Stereoselective Cycloaddition of Monosubstituted Ketene to a Methyl Glyoxylate- and Threonine-Derived Imine: Synthesis of Optically Pure β-Lactamic α-Amino Ester with High Functionality

The reaction of chloroacetyl chloride and triethylamine with a chiral imine derived from the combination of methyl glyoxylate and protected L-threonine gave two optically active α-amino acid derivatives with a cis-substituted β-lactam skeleton in a 72:28 ratio. The major product is obtained in 59% yield by simple crystallisation.     

A Convenient Large Scale Synthesis of 1, 1-Diphenyl-1 -silacyclopent-3-ene

An efficient one-step synthesis of 1,1-dipfienyl-1-silacyclopent-3-ene 1 is reported.     

Efficient Access to Peptidyl‐RNA Conjugates for Picomolar Inhibition of Non‐ribosomal FemXWv Aminoacyl Transferase

Peptidyl–RNA conjugates have various applications in studying the ribosome and enzymes participating in tRNA‐dependent pathways such as Fem transferases in peptidoglycan synthesis. Herein a convergent synthesis of peptidyl–RNAs based on Huisgen–Sharpless cycloaddition for the final ligation step is developed. Azides and alkynes are introduced into tRNA and UDP‐MurNAc‐pentapeptide, respectively. Synthesis of 2′‐azido RNA helix starts from 2′‐azido‐2′‐deoxyadenosine that is coupled to deoxycytidine by phosphoramidite chemistry. The resulting dinucleotide is deprotected and ligated to a 22‐nt RNA helix mimicking the acceptor arm of Ala‐tRNA^Ala by T4 RNA ligase. For alkyne UDP‐MurNAc‐pentapeptide, meso‐cystine is enzymatically incorporated into the peptidoglycan precursor and reduced, and L ‐Cys is converted to dehydroalanine with O‐(mesitylenesulfonyl)hydroxylamine. Reaction of but‐3‐yne‐1‐thiol with dehydroalanine affords the alkyne‐containing UDP‐MurNAc‐pentapeptide. The Cu^I‐catalyzed azide alkyne cycloaddition reaction in the presence of tris[(1‐hydroxypropyl‐1H‐1,2,3‐triazol‐4‐yl)methyl]amine provided the peptidyl‐RNA conjugate, which was tested as an inhibitor of non‐ribosomal FemX_Wv aminoacyl transferase. The bi‐substrate analogue was found to inhibit FemX_Wv with an IC₅₀ of (89±9) pM , as both moieties of the peptidyl–RNA conjugate contribute to high‐affinity binding.     

Syntheses of d-Glucosaminyl Bolaamphiphiles1

Abstract

Twelve N-acetyl or NH2-free D-glucosaminyl bolaamphiphiles have been synthesized by the intermediate of N-allyloxycarbonyl-d-glucosaminyl precursors. Thus, glycosylation of α,ω-diols with 1,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-2-allyloxycarbonylamino-2-deoxy-β-d-glucopyranose (1) gave the bis(glycosides) 2a-h in good yields and without column chromatography. Alkaline treatment of these derivatives followed by acetylation gave the peracetylated N-acetyl compounds 3a-h which were further deprotected by the Zemplén deacetylation procedure to the N-acetyl-d-glucosaminyl bolaamphiphiles 4a-h. The bis(glycosides) 2c,d,g were also transformed into the O-acetylated amino-free derivatives 5c,d,g by chemospecific deprotection of the N-allyloxycarbonyl groups with palladium (0). Further deprotection of the ester functions led to the completely deprotected bolaamphiphiles 7c,d,g with high yields. Fully deprotected compounds 7a,d,g,h were also obtained from 2a,d,g,h by alkaline treatment and purification by column chromatography. Surface tension measurements were realized for aqueous solutions containing the soluble bolaamphiphiles.     

Atypical Oxidation Reaction by Thionyl Chloride: Easy Two‐Step Synthesis of N‐Alkyl‐1,4‐dithiines

Easy two‐step synthesis of a series of dithiines was performed from succinic anhydride via cyclization of the corresponding 4‐(alkylamino)‐4‐oxobutanoic acids (succinamic acids). The reaction, carried out in polar aprotic solvents, gave 4,8‐dithiine‐indacene‐1,3,5,7‐tetraones (diimides 3) via 3,7‐bis‐4,8‐dithia‐indacene‐1,5‐diones (diisoimides 2), which could be isolated. Surprisingly, in this reaction, thionyl chloride appeared as an oxidant, and this process seemed to be useful for the syntheses of S‐containing heterocyclic compounds such as 1,4‐dithiins. A mechanistic pathway was considered.     

Improved Asymmetric Synthesis of 8-Arylmenthols

A two-step synthesis of a set of arylmenthones 3 from R(+)-pulegone 2 via their silylenolethers 4 is proposed leading in high yields to 8-arylmenthols 1.     

Dynamic light scattering and cryogenic transmission electron microscopy investigations on metallo-supramolecular aqueous micelles: evidence of secondary aggregation

Metallo-supramolecular diblock copolymers consisting of a polystyrene (PS) block connected to a poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO) block by a bis(terpyridine)ruthenium complex (PS₂₀-[Ru]-PEO _y ) were used to prepare aqueous micelles. The length of the PS block was kept constant, while two PEOs of different molecular weight were used. The resulting hydrated micelles and aggregates were characterized by a combination of cryogenic transmission electron microscopy (cryo-TEM) and dynamic light scattering measurements. The results were compared to those obtained for a covalent counterpart (PS₂₂-b-PEO₇₀). Cryogenic transmission electron microscopy allowed visualization of the PS core of the micelles. Moreover, the aggregates result from clustering of individual micelles.     

Studies on the titanium-catalyzed cyclopropanation of nitriles

The Ti-mediated reaction of Grignard reagents with nitriles was investigated with sub-stoichiometric amounts of titanium isopropoxide. Cyanoesters were converted to spirocyclopropanelactams in good yields using as low as 0.05 eq of Ti(O(i)Pr)4. Under similar conditions, cyanocarbonates led to spirocyclopropane oxazolidinones and/or aminocyclopropylcarbinols. A very short synthesis of the naturally occurring aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid illustrates the usefulness of this methodology.     

Atomic force microscopy imaging of hair: correlations between surface potential and wetting at the nanometer scale

We report investigations of hair surface potential under wetting at the nanometric scale by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Surface potential imaging was used to characterize the electrostatic properties of the hair samples. We found that the surface potential noticeably increases along the edges of the cuticles. These results are correlated with wetting behavior of different liquids performed using AFM in noncontact mode.     

Synthesis of branched oxime-linked peptide mimetics of the MUC1 containing a universal T-helper epitope

Our goal was to develop mimics of MUC1, highly immunogenic to induce an efficient immune response against the tumor-associated form of MUC1, and sufficiently different from the natural antigen to bypass the tolerance barrier in humans. With the aim of obtaining a well-defined peptide construct as a means of evoking the precise immune responses required in immunotherapy, we synthesized artificial mimics of the MUC1 protein composed of two MUC1 repeat units of inverse orientation and a universal T-helper epitope. To synthesize these heteromeric peptide constructs, we followed a convergent approach using chemoselective ligation based on oxime chemistry. A stem peptide was first synthesized bearing two orthogonally masked aldehydes. After successive deprotection, two oxime bonds can be specifically generated. The proposed strategy proved to be concise and robust, and allowed the synthesis of the tri-branched protein in a very satisfactory yield. The different constructs were tested for their ability to generate antibodies able to recognize the MUC1 protein.