Toward deciphering the code to aminergic G protein-coupled receptor drug design

The trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR(1)) is a biogenic amine G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) that is potently activated by 3-iodothyronamine (1, T(1)AM) in vitro. Compound 1 is an endogenous derivative of the thyroid hormone thyroxine which rapidly induces hypothermia, anergia, and bradycardia when administered to mice. To explore the role of TAAR(1) in mediating the effects of 1, we rationally designed and synthesized rat TAAR(1) superagonists and lead antagonists using the rotamer toggle switch model of aminergic GPCR activation. The functional activity of a ligand is proposed to be correlated to its probable interactions with the rotamer switch residues; agonists allow the rotamer switch residues to toggle to their active conformation, whereas antagonists interfere with this conformational transition. These agonist and antagonist design principles provide a conceptual model for understanding the relationship between the molecular structure of a drug and its pharmacological properties.     

Novel medium-sized di(het)areno-fused 1,4,7-(oxa)thiadiazecines as probes for aminergic receptors

Di(het)areno-fused 1,4,7-(oxa)thiadiazecanes were synthesized by the reduction of the corresponding ten-membered lactams obtained, in turn, via the ‘hydrated imidazoline ring expansion’ (HIRE) methodology. Two of them displayed micromolar agonistic activity towards trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) and no affinity towards a panel of dopamine (D2) and serotonin (5-HT1A, 5-HT2A and 5-HT7) receptors. These findings validate compounds of this chemotype as scaffolds for the design of selective aminergic receptor modulators.     

Trace amine receptor ligands: tritiation at high specific activity

d-amphetamine and tyramine are both amines which are active at the recently discovered trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) and analogues of these compounds labelled with tritium would be useful reagents for neurochemistry investigators. This paper describes the tritiation and characterization of these substances. d-amphetamine was radiolabelled by a direct tritium catalytic method and characterized by proton decoupled tritium NMR. For tyramine, a bromination??catalytic tritium debromination approach worked best to afford a tritiated analogue at high specific activity.     

Synthesis of a chiral phosphonium salt for the preparation of α-substituted alaninol derivatives

We herein report the synthesis of a chiral phosphonium salt, {[(4S)-4-methyl-2-oxo-1,3-oxazolidin-4-yl]methyl}(triphenyl)phosphonium iodide 13 to provide a new Wittig reagent for the general method of synthesizing α-substituted alaninol derivatives. Our method described here is widely applicable to reactions with various types of aldehyde to afford olefin products with high E-selectivity, enabling us to provide a new approach to the synthesis of chiral S1P₁ agonists including our key intermediates, and of the trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1) agonist.     

1:1 alternating copolymers of 1-bicyclobutanecarbonitrile with styrene

High molecular weight, 1:1 alternating copolymers of 1-bicyclobutanecarbonitrile with styrene were prepared in tetramethylenesulfone solution by complexing the electron-poor bicyclobutane monomer with zinc chloride. Methyl 1-bicyclobutanecarboxylate under these conditions gave copolymers containing a slight excess of styrene units (ratio 1:1.3 to 1:1.8). High molecular weight homopolymers of 1-bicyclobutanecarbonitrile and of methyl 1-bicyclobutanecarboxylate were prepared similarly. The tendency of the bicyclobutane nitrile to form 1:1 alternating copolymers is as great as that of its vinyl analog, acrylonitrile, and the synthesis of other alternating copolymers from this monomer should be possible.     

Spirocyclization strategy toward indole phytoalexins. The first synthesis of (±)-1-methoxyspirobrassinin, (±)-1-methoxyspirobrassinol, and (±)-1-methoxyspirobrassinol methyl ether

The first syntheses of cruciferous indole phytoalexins (±)-1-methoxyspirobrassinin, (±)-1-methoxyspirobrassinol, (±)-1-methoxyspirobrassinol methyl ether as well as a new syntheses of phytoalexins (±)-spirobrassinin and cyclobrassinin were achieved by dioxane dibromide (DDB)-mediated spirocyclization of brassinin and its 1-substituted derivatives.     

以1-甲基-1-甲氧基乙基为保护基的一锅法合成5-芳香二酮-1H-四氮唑

报道了5-芳香二酮-1H-四氮唑(2)的一锅合成法,并且首次报道了1-甲基-1-甲氧基乙基作为四氮唑氮原子的保护基团,保护与脱保护反应条件温和,操作简便,收率高,为该类化合物的合成提供了一条捷径.采用该方法共合成6个未见文献报道的5-芳香二酮-1H-四氮唑类新化合物,以用于药理活性筛选.     

Synthesis of 3,4-dibromo-3,4,4-trichloro-1-phenylbutan-1-one and 1-aryl-2-bromo-3,4,4-trichlorobut-3-en-1-ones from 3,4,4-trichlorobut-3-enoic acid

Bromination of 3,4,4-trichlorobut-3-enoic acid in boiling carbon tetrachloride led to the formation of 2-bromo-3,4,4-trichlorobut-3-enoic acid as a result of replacement of hydrogen in the CH₂ group. The reaction at 40°C involved the double C=C bond to give 3,4-dibromo-3,4,4-trichlorobutanoic acid. The brominated acids were converted into the corresponding chlorides which were used to acylate benzene, toluene, and bromobenzene according to Friedel-Crafts. The acylation was not selective, and only the reaction of 3,4-dibromo-3,4,4-trichlorobutanoyl chloride with benzene gave 3,4-dibromo-3,4,4-trichloro-1-phenylbutan-1-one as the only product. 1-Aryl-2-bromo-3,4,4-trichlorobut-3-en-1-ones were synthesized by bromination of the corresponding 1-aryl-3,4,4-trichlorobut-3-en-1-ones which were prepared previously by Friedel-Crafts acylation of substituted benzenes with 3,4,4-trichlorobut-3-enoyl chloride.     

Diastereoselective alkylation reactions of 1-methylcyclohexa-2,5-diene-1-carboxylic acid

The deprotonation and alkylation of 1-methylcyclohexa-2,5-diene-1-carboxylic acid has been investigated under a range of conditions. In all cases, the formation of compounds 14 was found to be completely stereoselective, although compound 14c was formed as an impurity when alkyl iodides were used as electrophiles, and doubly-alkylated compounds 17 were formed in some cases when alkyl bromides were used.     

Novel Disulfiram Derivatives as ALDH1a1-Selective Inhibitors

Aldehyde dehydrogenase-1a1 (ALDH1a1), the enzyme responsible for the oxidation of retinal into retinoic acid, represents a key therapeutic target for the treatment of debilitating disorders such as cancer, obesity, and inflammation. Drugs that can inhibit ALDH1a1 include disulfiram, an FDA-approved drug to treat chronic alcoholism. Disulfiram, by carbamylation of the catalytic cysteines, irreversibly inhibits ALDH1a1 and ALDH2. The latter is the isozyme responsible for important physiological processes such as the second stage of alcohol metabolism. Given the fact that ALDH1a1 has a larger substrate tunnel than that in ALDH2, replacing disulfiram ethyl groups with larger motifs will yield selective ALDH1a1 inhibitors. We report herein the synthesis of new inhibitors of ALDH1a1 where (hetero)aromatic rings were introduced into the structure of disulfiram. Most of the developed compounds retained the anti-ALDH1a1 activity of disulfiram; however, they were completely devoid of inhibitory activity against ALDH2.     

Long-lived 1-adamantaneimminyl free radical as studied by ESR in 1-cyanoadamantane

The products of γ-irradiation of 1-cyanoadamantane were studied as a function of temperature by ESR spectroscopy. 1-adamantyl, 1-cyanoadamantyl and 1-adamantaneimminyl free radicals are formed in proportions depending on temperature. The low-temperature major product, 1-cyanoadamantyl transforms upon heating into the imminyl free radical which can be used as a spin label for studying molecular dynamics in glassy crystalline 1-cyanoadamantane.     

Addition of trifluoromethyltrimethylsilane to acyl phosphonates: synthesis of TMS-protected 1-alkyl-1-trifluoromethyl-1-hydroxyphosphonates and 1-aryldifluoroethenyl phosphates

Addition reactions of nucleophilic CF3TMS to acyl phosphonates were investigated. Various acyl phosphonates reacted readily with CF3TMS in the presence of K2CO3 in DMF at rt to give 1-alkyl-2,2,2-trifluoro-1-trimethylsilyloxyethylphosphonate in 70-90% yields. When benzoyl phosphonates were used as starting material, after addition of CF3, the formed alcoholate undergoes phosphonate-phosphate rearrangement to form the acyl anion, followed by elimination of F- to give 1-aryldifluoroethenyl phosphates in 87-97% yields. As a representative example, vinylphosphate 6a was converted into 2,2-difluoro-1-phenylethanone 7 with 6 N HCl/EtOH/reflux or CAN/NaOH/MeOH/0 degrees C in 82-90% yields.     

Discovery of Novel Acetaldehyde Dehydrogenase 1A1(ALDH1A1) Inhibitors by Utilizing 3D-QSAR,Molecular Docking and Molecular Dynamics Simulation

Acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 is a hopeful therapeutic target to ovarian cancer. In this present work, 3D-QSAR, molecular docking and molecular dynamics(MD) simulations were implemented on a series of quinoline-based ALDH1A1 inhibitors to investigate novel acetaldehyde dehydrogenase 1A1 inhibitors as anticancer adjuvant drugs for ovarian cancer. Two reliable CoMFA(Q~2 = 0.583, R~2 = 0.967) and CoMSIA(Q~2 = 0.640, R~2 = 0.977) models of ALDH1A1 inhibitors were established. Novel ALDH1A1 inhibitors were predicted by the 3D-QSAR models. Molecular docking reveals important residues for protein-compound interactions, and the results revealed ALDH1A1 inhibitors had stronger electrostatic interaction and binding affinity with key residues of protein, such as Phe171, Val174 and Cys303. Molecular dynamics simulations further verified the results of molecular docking. The above information provided significant guidance for the design of novel ALDH1A1 inhibitors.     

无气味的1-（1, 3-二噻-2-亚基）丙酮作有效的1, 3-丙二硫醇替代试剂的缩硫醛/酮化反应

在常温1-（1, 3-二噻-2-亚基）丙酮1f是无气味的、稳定的白色固体,它易通过易制备的3-（1, 3-二噻-2亚基）-2, 4-戊二酮1b的酸性条件下的脱乙酰化反应制得,产率为86%。在MeCOCl/MeOH体系中,在常温和回流条件下,1f能作为有效的1, 3-丙二硫醇替代试剂与醛和酮进行缩硫醛/酮化反应,高产率（86-99%）合成1, 3-二噻烷衍生物。与已报道的硫醇替代试剂1a-e相比,在缩硫醛/酮化反应中1f是活性最好的1, 3-丙二硫醇替代试剂。     

Additive-assisted Rupe rearrangement of 1-ethynylcyclohexan-1-ol in near-critical water

We performed the Rupe rearrangement of 1-ethynylcyclohexan-1-ol in near-critical water to study the reaction under high temperature conditions. The final product thus obtained was primarily 1-cyclohexen-1-ylethanone which was identified by GC-MS. The influences of reaction time, temperature, and initial reactant-to-water ratio on the yield of 1-cyclohexen-1-ylethanone were examined. The yield of 1-cyclohexen-1-ylethanone was 49 % in pure water at 260°C for a reaction time of 60 min. However, when additives such as ZnSO₄, FeCl₃, and NaHSO₄, respectively, were introduced to the water to investigate the effect of salts on the Rupe rearrangement reaction, the yield increased markedly to as much as 88 % in 5 mole % NaHSO₄ aqueous solution under the same conditions. The catalytic ability of the additives decreased in order: NaHSO₄, FeCl₃, ZnSO₄. On the basis of these results, a possible reaction mechanism of the Rupe rearrangement of 1-ethynylcyclohexan-1-ol in near-critical water was proposed.     

Optically active antifungal azoles. XIII. Synthesis of stereoisomers and metabolites of 1-[(1R,2R)-2-(2,4-difluorophenyl)-2-hydroxy-1-methyl-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)propyl]-3-[4-(1H-1-tetrazolyl)phenyl]-2-imidazolidinone (TAK-456)

1-[(1R,2R)-2-(2,4-Difluorophenyl)-2-hydroxy-1-methyl-3-(1H-1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)propyl]-3-[4-(1H-1-tetrazolyl)phenyl]-2-imidazolidinone [(1R,2R)-1: TAK-456] is a new antifungal agent selected as a candidate for clinical trials. The three stereoisomers [(1S,2R)-, (1S,2S)- and (1R,2S)-1] of this compound were prepared as authentic samples to determine the enantiomeric and diastereomeric purity of TAK-456 as well as to compare their in vitro antifungal activity. Pharmacokinetic studies of TAK-456 using rats identified the existence of metabolites in the liver homogenate. The structures of the major metabolites were assigned as 4-hydroxy-2-imidazolidinone (3) and/or 5-hydroxy-2-imidazolidinone (4), based on HPLC and LC/MS/MS analyses. These hydroxylated compounds, 3 and 4, were prepared by reduction of the corresponding imidazolidinediones, 11 and 12, and confirmed to be identical to the metabolites by HPLC. In vitro antifungal activities of the three stereoisomers and the synthesized metabolites were considerably weaker than TAK-456.     

Immobilizing sulfotransferase 1A1 on magnetic microparticles and their evaluation using capillary electrophoresis

Sulfotransferases are categorized as phase II metabolic enzymes. Human sulfotransferase 1A1 (SULT1A1) is involved in the sulfonation of xenobiotics with aid from the cofactor 3'‐phosphoadenosine‐5'‐phosphosulfate that acts as a sulfonate donor. In this study, we have attempted to immobilize SULT1A1 on magnetic microparticles (MMs). Different functionalized MMs were used to immobilize SULT1A1 and their enzyme activity was compared to the control (enzyme in solution). Paracetamol was used as model substrate. Separation of paracetamol and paracetamol sulfate by CE‐UV was optimized and validated. MMs with epoxy based immobilization of SULT1A1 showed better enzyme activity. Hence, they were tested for repeated usage to allow their implementation for the development of a CE immobilized micro enzyme reactor.     

Heterocyclization of 2-chloro-1-cyano-1-diethoxyphosphoryl-2-trifluoromethylethylene and 2-chloro-2-chlorodifluoromethyl-1-cyano-1-diethoxyphosphorylethylene

The reactions of 2-chloro-1-cyano-1-diethoxyphosphoryl-2-trifluoromethylethylene (2a) and 2-chloro-2-chlorodifluoromethyl-1-cyano-1-diethoxyphosphorylethylene (2b) with arylamines, arylhydrazines, amidines, 2-aminopyridines, and 5-aminopyrazoles were studied. Alkenes 2a, b can serve as precursors of aminopyrazoles, pyrimidines, pyrido[1,2-a]pyrimidines, and pyrazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines modified with the fluoroalkyl and diethoxyphosphoryl groups. Intermediates of some heterocyclization reactions were detected by NMR spectroscopy. The structures of the compounds were confirmed by X ray diffraction analysis.Published in Russian in Izvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 9, pp. 1977–1986, September, 2004.     

Influencing the electronic interaction in diferrocenyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrroles

Functionalised diferrocenyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrroles were synthesised using Negishi C,C cross-coupling reactions. The influence of different substituents at the phenyl moiety on the electronic interaction was studied using electrochemistry (cyclic and square-wave voltammetry) and spectro-electrochemistry (in situ UV/Vis-NIR spectroscopy). The ferrocenyl moieties gave rise to two sequential, reversible redox processes in each of the diferrocenyl-1-phenyl-1H-pyrroles. The observed ΔE(1/2) values (ΔE(1/2) = difference between first and second oxidation) range between 420 and 480 mV. A linear relationship between the Hammett constants σ of the substituents and the separation of the redox potentials exists. The NIR measurements confirm electronic communication between the iron centers as intervalence charge transfer (IVCT) absorptions were observed in the corresponding mixed-valent monocationic species. All compounds were classified as class II systems according to Robin and Day (M. B. Robin and P. Day, Adv. Inorg. Chem., 1967, 10, 247-423). The oscillator strength of the charge transfer transition highly depends on the electron donating or electron withdrawing character of the phenyl substituents. This enables direct tuning of the intermetallic communication by simple modification of the molecule's functional group. Hence, this series of molecules may be regarded as model compounds for single molecule transistors.     

Nitrate reduction on Pt(1 1 1) surfaces modified by Bi adatoms

This work presents the effect of Bi modification of Pt(1 1 1) electrodes on the electroreduction of nitrate anions by using voltammetric and FTIR experiments. On Pt(1 1 1) nitrate consumption occurs at potentials lower than 0.35 V, but with Pt(1 1 1)/Bi this process is shifted to significantly higher potentials (0.6–0.7 V). In the latter surface N₂O was observed as the main product in solution. Different forms of adsorbed NO were detected on the adatom covered surfaces as well as on clean Pt(1 1 1).