Isoquinolone Syntheses by Annulation Protocols

Isoquinolones (isoquinolin-1(2H)-ones) are one of the important nitrogen-heterocyclic compounds having versatile biological and physiological activities, and their synthetic methods have been recently developed greatly. This short review illustrates the significant advances in the construction of isoquinolone ring with atom- and step-economy, focusing on the intermolecular annulation protocols and intramolecular cyclization in the presence of a variety of catalyst systems. The syntheses of isoquinolone-fused rings are also included.