We've just added PITU \(N-hydroxyphthalimide tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate\) AS17471 to our building block collection. This uronium-type reagent sits in the same coupling reagent family as HBTU and HATU, but is particularly useful for the rapid generation of redox-active esters directly from carboxylic acids for use in nickel-catalyzed decarboxylative cross-coupling.
Rather than being used for conventional amide bond formation in this transformation, PITU converts alkyl carboxylic acids into N-hydroxyphthalimide \(NHPI\) esters in situ, creating a handle for single-electron-transfer \(SET\) chemistry. Under nickel electrocatalysis, the resulting redox-active ester loses carbon dioxide and forms a new C\(sp²\)–C\(sp³\) bond with an aryl or vinyl halide partner. The result is a practical route from simple, widely available carboxylic acids to complex carbon frameworks without requiring pre-activated organometallic reagents. Decarboxylative cross-coupling has become a valuable tool for medicinal chemists looking to diversify late-stage intermediates and build molecular complexity efficiently. If you would like to read more take a look at the following papers: Koyanagi and colleagues first reported a one-pot electrochemical nickel-catalyzed approach using PITU-derived redox-active esters, achieving high yields with broad functional group tolerance across nitrile, ketone, ester and alkene substituents https://lnkd.in/gwp5\_N9b Laudadio and coworkers provided a broader perspective on how carboxylic acid-derived radical cross-coupling is reshaping medicinal chemistry disconnections beyond conventional amide bond formation https://lnkd.in/gU9YD24E If your programme relies on decarboxylative cross-coupling or redox-active ester chemistry, PITU is now available through our catalogue. AS17417 is available on our website via this link https://lnkd.in/edKucnG2