N-Boc-Protected α-Amino Acids by 1,3-Migratory Nitrene C(sp3)−H Insertion

N-Boc-protected α-amino acids are synthesized in two steps from linear or branched carboxylic acid feedstocks. In the first step, the carboxylic acid is coupled with tert-butyl aminocarbonate (BocNHOH) to generate azanyl ester (acyloxycarbamate) RCO₂NHBoc. In the second step, this azanyl ester undergoes a stereocontrolled iron-catalyzed 1,3-nitrogen migration to generate the N-Boc-protected non-racemic α-amino acid. This straightforward protocol is applicable to the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of α-monosubstituted α-amino acids with aryl, alkenyl, and alkyl side chains. Furthermore, α,α-disubstituted α-amino acids are accessible in an enantioconvergent fashion from racemic carboxylic acids. The new method is also advantageous for the synthesis of α-deuterated α-amino acids. N-Boc-protected α-amino acids synthesized using this two-step protocol are ready-to-use building blocks.     

Investigation of the effects of various parameters on the synthesis of oligopeptides in aqueous solution

Oligomerization efficiency of amino acids in aqueous solution has been compared under different conditions (temperature, activating agent, etc.) using 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide (EDC) and 1,1^′-carbonyldiimidazole (CDI) as coupling agents. Glycine (H₂N-CH₂-COOH) and α-alanine (H₂N-CH(CH₃)-COOH) were chosen as α-amino acids and β-alanine (H₂N-CH₂-CH₂-COOH) as the β-amino acid. The coupling reaction between EDC and glycine was shown to occur but does not go to completion either at ambient temperature or at 70 °C. The presence of a carboxylic activating agent such as N-hydroxysuccinimide improves the EDC-mediated coupling reaction, and the amino acid structure (α- or β-) was shown to have an influence on the oligomerization efficiency, with β-alanine polymerisation being more efficient. These findings are explained by reference to the reaction mechanism.     

Kupplung von Peptiden mit C-terminalen α,α-disubstituierten α - Aminosäuren via Oxazol-5(4H)-one

Peptide-Bond Formation with C-Terminal α,α-Disubstituted α - Amino Acids via Intermediate Oxazol-5(4H)-ones The formation of peptide bonds between dipeptides 4 containing a C-terminalα,α-disubstituted α-amino acid and ethyl p-aminobenzoate ( 5 ) using DCC as coupling reagent proceeds via 4,4-disubstituted oxazol-5(4H)-ones 7 as intermediates (Scheme 3). The reaction yielding tripeptides 6 (Table 2) is catalyzed efficiently by camphor-10-sulfonic acid (Table 1). The main problem of this coupling reaction is the epimerization of the nonterminal amino acid in 4 via a mechanism shown in Scheme 1. CSA catalysis at 0° suppresses completely this troublesome side reaction. For the coupling of Z-Val-Aib-OH ( 11 ) and Fmoc-Pro-Aib-OH ( 14 ) with H-Gly-OBu¹ ( 12 ) and H-Ala-Aib-NMe₂ ( 15 ), respectively, the best results have been obtained using DCC in the presence of ZnCl₂ (Table 3).     

Enantio- and Site-Selective α-Fluorination of N-Acyl 3,5-Dimethylpyrazoles Catalyzed by Chiral π–CuII Complexes

Catalytic enantioselective α-fluorination reactions of carbonyl compounds are among the most powerful and efficient synthetic methods for constructing optically active α-fluorinated carbonyl compounds. Nevertheless, α-fluorination of α-nonbranched carboxylic acid derivatives is still a big challenge because of relatively high pK_a values of their α-hydrogen atoms and difficulty of subsequent synthetic transformation without epimerization. Herein we show that chiral copper(II) complexes of 3-(2-naphthyl)-l -alanine-derived amides are highly effective catalysts for the enantio- and site-selective α-fluorination of N-(α-arylacetyl) and N-(α-alkylacetyl) 3,5-dimethylpyrazoles. The substrate scope of the transformation is very broad (25 examples including a quaternary α-fluorinated α-amino acid derivative). α-Fluorinated products were converted into the corresponding esters, secondary amides, tertiary amides, ketones, and alcohols with almost no epimerization in high yield.     

Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of isotopically labelled L-Valine,L-Isoleucine and allo-isoleucine

Syntheses of (3R)-[4,4,4-D₃]-L-valine, [¹⁵N]-L-isoleucine and [¹⁵N]-allo-isoleucine from homochiral 2-alkylated carboxylic acids are described. The approach involves a one-carbon homologation of the carboxylic acid to give the corrresponding β-substituted α-keto ester which is converted directly to the α-amino acid in a one-pot procedure involving two enzyme catalysed reactions (Candida cylindracea lipase to hydroluse the ester and leucine dehydrogenase to catalyse the reductive amination of the ketone). This strategy may be simply adapted for the selective labelling of each site of the L-amino acid.     

A reasonably stereospecific multistep conversion of Boc-protected α-amino acids to Phth-protected β-amino acids

A method for the synthesis of β³-amino acids starting from α-amino acids is described. This conversion can be effected by an eight-step procedure which involves the transformation of the carboxylic group into an alkyne followed by a selenium-mediated conversion of the carbon-carbon triple bond to a Se-phenyl selenocarboxylate intermediate. The reactive Se-phenyl selenocarboxylate intermediates can be trapped with water, alcohols or the amine of an amino acid derivative to give β³-amino acids, β³-amino esters or mixed peptides, respectively. The whole transformations of the carboxylic group into an alkyne and of the alkyne group into β³-amino acids may not require purification of the intermediate products but a work-up and isolation procedure of crude materials.     

Cd spectra of DNP derivatives of aromatic α-amino acids and related compounds: DNP-aromatic rule as a method for determining absolute configuration of chiral amines of RCH(NH2)XAr type

Introduction of an aromatic group to the side-chain functional group or to the α-car?yl group of aliphatic DNP-α-amino acids gives compounds which can be regarded as analogs of aromatic DNP-α-amino acids. DNP-aromatic rule¹ has been proved applicable to these compounds and also to the derivatives of DNP-phenylalanine homologs in which the car?yl group is modified variously. By summarizing the compiled data extension of the DNP-aromatic rule to the DNP-derivatives of chiral amines with a general formula R-CH(NH₂)-XAr is proposed.     

Complex formation of crown ethers with α-amino acids: Estimation by NMR spectroscopy

Complex formation of 18-crown-6 and dibenzo crowns with glycine, leucine, and norleucine was studied by NMR spectroscopy. The efficiency of non-valence interactions with participation of different active centers of the host and guest molecules is determined by solvation effects, mutual arrangement of benzene rings in dibenzo crowns, and the presence of bulky aliphatic substituents in the α-amino acid. The complexation of dibenzo crowns with α-amino acids in acid medium involves a system of different non-valence interactions, the most efficient of which are NH ₃ ⁺ ... O hydrogen bond between the ammonium group in the guest molecule and ether oxygen atoms in the host molecule and dipole-dipole interaction between the guest ammonium group and host benzene ring (NH ₃ ⁺ ... Ar). The efficiency of NH ₃ ⁺ ... O hydrogen bonding decreases in going from 18-crown-6 to dibenzo crowns due to distortion of symmetry of the macroring cavity and violation of geometric complementarity of some ether oxygen atoms. The integral efficiency of non-valence interactions in the system dibenzo crown-α-amino acid was estimated on a quantitative level by ¹H NMR relaxation technique.     

Thermische Lactonisierung von Estern γ-Brom-α, β-ungesättigter Carbonsäuren zu Δα-Butenoliden. Direkte γ-Bromierung von α, β-ungesättigten Säuren

By heating with iron powder at 120–150° some γ-bromo-α, β-unsaturated carboxylic methyl esters, and, less smothly, the corresponding acids, were lactonized to Δ^7alpha;-butenolides with elimination of methyl bromide. The following conversions have thus been made: methyl γ-bromocrotonate ( 1c ) and the corresponding acid ( 1d ) to Δ^α-butenolide ( 8a ), methyl γ-bromotiglate ( 3c ) and the corresponding acid ( 3d ) to α-methyl-Δ^α-butenolide ( 8b ), a mixture of methyl trans- and cis-γ-bromosenecioate ( 7c and 7e ) and a mixture of the corresponding acids ( 7d and 7f ) to β-methyl-Δ^α-butenolide ( 8c ). The procedure did not work with methyl trans-γ-bromo-Δ^α-pentenoate ( 5c ) nor with its acid ( 5d ). Most of the γ-bromo-α, β-unsaturated carboxylic esters ( 1c, 7c, 7e and 5c ) are available by direct N-bromosuccinimide bromination of the α, β-unsaturated esters 1a, 7a and 5a ; methyl γ-bromotiglate ( 3c ) is obtained from both methyl tiglate ( 3a ) and methyl angelate ( 4a ), but has to be separated from a structural isomer. The γ-bromo-α, β-unsaturated esters are shown by NMR. to have the indicated configurations which are independent of the configuration of the α, β-unsaturated esters used; the bromination always leads to the more stable configuration, usually the one with the bromine-carrying carbon anti to the carboxylic ester group; an exception is methyl γ-bromo-senecioate, for which the two isomers (cis, 7e , and trans, 7d ) have about the same stability. The N-bromosuccinimide bromination of the α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acids 1b , 3b , 4b , 5b and 7b is shown to give results entirely analogous to those with the corresponding esters. In this way γ-bromocrotonic acid ( 1 d ), γ-bromotiglic acid ( 3 d ), trans- and cis-γ-bromosenecioic acid ( 7d and 7f ) as well as trans-γ-bromo-Δ^α-pentenoic acid ( 5d ) have been prepared. Iron powder seems to catalyze the lactonization by facilitating both the elimination of methyl bromide (or, less smoothly, hydrogen bromide) and the rotation about the double bond. α-Methyl-Δ^α-butenolide ( 8b ) was converted to 1-benzyl-( 9a ), 1-cyclohexyl-( 9b ), and 1-(4′-picoly1)-3-methyl-Δ^α-pyrrolin-2-one ( 9 c ) by heating at 180° with benzylamine, cyclohexylamine, and 4-picolylamine. The butenolide 8b showed cytostatic and even cytocidal activity; in preliminary tests, no carcinogenicity was observed. Both 8b and 9c exhibited little toxicity.     

Asymmetric syntheses of the N-terminal α-hydroxy-β-amino acid components of microginins 612, 646 and 680

The asymmetric syntheses of the N-terminal α-hydroxy-β-amino acid components of microginins 612, 646 and 680 are reported. Conjugate addition of lithium (R)-N-benzyl-N-(α-methylbenzyl)amide to the requisite (E)-α,β-unsaturated ester followed by in situ enolate oxidation with (?)-(camphorsulfonyl)oxaziridne (CSO) gave the corresponding anti-α-hydroxy-β-amino esters. Sequential Swern oxidation followed by diastereoselective reduction gave the corresponding syn-α-hydroxy-β-amino esters. Subsequent N-debenzylation (i.e., hydrogenolysis for microginin 612, and NaBrO₃-mediated oxidative N-debenzylation for microginins 646 and 680) followed by acid catalysed ester hydrolysis gave the corresponding syn-α-hydroxy-β-amino acids, the N-terminal components of microginins 612, 646 and 680, in good yield. An analogous strategy for elaboration of the enantiopure anti-α-hydroxy-β-amino esters facilitated the asymmetric synthesis of the corresponding C(2)-epimeric α-hydroxy-β-amino acids.     

Über halogen- und stickstoffhaltige Derivate aliphatischer Carbonsäuren, 7. Mitt.: Über Gewinnung und Reaktionen von α-Nitrocarbonsäureestern

Esters of α-bromo-α-methyl carboxylic acids are reacted with NaNO₂ in water/alcohol to give esters of the corresponding α-nitro carboxylic acid. Some of these nitro esters can be characterized as amides. Activating groups (benzyl or acetyl group) decrease the stability of such tertiary α-nitro esters and give consecutive reactions.     

The first example of linear peptides containing a N-trifluoroethylated backbone amide linkage and the surprising solution dynamics observed by F NMR

The α-amino group of (l)phenylalanine methyl ester was trifluoroethylated using (2,2,2-trifluoroethyl)phenyliodonium N,N-bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide. A dipeptide Gly(l)Phe containing a trifluoroethylated peptide bond was synthesized by removing the α-amino proton of N^α-trifluoroethyl (l)phenylalanine methyl ester followed by coupling with N^α-phthaloyl glycine acid fluoride. The dipeptide was further coupled with (l)leucine methyl ester under conventional carboxyl activation conditions to provide two diastereomers of the tripeptide Gly(d,l)Phe(l)Leu. The solution dynamic behavior of the tripeptide was investigated as a function of solvents, by NOESY and variable temperature (VT) ¹⁹F NMR experiments.     

Nucleophile Ringöffnung von α-Nitrocyclopropancarbonsäure-arylestern mit sterisch geschützter,aber elektronisch wirksamer Carbonyl- und Nitro-Gruppe. Ein neues Prinzip der α-Aminosäure-Synthese (2-Aminobutansäure-a4-Synthon)

Nucleophilic Ring Opening of Aryl α-Nitrocyclopropanecarboxylates with Sterically Protected but Electronically Effective Carbonyl and Nitro Group. A New Principle of α-Amino Acid Synthesis (2-Aminobutanoic Acid a⁴-Synthon) The readily available 2,4,6-tri(tert-butyl)-and 2,6-di(tert-butyl)-4-methoxypahenol esters 2 of α-nitrocyclo-propanecarboxaylic acid ring opening with C-, N-, O-, and S-nucleophiles (cyanide, malonate, azide, anilines, alkoxides, phenoxides, thiolates) in DMF or alcohol solvents (80–95% yield). The products 6 – 14 are 2-nitrobutanoates with the newly introduced substituent in the 4-position. Reduction of the NO₂ group with Zn/AcOH/Ac₂O gives N-acetyl-α-amino acid esters 16 – 22 (40–90% yield). Subsequent oxidative cleavage (H₂O₂/HCOOH) of The p-methoxy-phenyl esters 18 and 20 produces free amino acids (65% 23 and 67% 24 , respectively). Thus, the nitro ester 2 corresponds to a 2-aminobutanoic-acid a⁴-synthon, it is a ‘homo-Michael acceptor’ producing γ-substituted α-amino acids.     

Direct lactonization of α-amino γ,δ-unsaturated carboxylic acid esters via olefin activation: stereo- and regioselective production of homoserine lactone scaffolds having contiguous stereocenters

Triflic acid-mediated stereoselective direct lactonization of a variety of α-amino γ,δ-unsaturated carboxylic acid esters and the construction of new γ-butyrolactone structural motifs are reported. Several α-amino γ,δ-unsaturated carboxylic acid esters underwent stereo- and regioselective 1,5-cyclization and afforded a variety of highly substituted homoserine lactone scaffolds having contiguous stereocenters. The direct lactonization of the chiral α-amino γ,δ-unsaturated carboxylic acid esters with triflic acid led to the enantioselective synthesis of the novel homoserine lactones. A plausible mechanism for the direct lactonization of α-amino γ,δ-unsaturated carboxylic acid esters is presented. The stereochemistry of major isomers 3f, 7a, 7b, and 7d was unambiguously established from the X-ray structure analysis.     

A synthesis of optically active α-quaternary α-amino acids and esters by assembling three components, ketones, (R)-chloromethyl p-tolyl sulfoxide, and sodium azide, via sulfinyloxiranes

Treatment of lithium α-sulfinyl carbanion of chloromethyl p-tolyl sulfoxides with ketones at low temperature afforded adducts in almost quantitative yields, which were exposed to t-BuOK to give sulfinyloxiranes in high yields. The sulfinyloxirane was reacted with benzylamine to give α-amino aldehyde, which was oxidized with iodine in methanol to afford α-amino carboxylic ester in moderate yield. The sulfinyloxiranes were treated with sodium azide to afford α-azido aldehydes in good yields. Oxidation with NaClO₂ followed by catalytic hydrogenation of the azido group of the α-azido aldehydes gave α-quaternary α-amino acids in good overall yields. The oxidation of the azido aldehydes with iodine in methanol in the presence of KOH followed by the catalytic hydrogenation resulted in α-quaternary α-amino acid methyl esters in good yields. When these reactions were carried out starting from unsymmetrical ketones and optically pure (R)-chloromethyl p-tolyl sulfoxide, a new method for a synthesis of optically active α-quaternary α-amino acids and esters in good overall yields was realized.     

Synthesis of Vinyl Polymer—Poly (α-Amino Acid) Block Copolymers by End-Reactive Oligomers

In order to synthesize block copolymers consisting of segments having dissimilar properties, vinyl polymer - poly (α-amino acid) block copolymers were synthesized by two different methods. In the first method, the terminal amino groups of polysarcosine, poly(γ-benzyl L-glutamate), and poly(γ-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine) were haloacetylated. The mixture of the terminally haloacetylated poly (α-amino acid) and styrene or methyl methacrylate was photoirradiated in the presence of Mo (CO)₆ or heated with Mo(CO)₆, yielding A-B-A-type block copolymers consisting of poly(α-amino cid) (the A component) and vinyl polymer(the B component). The characterization of block copolymers revealed that the thermally initiated polymerization of vinyl compounds by the trichloroacetyl poly(α-amino acid)/Mo(CO)₆ system was most suitable for the synthesis of vinyl polymer - poly-(α-amino acid) block copolymers. In the second method, poly (methyl methacrylate) and polystyrene having a terminal amino group were synthesized by the radical polymerization in the presence of 2-mercaptoethylammonium chloride. Using these polymers having a terminal amino group as an initiator, the block polymerizations of γ-benzyl L-glutamate NCA and e-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-lysine NCA were carried out, yielding A-B-type block copolymer. By eliminating the protecting groups of the side chains of poly(α-amino acid) segment, block copolymers such as poly(methyl methacrylate) with poly(L-glutamic acid) or poly(L-lysine) and polystyrene with poly(L-glutamic acid) and poly(L-lysine) were successfully synthesized.     

Multichain copoly(α-amino acid). I. Multichain copoly(α-amino acid) prepared by reaction of copoly(L-lysine γ-methyl-L-glutamate) with N-carboxy anhydride of Nϵ-carbobenzyloxy-L-lysine

Polymerization of the N-carboxy anhydride of N^?-carbobenzyloxy-L -lysine in the presence of multifunctional polymeric initiator, copoly(L -lysine γ-methyl-L -glutamate) was studied in N,N-dimethylformamide containing 3% (v/v) of dimethyl sulfoxide. Multichain copoly(α-amino acid), i.e., multi-N^?-poly(N^?-carbobenzyloxy-L -lysine)copoly(L -lysine γ-methyl-L -glutamate), was obtained with linear poly(N^?-carbobenzyloxy-L -lysine) as by-product that could be removed by reprecipitation as was evidenced by gel-permeation chromatography. The degree of polymerization of the branch polymer chains estimated by the osmometric molecular weight determination and amino acid analysis was between 20 and 60, which decreased with increasing lysine content of the polymeric initiator. The stability of α-helical conformation of the multichain copoly(α-amino acid) was studied in the chloroform–dichloroacetic acid system at 25°C by the ORD technique. The α-helical conformation of poly(N^?-carbobenzyloxy-L -lysine) branches was less stable than those of linear poly(N^?-carbobenzyloxy-L -lysine) and the core molecular chains of the multichain copoly(α-amino acid).     

‘Bis-ornithine’ (2,2-bis(aminopropyl)glycine): a new tetravalent template for assembling different functional peptides

Synthesis of bis-ornithine, a new C^α,α-disubstituted α-amino acid bearing orthogonally protected α and δ amine groups is reported. Bis-ornithine (bisOrn) and dipeptides containing bis-ornithine have been synthesized in solution up to multigram scale. As a first example, one of these compounds Boc-βAla-bisOrn(Alloc)₂-OH has been attached to a solid support and used as template for the synthesis of a symmetrical assemblage of peptides.     

α,α-Dialkylglycines obtained by solid phase Ugi reaction performed over isocyanide functionalized resins

The multicomponent Ugi reaction is a straightforward method that can be used for the synthesis of highly hindered C-tetrasubstituted amino acids by reacting an amine, a ketone or aldehyde, a carboxylic acid and an isocyanide. In the present work, the synthesis of several α,α-dialkylglycines (α,α-diethylglycine, Deg; α,α-dipropylglycine, Dpg; 1-amino-1-cyclohexanecarboxylic acid, Ac₆c) was achieved by solid phase Ugi reaction using resins functionalized with the isocyanide group. Since no resins with these features were available commercially, the functionalization of an aminomethylated resin started by the use of glycine (Gly), β-alanine (β-Ala) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) as spacers. After spacer N-formylation, followed by dehydration, isocyanide functionalised resins were obtained. The resins were then used in solid phase Ugi reaction, using phenylacetic acid as the acid component, 4-methoxybenzylamine as the amine component and different ketones, to afford the desired N-acylated α,α-dialkylglycines in good overall yields (60–80%), after acidolytic cleavage from the resin, thus proving the feasibility of this approach.     

Intramolecular cyclization of acetylene-containing α-amino carboxylates and α-amino phosphonates: synthesis of α-CF3-substituted dehydroprolines and their P-analogs

CF₃-Containing α-arylpropargyl-α-amino carboxylates and α-arylpropargyl-α-amino phosphonates on treatment with the Brønsted or Lewis acids undergo cyclization involving the free NH₂ group and triple bond to yield the corresponding dehydroprolines and their phosphorus analogs.