Synthesis of pyrrole and carbazole alkaloids.

An overview of recent transition metal-catalyzed syntheses of pyrroles and carbazoles is presented. The focus is on methods which have been applied to the preparation of biologically active naturally occurring pyrrole and carbazole alkaloids. For pyrroles, special attention is paid to silver(I)-catalyzed cyclization reactions. For carbazoles, iron(0)-mediated and palladium(0/II)-catalyzed cyclization reactions are highlighted and their broad range of applications is discussed.