Divergent Synthesis of Bioactive Dithiodiketopiperazine Natural Products Based on a Double C(sp3)−H Activation Strategy

This article provides a detailed report of our efforts to synthesize the dithiodiketopiperazine (DTP) natural products (−)-epicoccin G and (−)-rostratin A using a double C(sp³)−H activation strategy. The strategy's viability was first established on a model system lacking the C8/C8’ alcohols. Then, an efficient stereoselective route including an organocatalytic epoxidation was secured to access a key bis-triflate substrate. This bis-triflate served as the functional handles for the key transformation of the synthesis: a double C(sp³)−H activation. The successful double activation opened access to a common intermediate for both natural products in high overall yield and on a multigram scale. After several unsuccessful attempts, this intermediate was efficiently converted to (−)-epicoccin G and to the more challenging (−)-rostratin A via suitable oxidation/reduction and protecting group sequences, and via a final sulfuration that occurred in good yield and high diastereoselectivity. These efforts culminated in the synthesis of (−)-epicoccin G and (−)-rostratin A in high overall yields (19.6 % over 14 steps and 12.7 % over 17 steps, respectively), with the latter being obtained on a 500 mg scale. Toxicity assessments of these natural products and several analogues (including the newly synthesized epicoccin K) in the leukemia cell line K562 confirmed the importance of the disulfide bridge for activity and identified dianhydrorostratin A as a 20x more potent analogue.     

Biomimetic epoxidation in aqueous media catalyzed by cyclic dipeptides

We have developed a practical epoxidation of electron-deficient enones in aqueous media using cyclic dipeptides as bioinspired green catalyst. Optimizing the reaction conditions in a triphasic system led to efficient conditions providing epoxides with good enantioselectivities. Depending on the catalyst substituent chirality, both enantiomers are obtained. The cyclic rigidity impacts significantly the enantioselectivity.     

Unambiguous Stereochemical Assignment of Cyclo(Phe-Pro), Cyclo(Leu-Pro), and Cyclo(Val-Pro) by Electronic Circular Dichroic Spectroscopy

2,5-diketopiperazines (DKPs) are cyclic dipeptides ubiquitously found in nature. In particular, cyclo(Phe-Pro), cyclo(Leu-Pro), and cyclo(Val-Pro) are frequently detected in many microbial cultures. Each of these DKPs has four possible stereoisomers due to the presence of two chirality centers. However, absolute configurations of natural DKPs are often ambiguous due to the lack of a simple, sensitive, and reproducible method for stereochemical assignment. This is an important problem because stereochemistry is a key determinant of biological activity. Here, we report a synthetic DKP library containing all stereoisomers of cyclo(Phe-Pro), cyclo(Leu-Pro), and cyclo(Val-Pro). The library was subjected to spectroscopic characterization using mass spectrometry, NMR, and electronic circular dichroism (ECD). It turned out that ECD can clearly differentiate DKP stereoisomers. Thus, our ECD dataset can serve as a reference for unambiguous stereochemical assignment of cyclo(Phe-Pro), cyclo(Leu-Pro), and cyclo(Val-Pro) samples from natural sources. The DKP library was also subjected to a biological screening using assays for E. coli growth and biofilm formation, which revealed distinct biological effects of cyclo(D-Phe-L-Pro).     

Bioactive Polyketide and Diketopiperazine Derivatives from the Mangrove-Sediment-Derived Fungus Aspergillus sp. SCSIO41407

Ten polyketide derivatives (1–10), including a new natural product named (E)-2,4-dihydroxy-3-methyl-6-(2-oxopent-3-en-1-yl) benzaldehyde (1), and five known diketopiperazines (11–15), were isolated from the mangrove-sediment-derived fungus Aspergillus sp. SCSIO41407. The structures of 1–15 were determined via NMR and MS spectroscopic analysis. In a variety of bioactivity screening, 3 showed weak cytotoxicity against the A549 cell line, and 2 exhibited weak antibacterial activity against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Compounds 3, 5, and 6 showed inhibition against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) with IC₅₀ values of 23.9, 39.9, and 18.6 μM. Compounds 11, 12, and 14 exhibited obvious inhibitory activities of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) with IC₅₀ values of 19.2, 20.9, and 8.7 μM, and they also suppressed RANKL-induced osteoclast differentiation in bone marrow macrophages cells (BMMCs), with the concentration of 5 μM. In silico molecular docking with AChE and NF-κB p65 protein were also performed to understand the inhibitory activities, and 1, 11–14 showed obvious protein/ligand-binding effects to the NF-κB p65 protein.     

A combined quantum mechanical and experimental approach towards chiral diketopiperazine hydroperoxides

In order to improve hydroperoxide formation from heterocyclic compounds relating to the formation rate and to allow a suitable choice of starting materials for autoxidation, theoretical studies on a set of different amino acid‐derived diketopiperazines and pyrazinoquinazolines were carried out. To estimate their reactivity towards hydroperoxide formation, bond dissociation enthalpies (BDEs) of tertiary α‐C? H bonds as well as reaction enthalpies to the corresponding hydroperoxides were calculated at the B3LYP/TZVP and RMP2/aug‐cc‐pVTZ level of theory. The Evans–Polanyi relation was then used to correlate substrate reactivity with calculated BDEs. Thermal and zero point vibrational energy (ZPE) corrections were determined in the classical harmonic oscillator‐rigid rotor‐particle in a box model. While for the investigated set of diketopiperazines BDEs of 318.8–327.0 kJ mol^?1 were found, BDEs for pyrazinoquinazolines spread between 248.4 and 368.4 kJ mol^?1 at the B3LYP/TZVP level of theory. A selected subset of heterocycles was converted to the corresponding hydroperoxides and the diketopiperazines were obtained in up to 39% yield after 5–7 days, whereas the pyrazinoquinazoline hydroperoxides were isolated in up to 67% yield after 24 h. Thus, replacing an amido moiety in an N‐aryl‐imino moiety when using pyrazinoquinazolines instead of diketopiperazines leads indeed to an improved captodative stabilization of the radical intermediate. Furthermore the theoretical calculations allowed a distinctive forecast of the preferred regioisomeric hydroperoxide. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Citriperazines A-D produced by a marine algae-derived fungus Penicillium sp. KMM 4672

Abstract

Four new diketopiperazine alkaloids, citriperazines A-D were isolated from algae-derived Penicillium sp. KMM 4672. The structures of compounds 1–4 were determined using spectroscopic methods. The absolute configurations of compounds 1 and 4 were established by comparison of calculated and experimental ECD spectra. The cytotoxicity of compounds 1–4 against several human prostate cell lines was evaluated.     

Diketopiperazine Gels: New Horizons from the Self-Assembly of Cyclic Dipeptides

Cyclodipeptides (CDPs) or 2,5-diketopiperazines (DKPs) can exert a variety of biological activities and display pronounced resistance against enzymatic hydrolysis as well as a propensity towards self-assembly into gels, relative to the linear-dipeptide counterparts. They have attracted great interest in a variety of fields spanning from functional materials to drug discovery. This concise review will analyze the latest advancements in their synthesis, self-assembly into gels, and their more innovative applications.     

Synthesis of Bridged Diketopiperazines by Using the Persistent Radical Effect and a Formal Synthesis of Bicyclomycin

A conceptually new and unified approach to diverse bridged diketopiperazines (DKPs) with widely variable ring sizes was developed by taking advantage of the persistent radical effect. This method enables synthesis of the core structures of bridged DKP alkaloids and was applied to a formal synthesis of the antibiotic bicyclomycin.