Recent Development on the Heterocycles Derived From In Situ Formation of Aryl Glyoxals by Iodine/DMSO Mediated Oxidation of Methyl Ketones

ABSTRACT Controlled oxidation of methyl‐ketones to aryl glyoxals using Selenium dioxide and iodine is one of the useful transformation. Regardless the availability of many oxidation reagents, Iodine/DMSO system is very efficient and flexible. This system efficiently allows in situ formation of α‐halo ketones and subsequently transforming them directly to useful products. The Iodine/DMSO system allows the selective CI and CO bond formation, substantially useful for converting them to other bond forming reactions and heterocycles useful in the synthetic and medicinal chemistry. Iodine/DMSO system could be an important alternative strategy due to sustainability, metal‐free conditions, allowing multiple/linear domino reactions. This review will focus on heterocyclic systems smartly developed/manipulated by Wu group from methyl‐ketones. The scope and limitations of this method and selected examples of applications for the synthesis of interesting molecules are discussed herein.