The preparation of heterocyclic compounds often involves the use of petroleum-based or non-renewable sources. Considering the actual societal and environmental awareness towards sustainable chemistry, new and green sources of organic carbon are sought. In this regard, vanillin is a molecular building block that can be obtained from the depolymerization of lignin. Due to its different functional groups (hydroxyl, aldehyde, and methoxy) vanillin can undergo a variety of reactions leading to various heterocycles such as pyrimidines, quinoxalines, imidazoles or thiazoles to name a few. This mini-review will focus on the preparation of accessible heterocycles building blocks from the vanillin moiety in regard to the medicinal, pharmaceutical, and material fields.

Carbon nanotubes and graphene are two types of nanomaterials that have unique properties and potential applications in various fields, including biomedicine, energy storage, and gas sensing. However, there is still a debate about the safety of these materials, and there is yet to be a complete consensus on their potential risks to human health and the environment. While some studies have provided recommendations for occupational exposure limits, more research is needed to fully understand the potential risks of these materials to human health and the environment. In this review, we will try to summarize the advantages and disadvantages of using carbon nanotubes and graphene as well as composites containing them in the context of their biocompatibility and toxicity to living systems. In addition, we overview current policy guidelines and technical regulations regarding the safety of carbon-based nanomaterials.

Forest biomass is viewed as a significant source of organic carbon and thus the ideal replacement of petroleum products. From the resources derived from biomass, lignocellulose is the most abundant biobased material on earth. One of the aromatic added value compounds obtained from the depolymerization of lignin is vanillin. Here, we report the preparation of new compounds having benzothiophene, indole, isatin, benzofuroxan, benzofurazan, benzothiadiazole, and phthalimide heteroaromatic ring structures. More precisely, our results show that vanillin can be used as a biosourced starting material for the preparation of a variety of aromatic dibrominated monomers. X-ray crystallography on single crystals was also performed to obtain meaningful information on their solid-state ordering. This work opens the way to new, sustainable, biosourced aromatic materials (small molecules or polymers) for organic electronics.

(2015). Synthesis and Reactions of Halo-substituted Alkylthiophenes. A Review. Organic Preparations and Procedures International: Vol. 47, No. 6, pp. 385-414.