The reaction of isocyanides with electron deficient alkynes has been first reported in 1969, about ten years after the first reports on the famous Ugi four component reaction. However it took about thirty years to realise that the zwitterionic intermediate originating from interaction of the two species could be trapped by a third component, thus giving the start to a novel class of isocyanide-based multicomponent reactions. From that first report dated 1996 there has been an ongrowing interest that has produced, so far, about 150 distinct scientific papers. This review is aimed at rationalising and cathegorising these reports and at offering an overview of all the possible applications of this novel methodology.
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