Photochemical synthesis of heterocyclic compounds

Heterocyclic compounds are of enormous interest, especially in pharmaceutical chemistry. In fact, the majority of the current drugs contains a heterocyclic ring. Despite the great importance of these compounds, only few methods exist for the synthesis of heterocycles using photochemical methods. However, photochemical reactions are often easy to realize, clean, and environmentally benign. Among the various methods to build a heterocycle, cyclization of linear compounds, [x+y] cyclization and ring closure are the major ones. The research in this field has significantly increased compared to the past, to discover new methods and clarify the reaction mechanisms.The aim of this chapter is to explore the photochemical synthetic methods for the synthesis of the most common heterocyclic compounds.