Transition-Metal Catalyzed Synthesis of Pyrimidines: Recent Advances, Mechanism, Scope and Future Perspectives

Pyrimidine is a pharmacologically important moiety that exhibits diverse biological activities. This review reflects the growing significance of transition metal-catalyzed reactions for the synthesis of pyrimidines (with no discussion being made on the transition metal-catalyzed functionalization of pyrimidines). The effect of different catalysts on the selectivity/yields of pyrimidines and catalyst recyclability (wherever applicable) are described, together with attempts to illustrate the role of the catalyst through mechanisms. Although several methods have been researched for synthesizing this privileged scaffold, there has been a considerable push to expand transition metal-catalyzed, sustainable, efficient and selective synthetic strategies leading to pyrimidines. The aim of the authors with this update (2017-2023) is to drive the designing of new transition metal-mediated protocols for pyrimidine synthesis.