Efficient synthesis of multifunctional furanoid C-glycoamino acid precursors

Ready access to constrained, multifunctionalized, hydrolytically stable amino acids has been established by the synthesis of their direct precursors using 2,5-anhydro-3-azido-3-deoxy-d-altrose (a ‘formyl azido-C-glycofuranoside’), or its readily available, stable synthetic equivalent [(1R) and (1S)-2,5-anhydro-3-azido-4,6-O-benzylidene-3-deoxy-1-fluoro-1-O-methyl-d-altritol], as novel molecular scaffolds.     

Combination of click chemistry and sulfonamides to develop three-armed triazole compounds

Fragment-based drug discovery is a valuable tool in hit identification, as well as the combination of different small fragments showing a minimal binding activity against biological receptors or enzymes to give merged hits. A high number of fragments on the same scaffold improve the probability to find a candidate showing single- or multi-target affinities. A rapid and versatile approach for synthesizing libraries of densely fragment-functionalized scaffolds is reported. Many fragments were assembled in few steps around a triazole ring starting from amino alcohols and other readily available building blocks. A binding assay against integrin α_vβ₃ was used as a test-bed in order to demonstrate the potential of such an approach in hit discovery strategies.     

Divergent synthesis of (quinoxalin-2-yl)-1,3-oxazines and pyrimido[1,6-a]quinoxalines via the cycloaddition reaction of acyl(quinoxalinyl)ketenes

A facile synthetic approach towards two distinct quinoxaline-based heterocyclic scaffolds has been developed from the cycloaddition of acyl(quinoxalinyl)ketenes with carbodiimides. The described reaction represents the first example of a divergent synthesis based on acyl(quinoxalinyl)ketenes providing (quinoxalin-2-yl)-1,3-oxazines or pyrimido[1,6-a]quinoxalines depending on the type of the acyl substituent in the ketenes. The key reactants, acyl(quinoxalinyl)ketenes, are generated in situ via the thermal decarbonylation of readily available pyrroloquinoxaline oxo-derivatives. The proposed diversity-oriented synthesis provides facile access to a library of skeletally diverse pharmaceutically interesting quinoxaline-based heterocycles from inexpensive reagents.     

Solid-phase synthesis of a peptide-based P,S-ligand system designed for generation of combinatorial catalyst libraries

An efficient methodology for the solid-phase synthesis of diverse combinatorial peptide-based P,S-ligand libraries based on a modular approach was developed. Chiral thioethers were introduced into a series of peptide scaffolds using commercially available Fmoc-protected cysteine derivatives, and secondary amines were incorporated into the peptide backbones by reductive alkylation using readily available Fmoc-protected amino aldehydes. Phosphinylation of the secondary amines of the scaffolds, applying two different reagents, yielded two different types of ligands. Subsequent complexation with palladium afforded six- or seven-membered chelates, respectively. The selectivity, in an asymmetric allylic substitution reaction, of the two different types of chelates, derived from the same peptide scaffold, was complementary in all cases studied, affording the product as opposite stereoisomers with up to 60% ee. These results hold great promise for the identification of highly selective catalysts upon screening of larger P,S-based catalyst libraries.     

A general,flexible, ring closing metathesis (RCM) based strategy for accessing the fused furo[3,2-b]furanone moiety present in diverse bioactive natural products

A simple and straightforward methodology of general utility to construct sterically encumbered furo[3,2-b]furanone scaffolds present in a diverse range of bioactive natural products is delineated. The methodology emanates from readily available Morita–Baylis–Hillman adducts and employs sequential ring closing metathesis and oxy-Michael addition cascade as the key steps.     

Copper‐Catalyzed 8‐Amido Chelation‐Induced Remote C−H Amination of Quinolines

A copper‐catalyzed 8‐amide chelation‐induced remote C?H amination of quinolines has been developed. This direct amination with readily available azodicarboxylates proceeded with perfect C5‐regioselectivity offering amino‐substituted 8‐aminoquinolines, important bioactive molecular scaffolds, in very high yields (up to 96 %). A single‐electron transfer (SET)‐mediated mechanism with k_H/k_D=1.1 was proposed after trapping of the radical intermediate.     

New chiral amino alcohol ligands derived from 1-phenylethylamine for efficient Ru-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation

A series of chiral amino alcohols have been prepared from cheap and readily available (S)-1-phenylethylamine through a one-step transformation. The ability of these newly developed amino alcohols as chiral ligands was evaluated in the Ru-catalyzed asymmetric transfer hydrogenation of aromatic alkyl ketones, providing chiral secondary alcohols with good to excellent conversions (71-100%) and moderate to good enantioselectivities (67-95% ee). The results also showed that the structure of these amino alcohols has a significant influence on the conversion and enantioselectivity.     

Base-catalyzed synthesis of quinazolines in aqueous medium

An alternative green protocol and step economy for the synthesis of quinazoline has been developed. The reaction of readily available 2-aminobenzonitriles with various organometallic reagents led to ortho-aminoaryl NH ketimine species. The subsequent base catalysed NC bond formation with various isothiocyanates afforded quinazoline scaffolds in aqueous medium. The salient features of this protocol are use of readily available inexpensive precursors, water as a green environmentally benign solvent, short reaction time, operational simplicity, easy workup procedure and good functional group tolerance.     

An efficient synthesis of 6H,7H-chromeno[4,3-b]chromenes and 6,7-dihydrothio chromeno[3,2-c]chromenes as 9-substituted xanthene like analogs

An efficient synthetic route with good overall yields to access 7-aryl/heteroaryl/alkyl substituted 6H,7H-chromeno[4,3-b]chromene, and 6,7-dihydrothiochromeno[3,2-c]chromene scaffolds has been developed. The route to these xanthene-like analogs involves a three-step reaction sequence: (1) Michael addition of readily available phenol and thiophenol to 4-chloro-2,2-dimethyl-2H-chromene-3-carbaldehyde, (2) Grignard reaction of different aryl, heteroaryl and alkyl magnesium bromides on the resulting carbaldehydes followed by (3) FeCl₃ catalyzed spontaneous intramolecular Friedel-Craft’s reaction on the diarylmethyl carbinols.     

Observations on the direct amidocyclopropanation of alkenes using organozinc carbenoids

A series of amidocyclopropanes were prepared by direct amidocyclopropanation of alkenes, using organozinc carbenoids generated from readily available diethoxymethylamides. The amidocyclopropanation of monosubstituted alkenes led to selective formation of the trans-amidocyclopropane in most cases, but with more substituted alkenes, the stereochemical outcome of the cyclopropanation reactions was unpredictable. The amidocyclopropane products can be readily elaborated to structurally interesting cyclopropane containing amino acids or amino alcohols.     

A facile one-pot five-component synthesis of glycoside annulated dihydropyrimidinone derivatives with 1,2,3-triazol linkage via transesterification/Biginelli/click reactions in aqueous medium

Copper(I) promoted Huigsen 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of terminal alkyne with azide is utilized as an efficient protocol for the one-pot five-component synthesis of glycoside annulated dihydropyrimidinone derivatives with 1,2,3-triazol linkage accomplished by tert-butyl β-ketoester, arylaldehyde, urea, propargyl alcohol, and glycosyl azide through the combination of transesterification and Biginelli reaction in aqueous medium. This protocol provides an access to generate scaffolds with molecular diversity from readily available starting materials.     

Tunable Synthesis of Monofluoroalkenes and Gem-Difluoroalkenes via Solvent-Controlled Rhodium-Catalyzed Arylation of 1-Bromo-2,2-difluoroethylene

Divergent synthesis of fluorine-containing scaffolds starting from a suite of raw materials is an intriguing topic. Herein, we report the solvent-controlled rhodium-catalyzed tunable arylation of 1-bromo-2,2-difluoroethylene. The selection of the reaction solvents provides switchable defluorinated or debrominated arylation from readily available feedstock resources (both arylboronic acids/esters and 1-bromo-2,2-difluoroethylene are commercially available). This switch is feasible because of the difference in coordination ability between the solvent (CH₂Cl₂ or CH₃CN) and the rhodium center, resulting in different olefin insertion. This protocol allows the convenient synthesis of monofluoroalkenes and gem-difluoroalkenes, both of which are important scaffolds in the fields of medicine and materials. Moreover, this newly developed solvent-regulated reaction system can be applied to the site-selective dechlorinated arylation of trichloroethylene. Overall, this study provides a useful strategy for the divergent synthesis of fluorine-containing scaffolds and provides insight into the importance of solvent selection in catalytic reactions.     

Development of sterically hindered SPOs and enantioselective Ni−Al bimetallic catalyzed C−H cyclization of 4-oxoquinazolines with tethered alkenes

The Ni−Al bimetallic catalysis of intramolecular enantioselective and regioselective C−H cyclization of 4-oxoquinazolines with tethered alkenes has been successfully developed. Some new secondary phosphine oxides (SPOs) with large steric hindrance (SPO6-11) were designed and successfully synthesized from readily available chiral amines or amino acids. The developed chiral SPOs as ligands or preligands demonstrate much higher efficiency in the asymmetric catalytic reactions than the reported traditional ones. A new class of chiral tricyclic pyrroloquinazolinones were obtained in up to 95% yield and 99% ee.     

Facile and unified approach to skeletally diverse, privileged scaffolds

A novel strategy has been developed to generate a diverse array of privileged scaffolds from readily available tetrahydropyridine precursors that may be prepared by a multicomponent assembly process followed by a ring-closing metathesis. The functionality embedded in these key intermediates enables their facile elaboration into more complex structures of biological relevance by a variety of ring-forming processes and refunctionalizations.     

Polystyrylsulfonyl-3-nitro-1H-1,2,4-triazolide-resin: a new solid-supported reagent for the esterification of amino acids

We describe the application of the polystyrylsulfonyl-3-nitro-1H-1,2,4-triazolide-resin, readily available from the corresponding commercially available polystyryl sulfonyl chloride resin, to the solution-phase synthesis of esters from protected α-amino acids and alcohols in high yields and purity with a low level of racemisation of the amino acids. All by-products can be removed by filtration and extraction.     

Stereoselective synthesis of swainsonines from pyridines

An efficient synthesis of (−)-swainsonine and (−)-2,8a-di-epi-swainsonine was developed starting from readily available 2-pyridinecarbaldehyde and 3-hydroxypyridine. In particular, it was demonstrated that the mixture of simple indolizidines, i.e. lentiginosine and epi-lentiginosine, being readily available by a number of different synthetic routes, can be directly converted to swainsonine.     

Convenient,asymmetric synthesis of enantiomerically pure 2′,6′-dimethyltyrosine (DMT) via alkylation of chiral equivalent of nucleophilic glycine

Asymmetric synthesis of (S)-2′,6′-dimethyltyrosine (DMT) via reactions of 4′-benzyloxy-2′,6′-dimethylbenzyl bromide with Ni(II)-complexes of the chiral Schiff base of glycine with (S)-o-[N-(N-benzylprolyl)amino]benzophenone was developed. Inexpensive and readily available reagents and solvents involved, including recyclable chiral auxiliary, simplicity of the experimental procedures and high chemical yields, make this method synthetically attractive for preparing the target amino acids on a multi-gram scale.     

Synthesis of 2,3,4,7-tetrahydro-1H-azepines as privileged ligand scaffolds for the design of aspartic protease inhibitors via a ring-closing metathesis approach

We have developed a short and highly efficient synthetic strategy towards the hitherto hardly known 3,5- and 3,6-disubstituted 2,3,4,7-tetrahydro-1H-azepine scaffold via a ring-closing metathesis approach utilizing inexpensive and readily available starting material such as methyl acrylate and allylamine. Both seven-membered azacycle scaffolds bearing suitable functional groups, which can easily be modified by means of standard synthetic chemistry, serve as non-peptidic heterocyclic core structures for the further design and synthesis of aspartic protease inhibitors. Through specific decoration with appropriate side chains, individual inhibitors can be tailored with respect to selectivity towards particular family members. A first generation of this class of non-peptidic inhibitors have been tested against the aspartic proteases Plasmepsin II and HIV-I protease, respectively, showing promising activity as well as selectivity with IC₅₀ values in the micromolar range.     

Productive Syntheses of Privileged Scaffolds Inspired by the Recognition of a Diels–Alder Pattern Common to Three Classes of Natural Products

Identification of a common Diels–Alder pattern in three classes of bioactive natural products led us to study the synthesis and cycloaddition of a new class of cyclic dienes readily available from β,γ-unsaturated lactams. A practical and readily scalable route to the parent p-methoxybenzyl-protected 6- and 7-membered β,γ-unsaturated lactams was developed. These were readily transformed into the corresponding O-silylated dienes, which were reacted with dimethyl and diethyl fumarate to yield stereoselectively highly functionalized bicyclic adducts. These exhibited unexpected and versatile transformations upon acid hydrolysis depending on the nature of the dienophile substituents and the acid catalyst. All reactions have been performed on multigram quantities. These transformations provide a convenient, economical, and easily scalable pathway for the rapid construction of functionally and stereochemically dense privileged scaffolds for the construction of libraries of natural products-inspired molecules of pharmacological relevance.