Conformationally rigid aromatic amino acids as potential building blocks for abiotic foldamers

This communication describes the development of conformationally constrained unnatural aromatic amino acids, constructed on rigid backbone wherein the carboxyl and amino groups project in two dimensions (planes) on the aromatic framework. Such a feature offers the possibility of design and development of conformationally ordered synthetic oligomers with intriguing structural architectures distinct from those classically observed. Furthermore, such amino acids will have the potential to extend the conformational space available for foldamer design with diverse backbone conformation and structural architectures.     

Conformationally constrained aliphatic-aromatic amino-acid-conjugated hybrid foldamers with periodic beta-turn motifs

In this note, we describe the design, synthesis, and structural studies of novel hybrid foldamers derived from Aib-Pro-Adb building blocks that display repeat beta-turn structure motif. The foldamer having a conformationally constrained aliphatic-aromatic amino acid conjugate adopts a well-defined, compact, three-dimensional structure, governed by a combined conformational restriction imposed by the individual amino acids with which it is made of. Conformational investigations by single-crystal X-ray and solution-state NMR studies were undertaken to investigate the conformational preference of these foldamers with a hetero-backbone. Our findings suggest that constrained aliphatic-aromatic amino acid conjugates would offer new avenues for the de novo design of hybrid foldamers with distinctive structural architectures.     

Diversifying the structural architecture of synthetic oligomers: the hetero foldamer approach

Conformationally ordered synthetic oligomers, also called "foldamers", have attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to their ability to mimic the structural architecture of biopolymers and also because of their potential applications in biomedical and material science fields. Until recently, the major focus in this area has been the development of oligomers featuring a single type of monomer building blocks. However, due to the enormous possibility of augmenting the conformational space available for oligomer design, the hetero foldamer approach has been introduced very recently. This feature article aims to describe foldamers with unique structural architectures, exclusively featuring heterogeneous backbones (hetero foldamers).     

BINOL-based foldamers--access to oligomers with diverse structural architectures

In this article, we report on the synthesis and conformation of a new family of aromatic oligoamide foldamers based on binaphthol (BINOL) monomers. A series of oligomers with differing chirality of the individual BINOL building blocks and mixed sequences of alternate BINOL and pyridyl building blocks has been synthesized and structurally characterized. NMR and quantum chemical calculations on the basis of ab initio MO theory were performed to obtain insight into the conformational features of these oligomers. It is shown that the combination of these inherently chiral aromatic building blocks provides a novel access to a wide variety of conformationally ordered synthetic oligomers with diverse and dazzling structural architectures distinct from those classically observed.     

Supramolecular Diblock Copolymers Featuring Well‐defined Telechelic Building Blocks

We report supramolecular AB diblock copolymers comprised of well‐defined telechelic building blocks. Helical motifs, formed via reversible addition‐fragmentation chain‐transfer (RAFT) or anionic polymerization, are assembled with coil‐forming and sheet‐featuring blocks obtained via atom‐transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) or ring‐opening metathesis polymerization (ROMP). Interpolymer hydrogen bonding or metal‐coordination achieves dynamic diblock architectures featuring hybrid topologies of coils, helices, and/or π‐stacked sheets that, on a basic level, mimic protein structural motifs in fully synthetic systems. The intrinsic properties of each block (e.g., circular dichroism and fluorescence) remain unaffected in the wake of self‐assembly. This strategy to develop complex synthetic polymer scaffolds from functional building blocks is significant in a field striving to produce architectures reminiscent of biosynthesis, yet fully synthetic in nature. This is the first plug‐and‐play approach to fabricate hybrid π‐sheet/helix, π‐sheet/coil, and helix/coil architectures via directional self‐assembly.     

Phenols-useful templates for the synthesis of bi-functional orthogonally protected dendron building blocks via solid phase Mitsunobu reaction

Bi-functional dendritic building blocks for convergent dendrimer growth were successfully synthesized from phenolic templates in the solid phase via a Mitsunobu reaction. Each arm of the dendron building block carries an orthogonally protected secondary amine along the arm, and a peripheral primary amine or phenol group (building block type 1) or a tertiary amine junction with orthogonally protected peripheral primary amine or carboxyl groups (building block type 2). The synthetic routes reported in this work are general and applicable for the preparation of diverse building blocks, controlling protection, arm length, and peripheral moieties. These novel dendron units can form unusual dendritic architectures by solid-phase chemistry, which may be incorporated into specific complex structures expanding the scope of dendrimer science.     

Solution-based growth and structural characterization of homo- and heterobranched semiconductor nanowires

Colloidal homobranched ZnSe nanowires (NWs) and heterobranched CdSe-ZnSe NWs are successfully synthesized by combining a sequential seeding strategy with the solution-liquid-solid (SLS) growth process. We have developed an efficient approach to deposit secondary bismuth nanoparticles onto the NW backbone to induce the subsequent SLS branch growth. The density, length, and diameter of branches are rationally controlled by varying reaction conditions. Structural characterization reveals that crystalline branches grow epitaxially from the backbone in both homo- and heterobranched NWs. Two different branching structures are observed in the CdSe-ZnSe heterobranched NWs, owing to the phase admixture, i.e., cubic and hexagonal crystal structures, coexisting in the CdSe NW backbones. These branched NWs with well-designed architectures are expected to have potential as three-dimensional building blocks in the fabrication of nanoscale electronics and photonics.     

Helical supramolecular self-assembly by prolamide thymidine/uridine analogues

This report describes the syntheses of rationally designed non-sugar nucleoside as prolamide nucleosides which contain prolyl ring and pyrimidine nucleobases (uracil/thymine) via acetamide bonds. These nucleosides have propensity to form distinctive self-assembly supramolecular helical structures ubiquitously through Watson-Crick/reverse type of hydrogen bonding with nucleobases. Moreover, the prolyl acetamide backbone groups- carbonyl (-C = O) and hydroxyl (-OH) group, are also involved in strengthening of self-assembled helical structures. Importantly, both prolamide thymidine and prolamide uridine have shown two distinctive helical structural patterns, in spite of containing the same backbone. Hence thymine and uracil moieties of prolamide nucleosides are responsible for unique supramolecular helical structural architectures.     

A hybrid foldamer with unique architecture from conformationally constrained aliphatic-aromatic amino acid conjugate

In this paper, we describe the design and synthesis of a novel hybrid foldamer, derived from a conformationally constrained aliphatic-aromatic amino acid conjugate that adopts a well-defined, compact, three-dimensional structure, governed by a combined conformational restriction imposed by the individual amino acids from which the foldamer is composed. Conformational investigations confirmed the prevalence of a unique doubly bent conformation for the foldamer, in both solid and solution states, as evidenced from single crystal X-ray and 2D NOESY studies, respectively. The findings suggest that constrained aliphatic-aromatic amino acid conjugates offer new avenues for the de novo design of hybrid foldamers with distinctive structural architectures. Furthermore, the de novo design strategy disclosed herein has the potential for significantly augmenting the ‘tool-box’ of the modern day peptidomimetic chemist, as well as providing a novel approach to the field of rational design.     

Enforcing periodic secondary structures in hybrid peptides: a novel hybrid foldamer containing periodic gamma-turn motifs

This note describes the design, synthesis, and conformational studies of a novel hybrid foldamer that adopts a definite compact, three-dimensional structure determined by a combined effect of the special conformational properties of the foldamer constituents. The striking feature of this de novo designed foldamer is its ability to display periodic gamma-turn conformations stabilized by intramolecular hydrogen bonds. Conformational investigations by single-crystal X-ray studies, solution-state NMR, and ab initio MO theory at the HF/6-31G* level strongly support the prevalence of gamma-turn motifs in both the di- and tetrapeptide foldamers, which are presumably stabilized by bifurcated hydrogen bonds in the solid and solution states. The strategy disclosed herein for the construction of hybrid foldamers with periodic gamma-turn motifs has the potential to significantly augment the conformational space available for foldamer design with diverse backbone structures and conformations.     

Coupling of an advanced tri-functional building block by reductive amination leads to a protected backbone of a new archetype of foldamer

In order to advance our project to explore a new archetype of foldamer that preferentially folds in water, we designed two types of tri-functional building blocks with increasingly favorable ketone deprotection properties. Both were selected for their ease of synthetic access and the availability of bulk starting material. While the first building block proved unsuitable for efficient coupling by reductive amination, the second gave rise to almost quantitative yields according to mass spectral monitoring. It was thus effectively turned into a protected dimer and a tetramer. Although their subsequent purification prior to exhaustive ketone deprotection was preparatively impractical in view of their high polarity/water solubility, the stage is now set for transfer of the oligomer synthesis onto the solid phase on resin in view of the efficient five-step synthetic access from affordable bulk material, the favorable deprotection properties, the perspective for introduction of a variety of backbone substituents, and the possibility to protect the amine terminus by Boc or Fmoc protection.     

Foldamers with unusual structural architecture from spirobi(indane) building blocks

This communication demonstrates the utility of inherently rigid building blocks such as 1,1'-spirobi(indane) for generating conformationally ordered synthetic oligomers with structural architectures distinct from those classically observed.     

Multifunctional "clickates" as versatile extended heteroaromatic building blocks: efficient synthesis via click chemistry, conformational preferences, and metal coordination

Click chemistry has been utilized to access 2,6-bis(1-aryl-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)pyridines (BTPs) as versatile extended heteroaromatic building blocks for their exploitation in supramolecular chemistry, in particular foldamer and ligand design. In addition to their high-yielding synthesis using Cu(I)-catalyzed Huisgen-type 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions the formed triazole moieties constitute an integral part of the BTP framework and encode both its pronounced conformational preferences as well as its chelating ability. A diverse set of symmetrical and non-symmetrical BTPs carrying electron-donating and -withdrawing substituents at both terminal aryl and the central pyridine moieties has efficiently been synthesized and could furthermore readily be postfunctionalized with amphiphilic side chains and porphyrin chromophores. In both solution and solid state, the BTP scaffold adopts a highly conserved horseshoe-like anti-anti conformation. Upon protonation or metal coordination, the BTP scaffold switches to the chelating syn-syn conformation. Iron and europium complexes have been prepared, successfully characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and investigated with regard to their spin state and luminescent properties. The extended heteroaromatic BTP scaffold should prove useful for the design of responsive foldamer backbones and the preparation of new magnetic and emissive materials.     

A double heteroatom Mitsunobu coupling with amino hydroxybenzoic acids on solid phase: a novel application of the Mitsunobu reaction to form dendron building blocks

A new highly efficient double heteroatom Mitsunobu coupling with amino hydroxybenzoic acids on solid phase is described. The synthetic routes reported in this work are general and applicable for the preparation of diverse building blocks, controlling protection, arm length, chirality, and peripheral functional groups. These novel units can form unusual dendritic architectures, which could be incorporated into specific complex structures, expanding the scope of dendrimer science.     

Biomimetic facially amphiphilic antibacterial oligomers with conformationally stiff backbones

A foldamer has been designed with a conformationally stiff backbone that is facially amphiphilic. The oligomer has excellent antimicrobial activity and was found to be 18 times more active toward bacterial cells than human red blood cells. The oligomer is built from arylamide bonds around a central 4,6-dicarboxy pyrimidine ring. The conformation was studied by X-ray crystallography and solution NMR spectroscopy. Density-functional (DFT) calculations were performed to guide the design. These calculations accurately predicted the overall conformation as well as NMR chemical shifts. Antibacterial activity was demonstrated against E. coli, a gram-negative strain, and B. subtilis, a gram-positive strain. The minimal inhibitory concentration is 0.8 microg/ml.     

Gold‐Catalyzed Cyclization Processes: Pivotal Avenues for Organic Synthesis

Over the years, gold catalysis has materialized as an incredible synthetic approach among the scientific community. Due to the trivial reaction conditions and great functional compatibility, these progressions are synthetically expedient, because practitioners can implement them to build intricate architectures from readily amassed building blocks with high bond forming indices. The incendiary growth of gold catalysts in organic synthesis has been demonstrated as one of the most prevailing soft Lewis acids for electrophilic activation of carbon‐carbon multiple bonds towards a great assortment of nucleophiles. Nowadays, organic chemists consistently employ gold catalysts to carry out a diverse array of organic transformations to build unprecedented molecular architectures. Despite all these achievements and a plethora of reports, many vital challenges remain. In this account, we describe the reactivity of various gold catalysts towards cyclization processes developed over the years. These protocols give access to a wide scope of polyheterocyclic structures, containing different medium‐sized ring skeletons. This is interesting, as the quest for highly selective reactions to assemble diversely functionalized products has attracted much attention. We envisage that these newly developed chemo‐, regio‐, and diastereoselective protocols could provide an expedient route to architecturally cumbersome heterocycles of importance for the pharmaceutical industry.     

From amino acids to heteroaromatics--thiopeptide antibiotics, nature's heterocyclic peptides

Amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, also serve as precursors to a wide range of other naturally occurring substances including alkaloids, antibiotics, and, the subject of this Review, heterocyclic peptides. Simple alpha-amino acids are converted into complex arrays of heteroaromatic rings that display interesting and potent biological activity. The thiopeptide antibiotics, with their complex molecular architectures, are wonderful examples. In this Review we show how organic chemists have developed innovative methods for the synthesis of the heterocyclic ring systems, including routes inspired by the likely biosynthetic processes, and successfully assembled such building blocks into the final target molecule by application of orthogonal protecting groups and coupling methodologies.     

Carbohydrate-Derived Dienes as Building Blocks for Pharmaceutically Relevant Molecules

Carbohydrate-based dienes are valuable building blocks for a variety of highly functionalized carbo- and oxa-cycles by virtue of their high degree of inherent stereochemical information, and suitability in various synthetic transformations. Research into the chemistry of carbohydrate-based dienes has been expanding over the last decades due to its unique applications in the construction of diverse and complex structural frameworks. In this review, we describe the main transformations of this interesting class of molecule and highlight their utility in the construction of diverse ring systems important for drug development.     

Synthesis of steroid-biaryl ether hybrid macrocycles with high skeletal and side chain variability by multiple multicomponent macrocyclization including bifunctional building blocks

Utilizing the multiple multicomponent macrocyclization including bifunctional building blocks (MiB) strategy, a library of nonracemic, nonrepetitive peptoid-containing steroid-biaryl ether hybrid macrocycles was built. Up to 16 new bonds, including those of the macrocyclization, can be formed in one pot simultaneously while introducing varied elements of diversity. Functional diversity is generated primarily by choosing Ugi-reactive functional building blocks, bearing the respective recognition or catalytic motifs. These appear attached to the peptoid backbone of the macrocyclic cavity, similar to side chains of amino acids found in enzyme active sites. Likewise, skeletal diversity is based on the variation of defined bifunctional building blocks which allow the parallel formation of macrocyclic cavities that are highly diverse in shape and size and thus perspectively in function. This straightforward approach is suitable to generate multifunctional macrocycles for applications in catalysis, supramolecular, or biological chemistry.