ABSTRACT
Cyclic amides are considered as a special category of compounds because of their prolonged history of use as medicines to cure several ailments, fascinating chemistry, and the future possibility of becoming effective medicines to combat several other diseases. Microwave-assisted synthesis, also known as Microwave-assisted Organic Reaction Enhancement or Microwave-Enhanced Chemistry synthesis, of medicinally beneficial lactams is gaining increasing interest because of its several advantages over conventional/classical procedures. The microwave methodology is highly energy economical as it requires 50% less power than electric furnaces of equivalent capacity and, in general, the rate of organic reactions is enhanced under the influence of microwave irradiation. Staudinger cycloaddition, the formal ketene-imine cycloaddition reaction, is the most widely used methodology for the synthesis of β-lactam pharmacophores. The first report of microwave-induced synthesis of β-lactams, following Staudinger cycloaddition strategy, was published by A. K. Bose and co-workers in 1991 while they reported the synthesis of α-vinyl-β-lactams employing microwave irradiation as the source of energy.
