Development of multiplex allele-specific RT-qPCR assays for differentiation of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron subvariants.

Quick differentiation of current circulating variants and the emerging recombinant variants of SARS-CoV-2 is essential to monitor their transmissions. However, the widely applied gene sequencing method is time-consuming and costly especially when facing recombinant variants, because a large part or whole genome sequencing is required. Allele-specific reverse transcriptase real time RT-PCR (RT-qPCR) represents a quick and cost-effective method for SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) genotyping and has been successfully applied for SARS-CoV-2 variant screening.

Asymmetric Michael addition of 1-acetylindolin-3-ones to β-nitrostyrenes catalyzed by bifunctional thioureas: a simple access to 2-functionalized indoles.

The first asymmetric Michael addition of 1-acetylindolin-3-ones to β-nitrostyrenes has been developed. 2-Substituted indolin-3-one derivatives were obtained with excellent yields (up to 99%) and good stereoselectivities (up to 28:1 dr and 92% ee), which could be transformed into 2-functionalized indoles easily without racemization. This achievement might further contribute to the chemistry and pharmacology of indole-related compounds.