Synthesis of a Phlorin from a Meso‐Fused Anthriporphyrin by a Diels–Alder Strategy

An anthracene‐containing meso‐fused carbaporphyrin, which has extended π‐conjugation pathways as compared to the corresponding naphthalene‐containing carbaporphyrin, has been synthesized. The weak global aromaticity of the anthriporphyrin also allowed its use as the diene for a Diels–Alder reaction with dimethyl acetylenedicarboxylate (DMAD). The resulting phlorin contains an interesting bicyclic structure. Moreover, to the best of our knowledge, this phlorin is the first Diels–Alder adduct of a diene forming part of the global π‐conjugation pathway of an aromatic porphyrinoid.     

Anion–π Catalysis of Diels–Alder Reactions

Among concerted cycloadditions, the Diels–Alder reaction is the grand old classic, which is usually achieved with acid catalysis. In this report, hydroxypyrones, oxa‐, and thiazolones are explored because they provide access to anionic dienes. Their [4+2] cycloaddition with cyclic and acyclic dienophiles, such as maleimides and fumarates, affords bicyclic products with four new stereogenic centers. Bifunctional anion–π catalysts composed of amine bases next to the π surface of naphthalenediimides (NDIs) are shown to selectively stabilize the “open”, fully accessible anionic exo transition state on the π‐acidic aromatic surface. Our results also include reactivities that are hard to access with conventional organocatalysts, such as the exo ‐specific and highly enantioselective Diels–Alder reaction of thiazolones and maleimides with complete suppression of the otherwise dominant Michael addition. With increasing π acidity of the anion–π catalysts, the rates, chemo‐, diastereo‐, and enantioselectivities increase consistently.     

A Diene‐Containing Noncanonical Amino Acid Enables Dual Functionality in Proteins: Rapid Diels–Alder Reaction with Maleimide or Proximity‐Based Dimerization

Here, we describe a diene‐containing noncanonical amino acid (ncAA) capable of undergoing fast and selective normal electron‐demand Diels–Alder (DA) reactions following its incorporation into antibodies. A cyclopentadiene derivative of lysine (CpHK) served as the reactive handle for DA transformations and the substrate for genetic incorporation. CpHK incorporated into antibodies with high efficiency and was available for maleimide conjugation or self‐reaction depending on position in the amino acid sequence. CpHK at position K274 reacted with the maleimide drug‐linker AZ1508 at a rate of ≈79 m ^?1 s^?1 to produce functional antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) in a one‐step process. Incorporation of CpHK at position S239 resulted in dimerization, which covalently linked antibody heavy chains together. The diene ncAA described here is capable of producing therapeutic protein conjugates with clinically validated and widely available maleimide compounds, while also enabling proximity‐based stapling through a DA dimerization reaction.