Halogenated Heterocycles

Heterocyclic compounds are organic compounds that have at least one ring member that is not a carbon atom. Halogenated heterocyclic compounds have one or more halogen atoms (bromine, chlorine, fluorine, or iodine) attached. Halogenated heterocycles are significant because they are used as vehicles in the synthesis of other organic compounds in synthetic chemistry. Their structures can be modified in heterocyclic reactions to manipulate their function. Organo chlorine compounds are one of the most widely used groups for synthetic reactions.

Natural heterocyclic compounds are essential in the metabolism of living cells. Heterocyclic bases, such as pyrimidine and purine, are inherent in DNA. Indole and pyrrolidine motifs also appear in tryptophan and proline as amino acid derivatives. Many synthetic heterocycles exhibit pharmacological activity and are widely researched by medicinal chemists; others are used as ligands (i.e. NHCs) in pesticides, industrial antioxidants, copolymers, or various synthetic intermediates.