Isomers of neplanocin A and 2′-deoxyneplanocin A possessing a C-1′/C-6′ double bond

Missing among the unsaturated carbocyclic nucleosides is the 1′,6′-double bond isomer of neplanocin A. A practical synthesis of this compound and its 2′-deoxy derivative is reported from readily accessible cyclopentenols.     

5′-Noraristeromycin possessing a C-1′ cyclopentyl double bond: a new carbanucleoside structural prototype

Prior to this work only two examples of carbanucleosides possessing a C-1′/C-6′ double bond had been reported and they were minor derivatized side products arising during other targeted syntheses. To develop this structural feature into a new class of potential antiviral agents, the 5′-nor derivative of aristeromycin with such an olefinic structure (6) represents the first example. In this regard, treatment of (1′S,2′S,3′S,4′R,5′S)-6-chloro-9-(2′,3′-isopropylidenedioxy-6′-oxabicyclo[3.1.0]hex-4′-yl)purine (7) with sodium methoxide yielded 6 via an E′₂-like elimination pathway. A convenient way to the C-4′ epimer of 6 (that is, 17) also arose during these studies and is described. Antiviral analysis of 6 and 17 failed to produce any significant activity.     

5′-Noraristeromycin derivatives isomeric to aristeromycin and 2′-deoxyaristeromycin

A straightforward synthesis of (1S,2R,3R,4R)-4-(6-aminopurin-9-yl)-2-hydroxymethylcyclopentane-1,3-diol (2), an isomer of aristeromycin, and its 2′-deoxy derivative 3 from readily available disubstituted cyclopentenes is presented. An antiviral analysis of 2 showed it to have significant activity versus Epstein-Barr virus (IC₅₀ 0.62 μg/mL in the Elisa assay) and to be free of cytotoxicity effects against the host cells. In a much less comprehensive antiviral analysis, 3 also was active towards Epstein-Barr (IC₅₀ 7.58 μg/mL in the Elisa assay) but this was accompanied by cellular toxicity.     

Chiral syntheses of 6′-β-fluoroaristeromycin, 6′-β-fluoro-5′-noraristeromycin and aristeromycin

Carbocyclic nucleosides substituted at the C-6′ position are receiving increasing attention. Chiral synthetic accessibility to the biologically promising 6′-β-fluoroaristeromycin is lacking. Its preparation and that of the 5′-nor analogue are described. Along the way, a new method to aristeromycin arose as an outgrowth of a requisite structure proof.     

A practical synthetic route to 4′-alkylaristeromycin derivatives: 4′-methylaristeromycin

(−)-(1S,4R)-4-Hydroxy-2-cyclopenten-1-yl acetate provided a convenient entry point for a 16-step chiral preparation of 4′-methylaristeromycin. This procedure is adaptable to a number of carbocyclic nucleosides with a diversity of substitution at C-4′ and C-5′ and a variety of heterocyclic bases.     

Synthesis of (±)-4′-ethynyl-5′,5′-difluoro-2′,3′-dehydro-3′-deoxy- carbocyclic thymidine: a difluoromethylidene analogue of promising anti-HIV agent Ed4T

Synthesis of (±)-4′-ethynyl-5′,5′-difluoro-2′,3′-dehydro-3′-deoxy-carbocyclic-thymidine (8) was carried out. The difluoromethylylidene group of 8 was constructed by the electrophilic fluorination to the cyclopentenone 11 by using Selectfluor^®. Introduction of thymine base was investigated based on the Mitsunobu reaction by employing cyclopentenyl allyl alcohols variously substituted at the 4-position. It was found the 4-methoxycarbonyl derivative 14 gave the highest selectivity both in terms of regio- and stereochemistry.     

Antitumour tiazofurin analogues embedded with an amide moiety at the C-2′ position

Synthesis of four new tiazofurin analogues has been accomplished starting from d-glucose. The key step of the synthesis was the three-step cascade that enabled an efficient hydrogen sulfide mediated one-pot conversion of 2-azido-3-O-acyl-ribofuranosyl cyanides to the corresponding 2-alkylamido ribofuranosyl thiocarboxamides. The resulting key intermediates were first converted to protected tiazofurin derivatives by cyclocondensation with ethyl bromopyruvate, and finally to target C-nucleosides by treatment with ammonia in methanol. In vitro cytotoxicities of tiazofurin analogues against a number of human tumour cell lines were recorded and compared with those observed for the parent molecule (tiazofurin), as well as the commercial antitumour agent doxorubicin (DOX). Analogues 2b-d have shown a potent in vitro cytotoxic activity against human myelogenous leukaemia K562. Among solid tumour cell lines, HT29 was sensitive only to 2d, while HeLa cells were sensitive to 2a, 2b and 2d. Only analogue 2a was highly cytotoxic against MCF-7 cells. No tiazofurin analogue exhibits any significant cytotoxicity towards normal foetal lung MRC-5 cells. Downregulation of Bcl-2, activation of caspase-3 and presence of cleavage product of PARP suggest that the cytotoxic effects of tiazofurin analogues 2a-d in K562 might be mediated by apoptosis in a caspase-dependent way. On the contrary, tiazofurin did not induce apoptosis of K562 cells, which suggests a different mechanism of action, most probably through the inhibition of IMPDH. Flow cytometry and Western blot analysis data agreed well with the results of MTT assay, and enabled identification of analogue 2c as the most promising antitumour agent that preferentially target cancer cells over normal cells and thus represents a new lead for further optimization.     

A short and concise synthesis of isofagomine, homoisofagomine, and 5′-deoxyisofagomine

A short and concise synthesis of isofagomine derivatives via the epoxidation of chiral N-Boc-5-hydroxy-3-piperidene, followed by regioselective epoxide ring opening is described. This constitutes the first reported synthesis of homoisofagomine and the 5′-deoxyisofagomine.     

Synthesis of (±)-9-[c-4, t-5-bis(hydroxymethyl)cyclopent-2-en-r-1-yl]-9H-adenine (BCA) derivatives branched at the 4′-position based on intramolecular SH2′ cyclization

Synthesis of 4′-branched BCA analogues (5) was carried out. Stereospecific construction of the cis-disposed 4′-carbon-substituents and 5′-hydroxymethyl group was secured by employing the bicyclo[3.3.0]lactone 16 as a key intermediate, which was prepared by radical-mediated intramolecular S_H2′ cyclization of the phenylselenomethyl ester 15. After manipulation of the double bond of 16, bis(Boc)adenine was introduced based on the Mitsunobu reaction of the allyl alcohol 24. Transformation of the lactone function of 27 allowed preparation of the 4′-hydroxymethyl (31), the 4′-vinyl (32), the 4′-cyano (34), and the 4′-ethynyl (35) derivatives. Anti-HIV and anti-HCV activities of the free nucleosides 36-38 were also examined.     

Radical-mediated stannylation of vinyl sulfones: access to novel 4′-modified neplanocin A analogues

Synthesis of 4′-substituted (halogeno, phenyl, ethynyl, and cyano) neplanocin A analogues was carried out. A cyclopentenol derivative having a vinylstannane structure was designed as key-intermediate in this study, which was prepared based on radical-mediated sulfur-extrusive stannylation. The resulting stannylated cyclopentenol 15 was successfully condensed with 6-chloropurine through the Mitsunobu reaction, leading to the carbocyclic nucleoside 20. Compound 20 was converted to its adenine counterpart 21 by treatment with NH₃/MeOH, during which the 4′-stannyl group remained intact. The title compounds were prepared by using 21 or the 4′-iodo derivative (22) mostly through the Stille reaction.     

Ring opening polymerization of epoxides with urea‐derivatives of 4‐aminopyridine as thermally latent anionic initiator

In this study, a series of urea‐derivatives of 4‐aminopyridine (4AP) were evaluated as thermally latent initiators for the anionic ring‐opening polymerization of diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A (DGEBA). The urea‐derivatives were synthesized by the reactions of 4AP with the corresponding iso(thio)cyanates (phenyl isocyanate, tert‐butyl isocyanate, methylene diphenyl diisocyanate, and phenyl isothiocyanate). The ability of the urea‐derivatives as latent initiators was investigated with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC): Upon heating formulations comprised of DGEBA and the urea‐derivatives in a heating rate at 10 °C/min, the resulting DSC profiles indicated exothermic peaks to confirm that DGEBA underwent the polymerization efficiently. The corresponding DSC‐peak top temperatures (T_{peak top}) was higher than that observed for the formulation comprised of DGEBA and pristine 4AP, to clarify that the urea are useful initiators with thermal latency. A possible mechanism for the initiation step involves the thermal dissociation of the urea into 4AP and the corresponding isocyanates. 4AP thus generated readily initiated the ring‐opening polymerization of epoxide. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2014 , 52, 2518–2522     

Reductive opening of 2,7-dihydrodinaphthoxepine and thiepine: easy regioselective preparation of 2,2′-difunctionalised binaphthyls

The lithiation of 2,7-dihydrodinaphthoheteroepines (5) with 2.2 equiv of lithium naphthalenide in THF at −78 °C gives dianionic intermediates 8, which by reaction with different electrophiles [H₂O, D₂O, ^tBuCHO, Me₂CO, Et₂CO, (CH₂)₄CO, (CH₂)₅CO] at the same temperature, followed by hydrolysis, leads to unsymmetrically 2,2′-disubstituted binaphthyls 6. When the lithiation is performed with an excess of lithium in the presence of a catalytic amount of 4,4′-di-tert-butylbiphenyl (DTBB, 10 mol %), a double reductive cleavage takes place to give dianionic intermediate 9, which by reaction with different electrophiles [H₂O, Me₂CO, Et₂CO, (CH₂)₄CO, (CH₂)₅CO], followed by hydrolysis with water, yields symmetrically 2,2′-disubstituted binaphthyls 7. In the case of starting from (R)-5a, the reductive opening by treatment with 2.2 equiv of lithium naphthalenide followed by reaction with H₂O or (CH₂)₅CO as electrophiles and final hydrolysis, leads to enantiomerically pure compounds (R)-6aa and (R)-6af, respectively.     

Investigation of hydrazine addition to functionalized furans: synthesis of new functionalized 4,4′-bipyrazole derivatives

The addition of hydrazine to functionalized furans 2a-d leads to a variety of 4,4′-bipyrazoles 4a-c depending on the structure of the starting materials. In one example, compound 2c was first converted to an intermediate, furo[3,4-d]pyridazine 3c which was then transformed into 4,4′-bipyrazole 4c on reacting with hydrazine.     

Convenient and useful synthesis of N‐carboxyanhydride monomers through selective cyclization of urethane derivatives of α‐amino acids

A new convenient synthesis of N‐carboxyanhydrides (NCAs) of α‐amino acids was achieved by selective cyclization of urethane derivatives of α‐amino acids. The urethanes were readily synthesized via N‐carbamoylation of α‐amino acids by bis(4‐nitrophenyl)carbonate quantitatively. These urethanes having 4‐nitrophenoxy moiety were tolerant to air and moisture to allow their facile purification and storage. When the obtained urethanes were heated in 2‐butanone at 60 °C, they underwent the selective cyclization via intramolecular nucleophilic attack of the carboxyl moiety to the urethane moiety with releasing 4‐nitrophenol, leading to the successful formation of the corresponding NCAs. Addition of carboxylic acids remarkably stabilized the formed NCAs during the reaction, allowing their isolation in high yields. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 3839–3844, 2009     

Ring‐opening polymerization of six‐membered cyclic carbonates initiated by ethanol amine derivatives and their application to protonated or quaternary ammonium salt‐functionalized polycarbonate films

Ring‐opening polymerization (ROP) of monofunctional neopentylglycol carbonate (NPGC) with or without bifunctional di(trimethylolpropane) carbonate (DTMPC), which are derived from available corresponding alcohols, affords linear polycarbonates or covalently‐linked polycarbonate networks, respectively. A series of available ethanol amine derivatives having the different numbers of 2‐hydroxylethyl arms (N,N,N’,N’‐tetrakis(2‐hydroxyethyl)ethylenediamine, triethanolamine, N‐methyldiethanolamine or N,N‐dimethylethanolamine) initiates the ROP of NPGC to afford star‐shaped, telechelic, or linear polycarbonates bearing tertiary amines with well‐controlled molecular weights and relatively narrow polydispersities Furthermore, the copolymerization of NPGC and DTMPC in the presence of these initiators readily gives tertiary amine‐modified polycarbonate films with well transparency and flexibility. These amino groups are easily converted to ammonium salts by protonation with acids, while the quaternization with benzyl bromide is strongly affected by the steric hindrance of these amines. N‐Methyldiethanolamine or N,N‐dimethylethanolamine residues in these films react easily with benzyl bromide to give quaternary ammonium salt‐functionalized films. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2016 , 54, 487–497     

Ring‐opening metathesis polymerization of amino acid‐functionalized norbornene derivatives

Amino acid‐derived novel norbornene derivatives, N,N′‐(endo‐bicyclo[2.2.1] hept‐5‐en‐2,3‐diyldicarbonyl) bis‐L ‐alanine methyl ester (NBA), N,N′‐(endo‐bicyclo[2.2.1]hept‐5‐en‐2,3‐diyldicarbonyl) bis‐L ‐leucine methyl ester (NBL), N,N′‐(endo‐bicyclo[2.2.1]hept‐5‐en‐2,3‐diyldicarbonyl) bis‐L ‐phenylalanine methyl ester (NBF) were synthesized and polymerized using the Grubbs 2nd generation ruthenium (Ru) catalyst. Although NBA, NBL, and NBF did not undergo homopolymerization, they underwent copolymerization with norbornene (NB) to give the copolymers with M_n ranging from 5200 to 38,100. The maximum incorporation ratio of the amino acid‐based unit was 9%, and the cis contents of the main chain were 54–66%. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 44: 5337–5343, 2006     

Incorporation of ketone groups into poly(4‐hydroxystyrene)s main chain by radical copolymerization of 2,2‐diphenyl‐4‐methylene‐1,3‐dioxorane with O‐protected hydroxystyrenes and their photodegradable behavior

Here we report the incorporation of ketone groups into poly(4‐hydroxystyrene)s main chain by radical copolymerization of O‐protected hydroxystyrenes such as 4‐ethoxyethoxystyrene and 4‐acetoxystyrene with 2,2‐diphenyl‐4‐methylene‐1,3‐dioxorane (DPMD) followed by removal of the protective groups and the photodegradable behavior of obtained copolymers. The copolymerization of O‐protected hydroxystyrenes with DPMD gave the corresponding copolymers bearing DMPD‐derived ketone groups in the main chain, of which content could be controlled by changing monomer feed ratio. The ethoxyethyl and acetyl groups of the obtained copolymers were completely removed under acidic and basic conditions, respectively, to afford poly(4‐hydroxystyrene)s having ketone moieties in the main chain. The molecular weights of these copolymers decreased under photoirradiation due to the Norrish‐type reactions of the ketone groups distributed in the main chain. These results demonstrate that poly(4‐hydroxystyrene)s having ketone groups in the main chain possess good photo‐scissibility. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem, 2011     

2′,3′,4′,5′-Tetraacetyl-N(3)-carboxymethylriboflavin derivatives: synthesis and fluorescence studies

The hitherto not described 2′,3′,4′,5′-tetraacetyl-N(3)-carboxymethylriboflavin (1) could be prepared starting from 2′,3′,4′,5′-tetraacetylriboflavin by alkylation with tert-butyl α-bromoacetate and benzyl α-bromoacetate, followed by deprotection reaction. The results of fluorescence studies are described.     

Synthesis of 4′-thionucleosides by 1,3-dipolar cycloadditions of the simplest thiocarbonyl ylide with alkenes bearing electron-withdrawing groups

Reactions of the simplest thiocarbonyl ylide with a variety of appropriate alkenes bearing electron-withdrawing substituents afforded the corresponding tetrahydrothiophenes, which could be easily elaborated into hydroxy and hydroxymethyl derivatives and then coupled with nucleobases to produce different 4′-thionucleosides. Particularly, α- and β-anomers of 1-[3,4-bis(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydro-2-thienyl]-thymine, -cytosine, -uracil and -fluorouracil were prepared with dimethyl fumarate and maleate, while 1-[4-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydro-2-thienyl]- and 1-[4-(hydroxymethyl)tetrahydro-3-thienyl]-thymine, -cytosine, -uracil and -fluorouracil were prepared with a chiral α,β-unsaturated amide. These processes, simple in the experimental conditions and large availability of the starting materials, affording moderate to good yields of 4′-thionucleosides, represent an optimum alternative to those, already known, based on sugars, which often have the drawbacks of a higher number of steps and lower yields.