Use of Dialkyl Acetylenedicarboxylates in the Multicomponent Synthesis of Heterocyclic Structures

Abstract Dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylates (DAAD) are the class of acetylenic compounds that are broadly used in organic synthesis in a noticeable quantity. Their wide application has made them an important moiety in heterocyclic compounds and drug discovery programs. Dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylate is a di‐ester in which the ester groups are conjugated with a carbon‐carbon triple bond. As such, the molecule is very electrophilic, and is broadly used as a dienophile in various cycloaddition reactions, for example the Diels‐Alder reaction. In addition, it is a strong Michael acceptor. Due the importance of dialkyl acetylenedicarboxylate in organic synthesis, we are trying to show the applications of this compound in the synthesis of different heterocycles using multicomponent reactions. In this review, we show recent advances (2016–2022) for the synthesis of various heterocycles that have different ring sizes (five, six and seven membered, Spiro and fused heterocycles), using DAAD via multicomponent reactions.