Using enantioselective indicator displacement assays to determine the enantiomeric excess of alpha-amino acids

Enantioselective indicator displacement assays (eIDAs) were used for the determination of enantiomeric excess (ee) of alpha-amino acids as an alternative to the labor-intensive technique of chromatography. In this study, eIDAs were implemented by the use of two chiral receptors [(Cu(II)(1)](2+), [Cu(II)(2)](2+)) in conjunction with the indicator chrome azurol S. The two receptors were able to enantioselectively discriminate 13 of the 17 analyzed alpha-amino acids. Enantiomeric excess calibration curves were made using both receptors and then used to analyze true test samples to check the system's ability to determine ee accurately. The proposed method uses a conventional UV-vis spectrophotometer to monitor the colorimetric signal, which allows for a potential high-throughput screening (HTS) method for determining ee. The techniques created consistently produced results accurate enough for rapid preliminary determination of ee.     

A highly enantioselective amino acid-catalyzed route to functionalized alpha-amino acids

The development of syntheses providing enantiomerically pure alpha-amino acids has intrigued generations of chemists and been the subject of intense research. This report describes a general approach to functionalized alpha-amino acids based on catalytic asymmetric synthesis. Proline catalyzed Mannich-type reactions of N-PMP-protected alpha-imino ethyl glyoxylate with a variety of unmodified ketones to provide functionalized alpha-amino acids in high yields with excellent regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselectivities. Study of seven examples yielded six with product ee values of > or = 99%. In reactions involving ketone donors where diastereoisomeric products could be formed, two adjacent stereogenic centers were created simultaneously upon carbon-carbon bond formation with complete syn-stereocontrol. Significantly, this methodology utilizes readily available and rather inexpensive starting materials, does not require any preactivation of substrates or metal ion assistance, and can be carried out on a gram scale under operationally simple reaction conditions. The keto-functionality present in the products provides a particularly attractive site for versatile modifications. This study compliments and extends our bioorganic approach to asymmetric synthesis to a versatile synthon class. Given that we have shown that a variety of optically active amino acids can be synthesized with proline catalysis, where an L-amino acid begets other L-amino acids, our results may stimulate thoughts concerning prebiotic syntheses of optically active amino acids based on this route.     

Synthesis of cyclopropene alpha-amino acids via enantioselective desymmetrization

[reaction: see text] The preparation of cyclopropene alpha-amino acids via the enantioselective desymmetrization of cyclopropene bis-carboxylic acid derivatives is described. The amino acids are stable to harsh reaction conditions, and a derivative has been incorporated into a tripeptide using conventional methods for peptide synthesis.     

Fluorescence assays for high-throughput screening of protein kinases

Protein kinases comprise one of the most important group of targets for drug discovery research today. Methods to identify novel kinase inhibitors by high-throughput screening have evolved rapidly in recent years. An important aspect is the availability of fluorescent probes that can be applied in a homogeneous, or mix-and-measure, assay format. Here, we illustrate the application of fluorescence read-out technologies for kinase targets in light of our own experiences in assay development and high-throughput screening.     

A high-throughput screening protocol for fast evaluation of enantioselective catalysts

A new high-throughput screening protocol that allows fast evaluation of enantioselective catalysts has been developed. The usefulness of norephedrine-derived beta-amino alcohols as catalysts for the enantioselective alkylation of prochiral aldehydes has been determined by simultaneous screening of three representative substrates. GC analysis of the crude product mixture using a selectively modified cyclodextrin as the chiral stationary phase avoids time-consuming workup procedures. The chemical yield, enantioselectivity, substrate specificity, and catalytic activity of the chiral catalysts as well as the induced absolute configuration have been determined in a single screening experiment and two short GC runs.     

A new chiral catalyst for the enantioselective Strecker synthesis of alpha-amino acids

[reaction: see text] The chiral ammonium salt 3 is demonstrated to be an effective catalyst for the highly enantioselective Strecker reaction of N-allylbenzaldimines with hydrogen cyanide in CH2Cl2 solution.     

Catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-alder reactions of imines--an approach to optically active nonproteinogenic alpha-amino acids

A catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction of imines has been developed. The reaction of N-tosyl alpha-imino ester with different dienes including activated, non-activated, cyclic, and acyclic dienes has been investigated in the presence of various chiral Lewis acids. A series of phosphino-oxazoline ligands have been synthesized and evaluated for the reaction. It was found that the combination of phosphino-oxazoline ligands with copper(I) salts gives the best results for the activated dienes, while BINAP-copper(I) complexes are good catalysts for all the dienes studied. In the case of activated acyclic dienes the aza-Diels-Alder products can be obtained in higher than 80% isolated yield and 96% ee, while for the unactivated cyclic dienes the exo diastereomer is formed as the major product in up to 95 % ee. For an activated cyclic conjugated diene, 2-trimethylsilyloxy-1,3-cyclohexadiene, the reaction proceeds as a Mannich-type addition reaction giving optically active gamma-oxo alpha-amino acid derivatives in good yields and up to 96% ee. The reaction of an unactivated acyclic diene, 2,3-dimethyl-1,3-butadiene, with the N-tosyl alpha-imino ester gives both the aza-Diels-Alder and aza-ene products, in a ratio of 9:1 favoring the aza-Diels-Alder product. Furthermore, a series of different imines have been synthesized and investigated as possible substrates for the present catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction in order to obtain mechanistic insight. All imines studied gave moderate to high ee. Particularly, the reaction of the N-phenyl and N-p-methoxyphenyl substituted glyoxylate imines with Danishefsky's diene proceeded well affording the corresponding aza-Diels-Alder product in high yield with up to 91% ee at room temperature. The present catalytic enantioselective reaction of imines provided an effective route to optically active nonproteinogenic alpha-amino acids. The products of the catalytic enantioselective aza-Diels-Alder reaction of the cyclic dienes can be used for the preparation of key compounds such as natural products and compounds of pharmaceutical interest. The absolute configurations of five products have been solved by X-ray structural analysis, and it is found that the absolute configuration of the aza-Diels-Alder adduct is dependent on the substituent on the imine nitrogen atom. It turned out that the N-tosyl glyoxylate imine and N-p-methoxyphenyl glyoxylate imine give the aza-Diels-Alder adduct with opposite absolute configuration using the same enantiomer of the catalyst. On the basis of the results the mechanistic aspects for the reactions are discussed.     

Design considerations for high-throughput screening and in vitro diagnostic assays

This paper reviews the several different factors that must be considered during the development of assays for high throughput screening (HTS) or in vitro diagnostic (IVD) applications. The reader is introduced to the terminology used in assay development as well as the statistical approaches for evaluating the data. The review is intended to serve as a tutorial to biotechnology, pharmaceutical and clinical professionals, the academic researcher, as well as a guide for established investigators of HTS and IVD. This review is not a comprehensive treatise in its scope or content, but is meant to introduce the reader to key concepts of assay development. Elementary mathematical and statistical tools for designing robust assays and data management are described. While certain design concepts overlap HTS and IVDs, others are more pertinent to one or the other topic. An overview of the regulatory requirements for IVDs is included in the context of the United States Food and Drug Administration. Quality concepts and high content screening are also briefly described. The review does not focus upon any particular assay technology nor does it provide detailed laboratory procedures on specific assays. The references cited are not exhaustive, but meant to steer the reader toward a general status report of the various technologies discussed. The information presented in this review is not intended to replace the judgment of the experienced laboratory scientist. However, this review should assist the scientific professional in executing well designed assays and being aware of design considerations.     

Thiourea-catalyzed enantioselective hydrophosphonylation of imines: practical access to enantiomerically enriched alpha-amino phosphonic acids

Chiral thiourea 1b catalyzes the highly enantioselective hydrophosphonylation of a wide range of N-benzyl imines. The hydrophosphonylation products are readily deprotected by hydrogenolysis, providing access to free alpha-amino phosphonic acids in highly enantioenriched form.     

Practical and efficient enantioselective synthesis of alpha-amino acids in aqueous media

Enantiomerically pure natural and unnatural alpha-amino acids have been synthesized from a chiral methyleneoxazolidinone by means of a highly diastereoselective 1,4-conjugate addition of alkyl iodides in aqueous media. The zinc-copper conjugate addition reaction exhibits high chemoselectivity, with the possibility of using functionalized iodides, to afford a single diastereomer in short reaction times and with good yields.     

Second-generation DBFOX ligands for the synthesis of beta-substituted alpha-amino acids via enantioselective radical conjugate additions

A set of second-generation DBFOX ligands possessing extended aryl or benzyl-type groups was synthesized. The requisite amino alcohols were either commercially available (DBFOX/Bn) or constructed via Sharpless asymmetric aminohydroxylation (DBFOX/Nap, DBFOX/ t-BuPh, DBFOX/Pip) or phase-transfer-catalyzed asymmetric alkylation (DBFOX/MeNap). Complexes of the ligands with Mg(NTf2)2 were evaluated as promoters of enantioselective radical conjugate additions to alpha,beta-unsaturated alpha-nitro amides and esters. Reactions employing the DBFOX/Nap ligand exhibited improved enantioselectivity relative to previously published additions mediated by DBFOX/Ph. However, the relatively modest increase in diastereomeric ratio suggests that our substrate-Lewis acid binding model, which was formulated based on results from DBFOX/Ph-promoted radical conjugate additions, is in need of revision.     

The first catalytic highly enantioselective alkylation of ketimines--a novel approach to optically active quaternary alpha-amino acids

A series of novel ketimines with intrinsic protecting group anchoring was synthesized and allowed to react with various silylketene acetals in the presence of 5-10 mol % of a chiral Zn(OTf)(2)-(R,R)-Ph-pybox-aqua complex. The corresponding optically active quaternary alpha-amino acid derivatives were obtained in high yields and with enantioselectivities ranging from 34 % up to 95 % ee. The catalyst was studied by (1)H NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, and a dynamic equilibrium of two species was identified in solution. These are a homo-chiral 1:2 metal-ligand complex and a 1:1 metal-ligand complex, of which the latter is expected to be the actual catalyst of the diastereo- and enantioselective reaction. A strong positive nonlinear effect was observed due to the formation of a catalytically inactive 1:2 metal-ligand hetero-chiral complex. On the basis of DFT calculations and the absolute stereochemistry of the products, simultaneous coordination of the imino electrophile and a single molecule of H(2)O to the chiral Lewis acid complex is proposed. Coordination of the imine-nitrogen atom in the axial position of an octahedral complex can account for the facial selectivity as well as the diastereoselectivity observed.     

Synthesis of beta-substituted alpha-amino acids via Lewis acid promoted enantioselective radical conjugate additions

[Chemical reaction: See text] Lewis acid promoted radical conjugate additions to beta-substituted alpha,beta-unsaturated alpha-nitro esters and amides were investigated. With achiral Lewis acids, there was competition between the desired radical conjugate addition and undesired alkene reduction mediated by Bu3nH. Zinc Lewis acids provided the greatest amounts of addition products with both substrate classes. Studies with Bu3nD indicated that the acidic alpha-stereocenter of the alpha-nitro ester products does not racemize under controlled workup conditions. The corresponding alpha-nitro amides racemized significantly during chromatography, but this problem could be greatly minimized by subjecting the crude adducts to subsequent transformations. Indium-mediated reduction of the nitro group followed by acylation of the resulting amine provided good yields of beta-substituted alpha-amino acid derivatives with mimimal levels of racemization. Attempts to use chiral Lewis acids in a stereoselective variant of this process revealed that Kanemasa's DBFOX/Ph ligand (14a) was uniquely effective. Moderate to good ee's and low dr's were obtained with amide substrates. Determination of the absolute configurations of the syn and anti isomers of adduct 7b showed that the hydrogen atom abstraction step was significantly more stereoselective than the radical conjugate addition step. A model for substrate binding to the chiral Lewis acid is presented.     

Dizinc enzyme model/complexometric indicator pairs in indicator displacement assays for inorganic phosphates under physiological conditions

A dizinc phosphohydrolase enzyme model complex employing the dinucleating ligand 2,6-bis-[(bis-pyridin-2-ylmethyl-amino)methyl]-4-methylphenol (L1) was tested for binding to a series of 11 commercially available complexometric indicators in aqueous N-2-hydroxyethylpiperazine-N'-2-ethanesulfonic acid (HEPES) buffer at pH 7.4, with the aim of determining the applicability of these indicators in indicator displacement assays (IDAs) under physiological conditions. Dissociation constants (Kd) were determined for 11 indicator-Zn2L1 complexes, spanning 2 orders of magnitude from 2.8 x 10(-4) M (alizarin red S) to 2.7 x 10(-6) M (bromo pyrogallol red). Phosphate and pyrophosphate were tested for their ability to displace bound indicator and produce a detectable colorimetric response. Three indicators (bromo pyrogallol red, mordant blue 9, and zincon) complex to Zn2L1 to form an indicator displacement assay selective for pyrophosphate over phosphate. Because selection of an indicator/analyte pair having appropriate relative Kd values is critical for their successful application in IDAs, the binding data for these 11 indicators should assist their extension to IDAs for other analytes.     

An Ireland-Claisen approach to beta-alkoxy alpha-amino acids

A diastereoselective Ireland-Claisen approach to beta-alkoxy alpha-amino acid esters is reported. Amino acid esters of enol ethereal allylic alcohols undergo facile syn-selective [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement via silyl ketene acetals. Substrate synthesis, rearrangement development, stereoselectivity, and product elaboration are discussed.