Recent developments in the enantioselective synthesis of polyfunctionalized pyran and chromene derivatives

Recent developments in the synthesis of 4H- and 2H-pyrans as well as structurally related chromene derivatives that have enabled the enantioselective synthesis of these scaffolds have been surveyed. The role of chiral catalysts in orienting initial reactions of active methylenes, methines and methyl ketones, to unsaturated ketones and nitriles in multi-component reactions or Friedel–Craft alkylations of phenols is discussed to show their involvement in transition states leading to end products. Chromene synthesis via [4+2] cycloadditions, [3+3] and [4+2] annulations as well as ring opening and recyclization leading to high enantio- and diasteroselectivity is also demonstrated. The enantioselectivity in such catalytic asymmetric reactions despite starting with non-chiral starting materials is discussed. On the other hand, in surveying ring opening and recyclization, the starting materials are chiral and the chiral center was not part of the reaction leading to the final product.     

Design,Synthesis, and Antipoliferative Activities of Novel Substituted Imidazole-Thione Linked Benzotriazole Derivatives

A new series of benzotriazole moiety bearing substituted imidazol-2-thiones at N1 has been designed, synthesized and evaluated for in vitro anticancer activity against the different cancer cell lines MCF-7(breast cancer), HL-60 (Human promyelocytic leukemia), and HCT-116 (colon cancer). Most of the benzotriazole analogues exhibited promising antiproliferative activity against tested cancer cell lines. Among all the synthesized compounds, BI9 showed potent activity against the cancer cell lines such as MCF-7, HL-60 and HCT-116 with IC₅₀ 3.57, 0.40 and 2.63 µM, respectively. Compound BI9 was taken up for elaborate biological studies and the HL-60 cells in the cell cycle were arrested in G₂/M phase. Compound BI9 showed remarkable inhibition of tubulin polymerization with the colchicine binding site of tubulin. In addition, compound BI9 promoted apoptosis by regulating the expression of pro-apoptotic protein BAX and anti-apoptotic proteins Bcl-2. These results provide guidance for further rational development of potent tubulin polymerization inhibitors for the treatment of cancer.     

Novel glycosylated carboranylquinazolines for boron neutron capture therapy of tumors: synthesis,characterization, and in vitro toxicity studies

The synthesis of a series of N‐glycosyl caboranylquinazolines is described. The condensation reaction of nitro‐acetylanthranilic acid with aminophenylcarborane gave 3‐[(o‐carboran‐1‐yl)phenyl]‐2‐methyl‐6‐nitroquinazolin‐4(3H)‐one 1 followed by reduction with Na₂S to the corresponding 6‐amino‐3‐[(o‐carboran‐1‐yl)phenyl]‐2‐methylquinazolin‐4(3H)‐one 2 . Reaction of compound 2 with D‐glucose or D‐ribose in methanol in the presence of a catalytic amount of acetic acid affords boronated N‐glycosylaminoquinazolines namely: 2‐methyl‐3‐[4‐(o‐carboran‐1‐yl)phenyl]‐6‐[N‐β‐D‐glucopyranosyl)]aminoquinazolin‐4(3H)‐one 3 or 2‐methyl‐3‐[4‐(o‐carboran‐1‐yl)phenyl]‐6‐[N‐β‐D‐ribofuranosyl)]aminoquinazolin‐4(3H)‐one 4 , respectively. Degradation of the o‐caborane cage of compounds 3 and 4 yielded highly water‐soluble compounds of sodium 2‐methyl‐3‐[4‐( nido ‐undecarborate‐1‐yl)phenyl]‐6‐[N‐β‐D‐glucopyranosyl]aminoquinazolin‐4(3H)‐one 5 and sodium 2‐methyl‐3‐[4‐( nido ‐undecarborate‐1‐yl)phenyl]‐6‐[N‐β‐D‐ribofuranosyl)]aminoquinazolin‐4(3H)‐one 6 , respectively. The structures were established on the basis of elemental analysis, NMR, IR and mass spectrometry. The in vitro toxicity test using B16 melanoma cells showed that N‐glycosyl of nido ‐undecaboranylquinazolines ( 5 and 6 ), with higher water solubility, is not toxic at boron concentration of 3000 µg boron ml⁻¹, whereas, N‐glycosyl of closo ‐carboranylquinazolines ( 3 and 4 ) has LD₅₀ > 200 µg boron ml⁻¹. The compounds described here may be considered as potential agents for BNCT. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Activated nitriles in heterocyclic synthesis. A novel synthesis of 1,2,4-tnazol-3-oyl nitriles

Synthesis of 1,2,4-triazoloyl nitriles via reaction of 4-phenylhydrazono-2-phenyl-2-oxazolin-5-one and 4-phenylhydrazono-2-ethoxy-2-thiazolin-5-one with active methylene nitriles was accomplished. Some of the chemical properties of the nitriles obtained are reported.     

First synthesis and isolation of the E- and Z-isomers of some new Schiff bases. Reactions of 6-azido-5-formyl-2-pyridone with aromatic amines

Some novel Schiff bases have been prepared by reacting 6-azido-5-formyl-2-pyridone 1 with a series of aromatic amines 2a-f. 5-Arylaminomethylene-6-(E)-aryl-iminopyridones 3a-e were obtained by reaction of 1 with 2a-e at room temperature, whereas with 2f, the 6-azido-5-naphthalen-2-yl-iminomethylpyridone derivative 4 was formed. On the other hand, heating 1 with 2a-d at 140-150 degrees C yielded two sets of isomeric products, (E)-3a-d and (Z)-5a-d. Refluxing compounds (Z)-3a,c with hydroxyl-amine in methanol gave the corresponding hydroxyliminopyridones 8a,c. Heating of (E)-3a-d with excess POCl3 at reflux did not give the expected tricyclic compound 9, but rather the isomeric products (Z)-5a-d were obtained. The structures of all these products have been characterized using IR and 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy.     

DNA polymorphism as an origin of adenine-thymine tract length-dependent threading intercalation rate

Binuclear ruthenium complexes that bind DNA by threading intercalation have recently been found to exhibit an exceptional kinetic selectivity for long polymeric adenine-thymine (AT) DNA. A series of oligonucleotide hairpin duplexes containing a central tract of 6-44 alternating AT base pairs have here been used to investigate the nature of the recognition mechanism. We find that, above a threshold AT tract length corresponding to one helix turn of B-DNA, a dramatic increase in threading intercalation rate occurs. In contrast, such length dependence is not observed for rates of unthreading. Intercalation by any mechanism that depends on the open end of the hairpin was found not to be important in the series of oligonucleotides used, as verified by including in the study a hairpin duplex cyclized by a copper-catalyzed "click" reaction. Our observations are interpreted in terms of a conformational pre-equilibrium, determined by the length of the AT tract. We finally find that mismatches or loops in the oligonucleotide facilitate the threading process, of interest for the development of mismatch-recognizing probes.     

Synthesis and Anti‐proliferative Activity of Novel Polysubstitued Indazole Derivatives

A simple and efficient process is developed for the synthesis of new N‐(1‐alkyl‐3‐chloro‐4‐ethoxy‐1H‐indazol‐5‐yl)‐arylsulfonamides 4a – d and N‐(1‐alkyl‐3‐chloro‐1H‐indazol‐5‐yl)‐arylsulfonamides 5a – d through the reduction of 1‐alkyl‐3‐chloro‐5‐nitroindazoles 2a , b with SnCl₂ in ethanol followed by coupling the corresponding amine with arylsulfonyl chlorides in pyridine. All the newly synthesized compounds have been characterized by elemental analysis and spectroscopic data. Some compounds were tested for their in vitro antiproliferative activities against two selected human cancer cell lines A2780 and A549. Among all of these derivatives, compound 5d showed the most potent antiproliferative activity against A2780 (IC₅₀ = 5.47 ± 1.45 μM) and A549 (IC₅₀ = 7.73 ± 1.66 μM) cell lines.     

Comparison of reversed-phase liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry with electrospray and atmospheric pressure chemical ionization for analysis of dietary tocopherols

ESI and APCI ionization techniques in both negative and positive ion modes were evaluated for simultaneous LC-MS analysis of the four tocopherol homologues (alpha, beta, gamma and delta). The ESI and APCI ionization of tocopherols in positive ion mode was not efficient and proceeded via two competitive mechanisms, with the formation of protonated pseudo-molecular ions and molecular ions, which adversely influenced the repeatability of MS signal. Ionization in negative ion mode in both ESI and APCI was more efficient as it only produced target deprotonated pseudo-molecular ions. The APCI in negative ion mode showed larger linearity range, lower detection limits and was less sensitive to the differences in chemical structure of analytes and nature of applied solvents than negative ion ESI. Negative ion APCI was, therefore, chosen for the development of LC-MS method for simultaneous determination of the four tocopherols in foods. A baseline separation of the tocopherols was achieved on novel pentafluorophenyl silica-based column Fluophase PFP. The use of methanol-water (95:5, v/v) as a mobile phase was preferable to the use of acetonitrile-water due to considerable gain in MS signal. The limits of quantifications were 9 ng/mL for alpha-tocopherol, 8 ng/mL for beta- and gamma- and 7.5 ng/mL for delta-tocopherol when 2 microL was injected. This method was successfully applied to determination of tocopherols in sunflower oil and milk.     

Electrophilic RNA for Peptidyl‐RNA Synthesis and Site‐Specific Cross‐Linking with tRNA‐Binding Enzymes

RNA functionalization is challenging due to the instability of RNA and the limited range of available enzymatic reactions. We developed a strategy based on solid phase synthesis and post‐functionalization to introduce an electrophilic site at the 3′ end of tRNA analogues. The squarate diester used as an electrophile enabled sequential amidation and provided asymmetric squaramides with high selectivity. The squaramate‐RNAs specifically reacted with the lysine of UDP‐MurNAc‐pentapeptide, a peptidoglycan precursor used by the aminoacyl‐transferase FemX_Wv for synthesis of the bacterial cell wall. The peptidyl‐RNA obtained with squaramate‐RNA and unprotected UDP‐MurNAc‐pentapeptide efficiently inhibited FemX_Wv. The squaramate unit also promoted specific cross‐linking of RNA to the catalytic Lys of FemX_Wv but not to related transferases recognizing different aminoacyl‐tRNAs. Thus, squaramate‐RNAs provide specificity for cross‐linking with defined groups in complex biomolecules due to its unique reactivity.