Isocyanates of N alpha-[(9-fluorenylmethyl)oxy]carbonyl amino acids: synthesis,isolation, characterization,and application to the efficient synthesis of urea peptidomimetics

The Curtius rearrangement of Fmoc-amino acid azides 1 was carried out in toluene by refluxing the solution for 30 min. The resulting isocyanates 2 have been isolated as crystalline solids and are fully characterized by IR, (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, and mass spectra. They are found to be stable for several months when stored at 4 degrees C. The acyl azides of Asp, Glu, Ser, Tyr, and Lys with side-chain protection having tert-butyl, benzyl, and Boc groups were also converted to the corresponding isocyanates 2h-m. The rearrangement of Fmoc-amino acid azides in toluene to isocyanates 2 under microwave irradiation was also accomplished. The direct exposure of solid azides to microwaves for 60 s led to the completion of the rearrangement. The resulting isocyanates, after recrystallization, were found to be analytically pure. The scale-up of the rearrangement, under microwave irradiation as tested up to 0.75 mol, posed no problems and led to the isolation of the isocyanates in 91-96% yield. The utility of isocyanates as building blocks in the synthesis of urea peptides 4 is demonstrated. Further, the coupling of isocyantes 2 directly with N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl) derivatives of amino acids 6 resulted in urea peptide acids 7 with good yield in high purity. Thus, the synthesis of urea peptide acids 7d-g containing Asp, Glu, Ser, and Tyr with a free side-chain functional group have been carried out.     

Stereospecific synthesis of the alpha- and beta-D-glucopyranosyl ureas

A new, one-pot, two-stage procedure for the preparation of the alpha- and beta-D-glucopyranosyl ureas has been developed. Oxidation of glucopyranosyl isocyanides provides glucopyranosyl isocyanates, which can be trapped in situ with amines to afford good yields of glucopyranosyl ureas. Application of this method establishes the successful synthesis of the hitherto unknown N,N'-di-alpha,alpha- and alpha,beta-D-glucopyranosyl ureas.     

Stereoselective preparation of ceramide and its skeleton backbone modified analogues via cyclic thionocarbonate intermediates derived by catalytic asymmetric dihydroxylation of alpha,beta-unsaturated ester precursors

A novel and efficient synthetic route to ceramide 1a and skeleton backbone modified ceramide analogues 1b,c is reported. The syntheses utilize osmium-catalyzed asymmetric dihydroxylation of (E)-alpha, beta-unsaturated ester 5a-c as the chiral induction step, with the desired configurations in the products 1a-c, 2a, and 13 being generated by regioselective azide substitution at the alpha position of alpha,beta-dihydroxyesters 6a-c via a cyclic thionocarbonate intermediate. Azido esters 10a-c are converted to the corresponding ceramides 1a-c by a sequence of azide reduction, N-acylation, ester reduction (NaBH(4)/LiBr), and Birch reduction of the triple bond (Li, EtNH(2)). These seven- to eight-step syntheses afford the target compounds 1a-c with excellent stereocontrol and in 30-42% overall yields. Furthermore, propargylic alpha-azido-beta-hydroxyester 10a is converted to D-erythro-sphingosine 2a via simultaneous reduction of the triple bond, azido, and ester functional groups with LiAlH(4), providing a highly concise and practical four-step synthesis of this key naturally occurring sphingolipid. The L-erythro stereoisomers are also available in high enantiomeric purity by the method described herein.     

Synthesis of 1-alkoxy-5-alkyluracils

1-Alkoxy-5-alkyluracils 2a-f have been prepared by the reaction of 2-alkyl-3-methoxyacryloyl isocyanates 8a-b with alkoxyamines 9a-c followed by cyclization of the resulting N-alkoxy-N'-(2-alkyl-3-methoxyacryloyl)ureas 10a-f. The isocyanates 8a-b were prepared from ethyl 2-alkylacrylates 3a-b in 5 steps.     

Solid-phase synthesis of urea and amide libraries using the T2 triazene linker

Starting from Merrifield resin, primary amines were immobilized in two steps by triazene linkage (T2-linker). While reaction with isocyanates gave rise to resin-bound urea derivatives, acylation by acid chlorides or anhydrides furnished amides bound to solid support via the nitrogen atom, therefore representing a novel backbone amide linker. Cleavage from the resin was conducted using dilute trimethylsilyl chloride or trifluoroacetic acid, respectively, to yield ureas and amines/amides in a library format (altogether 60 examples; manual synthesis: 17 ureas, 6 mono-alkylated ureas [including dihydroxylation and ozonolysis/Wittig reaction]; automated synthesis: 15 ureas, 15 amides) in high purities and good overall yields. The synthesis of a small library (4 x 4 member) was successfully conducted on a Bohdan Neptune synthesizer.     

X-H (X = C, N, O, P, S) bond activations induced by beta-heterosubstituted zirconaindenes

The azazirconacyclopentene-substituted phosphines 3 and 4 have been found to activate the C-H bonds of acetylenic systems, such as methylpropiolate, diphenylphosphinoacetylene and phenylacetylene, or of methylene compounds, such as malonitrile and diethylmalonate, to give complexes 5a-c, 6a and 6b. C-H bond activation also takes place with vinylacetate. Similar reactions with amines, alcohols, enolisable ketones, phenols, phosphonates, thiols and a second-generation SH-terminated dendrimer lead through X-H bond activation (X = N, O, P, S) to new complexes 8a-c, 9, 12 a,b, 13, 14a-c, 15, 16a and 16b. The azazirconacyclopentene-substituted amine 20 reacts to form analogous complexes. Zr-X bonds of these complexes (X = C, N, O, S) can be cleaved with diphenylchlorophosphine to give P-X phosphorus derivatives in high yield.     

Renin inhibitors. I. Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of transition-state inhibitors containing homostatine analogues at the scissile bond.

The synthesis and structure-activity relationships of transition-state renin inhibitors containing the homostatine analogues at the scissile bond are described. These inhibitors incorporate the amino acid side chains corresponding to positions 7-12 (P4-P2') of angiotensinogen. Ethyl, 2-hydroxyethyl and 3-hydroxypropyl groups at position 2 of the homostatine analogues (P1') are more effective for increasing potency than the isopropyl group. A combination of residues at P1, P3 and P4 is important for potency and this result suggests that S1, S3 and S4 form a huge hydrophobic core together in renin.     

Synthesis of 2-Oxo amide triacylglycerol analogues and study of their inhibition effect on pancreatic and gastric lipases

A general method for the synthesis of chiral 2-oxo amide triacylglycerol analogues, from (R)- or (S)-3-aminopropane-1,2-diol, was developed. These novel inhibitors of digestive lipases are analogues of the triacylglycerol molecule, a natural substrate of lipases, and they were designed to contain the 2-oxo amide functionality in place of the scissile ester bond at the sn-1 or sn-3 position and nonhydrolysable ether bonds instead of ester bonds at the other two remaining positions. The 2-oxo amide derivatives synthesised were tested for their ability to form stable monomolecular films at the air/water interface by recording their surface pressure/molecular area compression isotherms. The inhibition of porcine pancreatic and human gastric lipases by the 2-oxo amides was studied by means of the monolayer technique with mixed films of 1,2-dicaprin and with variable proportions of each inhibitor. The alpha50 values of these triacylglycerol analogues for PPL and HGL varied between 4.4 to 7.0% and 5.6 to 15.9%, respectively. The chirality at the sn-2 position of 2-oxo amide triacylglycerol analogues affected the alpha50 value for HGL, but not for PPL.     

Solid-phase synthesis of trisubsituted guanidines

The solid-phase library synthesis of trisubstituted guanidines was accomplished. Amines were loaded onto the 4-formyl-3,5-dimethoxyphenoxymethyl linker via reductive amination. Subsequent acylation with Fmoc-4-aminomethylbenzoic acid followed by Fmoc deprotection gave solid-supported primary amines. Alternatively, sulfonylation of resin-bound secondary amines with 4-cyanobenzenesulfonyl chloride followed by borane reduction also gave solid-supported primary amines. Both resins were acylated with isocyanates to furnish solid-supported ureas. Dehydration of ureas with p-toluenesulfonyl chloride in pyridine gave solid-supported carbodiimides. Nucleophilic addition of amines to the carbodiimide bond followed by cleavage off the solid support gave trisubstituted guanidines.     

Synthesis and Properties of N,N′-Disubstituted Ureas and Their Isosteric Analogs Containing Polycyclic Fragments: III. Synthesis and Properties ofN-[2-(Adamantan-1-yl)ethyl]-N′-R-ureas

Russian Journal of Organic Chemistry - Methods have been developed for the synthesis of N,N′-disubstituted ureas containing an adamantane fragment separated from the urea nitrogen atom by an...     

Polyureas from diamines and carbon dioxide: synthesis, structures and properties

Polyureas were synthesized from diamines and carbon dioxide in the absence of any catalyst or solvent, analogous to the synthesis of urea from condensation of ammonia with carbon dioxide. The method used carbon dioxide as a carbonyl source to substitute highly toxic isocyanates for the synthesis of polyureas. FTIR and DFT calculations confirmed that strong bidentate hydrogen bonds were formed between urea motifs, and XRD patterns showed that the PUas were highly crystalline and formed a network structure through hydrogen bonds, which served as physical cross-links. The long chain PUas presented a microphase separated morphology as characterized by SAXS and showed a high melting temperature above 200 °C. The PUas showed high resistance to solvents and excellent thermal stability, which benefitted from their special network structures. The PUas synthesized by this method are a new kind of functional material and could serve some areas where their analogues with similar functional groups could not be applied.     

Synthesis of isocyanates and carbodiimides

The reaction of 1,3-disubstituted ureas and 1-arylsulfonyl-3-alkylureas with phosgene permits the preparation of a number of isocyanates and sulfonyl isocyanates that had not previously been described, or that were difficult to prepare. 1,3-Disubstituted thioureas and 1-aryl-(or alkyl)sulfonyl-3-alkylthioureas give carbodiimides. Thionyl chloride and phosphorus pentachloride react with the urea derivatives in the same way as phosgene. Oxalyl chloride reacts with ureas to form parabanic acid derivatives, whereas with thiourea it gives 2-imino-1,3-thiazolidine-4,5-diones, which can isomerize to parabanic acid derivatives.     

N,N'-disubstituted ureas: influence of substituents on the formation of supramolecular polymers

Symmetrical N,N'-disubstituted ureas have been synthesized and characterized. Among them, the branched dialkylureas prepared are highly soluble in organic media. Moreover, the solutions obtained are very viscous in heptane, if the branched alkyl groups are not too bulky (i.e. a methyl group on the alpha carbon, or an ethyl group on the beta carbon). Due to the strong, bifurcated hydrogen bonds between the urea moieties, linear supramolecular polymers are formed. The degree of association of these supramolecular polymers has been determined by FTIR spectroscopy.     

The origin of the conformational preference of N,N'-diaryl-N,N'-dimethyl ureas

Poly aromatic ureas and poly aromatic amides are important classes of foldamers-oligomers with well defined conformations. We have explored the origins of the conformational preference of some N,N'-diaryl-N,N'-dimethyl ureas by a combination of NMR spectroscopy and electronic structure calculations using both a recently developed density functional (M06-2X) and a DFT approach (DFT-D) having empirical corrections for dispersive interactions. We have validated the DFT-D approach for structures of this type using high level wavefunction calculations, (CCSD(T)), of the unsubstituted N,N'-diphenyl-N,N'-dimethyl urea. For the N,N'-diaryl-N,N'-dimethyl ureas we have identified a number of 'endo' conformers (i.e. having an E,E geometrical conformation about the two urea C-N bonds), both π- and tert-butyl-stacked, as well as 'exo' structures (having a Z geometrical conformation about at least one of the C-N bonds), and have computed the relative energies of these conformers as well as the barriers for their interconversion. We find that the relative energies of the 'endo' structures closely follow the relative values of the dispersive interactions. The calculations have allowed us to associate different conformers with the various peaks in the NMR spectra, which point to relatively small differences in energy between the conformers. Somewhat larger energy differences are predicted by the two computational approaches, with the M06-2X functional performing the better of the two. It is suggested that the continuum model employed may not be sufficiently accurate to reflect the solvation of the various conformers.     

A ferroelectrically switchable columnar liquid crystal phase with achiral molecules: superstructures and properties of liquid crystalline ureas

Novel columnar liquid crystalline compounds N,N'-bis(3,4,5-trialkoxylphenyl)ureas 1a-c (R = n-C(8)H(17), n-C(12)H(25), and n-C(16)H(33)) were synthesized, and their phase transitions were measured by differential scanning calorimetery. The superstructures were investigated by X-ray diffraction, polarized light optical microscopy, and IR spectroscopy. The compounds exhibited both rectangular and hexagonal columnar phases in which the urea molecules in each column were stacked in one direction with strong hydrogen bonds. To confirm the ferroelectric switching, optoelectronic experiments were carried out, and the hexagonal columnar phases of 1b and 1c gave a sharp peak of spontaneous polarization in response to an applied triangular wave electric field (0.1-18 Hz). This is the first example of ferroelectrically switchable columnar liquid crystal phases generated by achiral molecules.     

Intramolecular cyclization of N‐hetarylphosphinimidic isocyanates in the synthesis of 1,7‐dihydro‐4H‐imidazo[4,5‐d][1,3,2]diazaphosphinin‐4‐one (2‐phosphapurine)

It has been found that N‐(4‐imidazolyl)phosphinimidic isocyanates obtained by the reaction of the corresponding chlorophosphine N‐hetarylimide with alkali metal cyanates can undergo intramolecular heterocyclization to yield previously unknown phosphapurine derivatives containing an endocyclic PN double bond. This radically novel approach to building the 2‐phosphapurine system shows promise for the synthesis of related phosphorus‐containing fused heterocycles. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heteroatom Chem 21:453–455, 2010; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com . DOI 10.1002/hc.20617     

Synthesis of 6-substituted 1-alkoxy-5-alkyluracils

Synthesis of 6-substituted 1-alkoxy-5-alkyluracils 2a-c have been achieved from readily accessible 2-alkyl-3,3-di(methylthio)acryloyl chlorides 4a,b in high overall yields. Treatment of 4a,b with silver cyanate followed by reaction of the resulting isocyanates 5a,b with an appropriate alkoxyamine afforded N-alkoxy-N′-[2-alkyl-3,3-di(methylthio)acryloyl]ureas 6a,b in 85–88% yields. Cyclization of 6a,b in acetic acid containing methanesulfonic acid followed by oxidation with 3-chloroperoxybenzoic acid gave high yields of 1-alkoxy-5-alkyl-6-(methylsulfonyl)uracils 9a,b. Nucleophillic addition-elimination reaction of 9a,b with sodium azide, phenylthiol, or phenylselenol produced 6-azido-1-butoxythymine ( 2a , 98%), 5-ethyl-1-(2-phenoxyethoxy)-6-(phenylthio)uracil ( 2b , 95%), or 5-ethyl-1-(2-phenoxyethoxy)-6-(phenylselenenyl)uracil ( 2c , 91%).     

Synthesis and antimicrobial activity of new 1,2,4-triazole, 1,3,4-oxadiazole, 1,3,4-thiadiazole,thiopyrane, thiazolidinone,and azepine derivatives

4-oxo-4-phenylbutanehydrazide 3 was reacted with aryl or alkyl isothiocyanates to give the corresponding N-substituted-2-(4-oxo-4-phenylbutanoyl) hydrazine-1-carbothioamide 4a-c . Cyclization of thiosemicarbazides 4a-c with sodium hydroxide led to the formation of 3-(4-sub-5-thioxo-1,2,4-triazol-3-yl)-propanone 5a-c . Desulfurization of thiosemicarbazides 4a-c by mercuric oxide afforded 3-(5-(sub-amino)-1,3,4-oxadiazol-2-yl)-propanone 6a-c . The reaction of 4a-c with phosphorus oxychloride gave 3-(5-(sub-amino)-1,3,4-thiadiazol-2-yl)-propanone 7a-c . Treatment of 4a-c with ethyl-bromoacetate or α-bromopropionic acid gave N′-(3-sub-thiazolidin-2-ylidene)-butanehydrazide 8a-c and (N′-(3-sub-oxothiazolidin-2-ylidene)-butanehydrazide 9a-c . Chlorination of oxothiazolidine-hydrazide 9a-c by phosphorus oxychloride afforded N-(3-sub-4-oxothiazolidine)-butane-hydrazonoyl-chloride 10a-c . The reaction of 10a-c with mercaptoacetyl-chloride yielded 2-((4-benzoyl-thiopyrane) hydrazono)-3-sub-thiazolidinone 11a-c . Also, reacted of 10a-c with hydrazine hydrate afforded N″-(3-sub-oxothiazolidine)-butane-hydrazon-hydrazide 12a-c . The 3-sub-2-((pyridazine) hydrazono) thiazolidinone 13a-c was obtained by cyclization of 12a-c via refluxing in DMF. The reaction and cyclized of 9a-c with chloroacetyl-chloride in ethanolic KOH afforded 1-((3-sub-4-oxothiazolidine) amino)-azepine-dione 14a-c . The chemical structures of the new compounds have been confirmed by diverse spectroscopy analyses such as IR, NMR, MS, and elemental analysis. The synthesized compounds were tested for their antimicrobial activity and these compounds were considered (Pyridazin-hydrazono-thiazolidinone 13a-c , oxothiazolidin-azepinedione 14a-c , N-thiazolidin-hydrazon-hydrazide 12a-c , and thiopyran-hydrazono-thiazolidinone 11a-c ) the most effective as antimicrobial activity.     

Pathways of Intramolecular Cyclization of Phosphorylated Ureas and Thioureas: A Theoretical Study

The stability of phosphorylated ureas and thioureas containing various substituents at the P and N atoms and the stability of their cyclization products, the corresponding diazaphospholidines and/or oxaza(thiaza)phospholines, was evaluated by PM3, MNDO, and DFT calculations. The thermal effects of cyclizations involving phosphorylated ureas (or thioureas) and of separate steps of their synthesis were calculated. According to the calculations, diazaphospholidine structures are preferably formed from substituted ureas and thiazaphospholine structures, from their thio analogs; formation of five-membered heterorings with the P-N bond is thermodynamically preferable as compared to their six-membered analogs.     

The alpha-helical peptide nucleic acid concept: merger of peptide secondary structure and codified nucleic acid recognition

A novel platform for nucleic acid recognition that integrates the alpha-helix secondary structure of peptides with the codified base-pairing capability of nucleic acids is reported. The resulting alpha-helical peptide nucleic acids (alpha PNAs) are composed of a repeating tetrapeptidyl unit, aa(1)-aa(2)-aa(3)-Ser(B), where aa(1) through aa(3) represent generic ancillary amino acids and B = nucleobases linked to Ser via a methylene bridge. Effective syntheses of constituent Fmoc-protected nucleoamino acids (Fmoc-Ser(B)-OH, where B = thymine, cytosine, and uracil) are described along with a protocol for the solid-phase synthesis of 21mer alpha PNAs containing five such nucleobases. By varying the ancillary amino acids, two distinct classes of alpha PNAs were constructed, having a net charge of -1 or +6, respectively, at physiological pH. The modular nature of the alpha PNA platform was illustrated by the synthesis of symmetrical disulfide-bridged alpha PNA dimers containing 10 nucleobases. Hybridization of these alpha PNAs with ssDNA has been examined by thermal denaturation, gel electrophoresis, and circular dichroism (CD) and the data indicated that alpha PNA binds to ssDNA in a cooperative manner with high affinity and sequence specificity. In general, b2 alpha PNAs bind faster and more strongly with ssDNA than do the corresponding b1 alpha PNAs. Parallel alpha PNA-DNA complexes are more stable than their antiparallel counterparts. CD studies also revealed that the hybridization event involves the folding of both species into their helical conformations. Finally, NMR experiments provided conclusive evidence of Watson-Crick base pairing in alpha PNA-ssDNA hybrids.