migratory behaviors of functional groups.
- Establishment of radical rearrangements as a powerful synthetic strategy.
Conclusions:
- Radical rearrangements are a rapidly advancing field with significant potential.
- This area offers exciting prospects for developing novel synthetic methodologies.
- Further exploration can lead to more efficient and versatile chemical synthesis.
Related Concept Videos
Radical Reactivity: Overview
Radical Formation: Overview
Radicals from spin-paired molecules:
Radicals can be obtained from spin-paired molecules either by homolysis or electron transfer. While two radicals are formed in the former, an electron is added in the...
Radical Formation: Abstraction
Even though homolysis produces radicals, it is different from radical...
Radical Formation: Addition
Similar to charge conservation in chemical reactions, spin conservation is implicit for radical reactions. Accordingly, the product formed must possess an...
Radical Formation: Elimination
Radicals: Electronic Structure and Geometry
Accordingly, the structure of a trivalent radical lies between the geometries of carbocations and carbanions. An sp2-hybridized carbocation is trigonal planar, while an sp3-hybridized carbanion is trigonal pyramidal. Here, the difference in geometry is...

