Anhydride‐Based Multicomponent Reactions

Anhydrides are increasingly important building blocks in the advent of new multicomponent reactions (MCRs). Their unique ability to serve as mild acylating agents that can also engage in conjugate addition, cycloaddition, and nucleophilic addition processes enables them to participate in a wide variety of one‐pot cascade reactions. This chapter gives an overview of reactivity trends that have enabled the development of anhydride‐based MCRs. Homophthalic and isatoic anhydrides have dual reactivity that is well suited to MCRs. The chapter presents examples of MCRs involving cyclic anhydrides that involve both carbonyl groups being incorporated into the scaffold formed during the reaction process. However, acyclic anhydrides (such as acetic anhydride) have been used in a variety of domino multicomponent processes as a means to capping newly formed alcohol and amine functionalities in situ.