Utility of 3-benzylidenefuran-2(3H)-one and 3-benzylideneisobenzofuran-1(3H)-one as precursors of biologically active novel heterocycles

In the present work, 3-benzylidenefuran 2 and 3-benzylideneisobenzofuran 3 derivatives were investigated in a comparative study in which they were utilized as building blocks to construct different heterocyclic compounds. Therefore, they were allowed to react with different nitrogen and oxygen nucleophiles under the same conditions to afford some novel compounds 4–16. All the structures of the synthesized compounds 2–16 were elucidated based on their elemental analyses and spectral measurements. The bioactivities of the synthesized compounds were evaluated, where some of tested compounds exhibited promising antimicrobial, antitumor, and antioxidant activities.