A new benzotriazole-mediated stereoflexible gateway to hetero-2,5-diketopiperazines

Open chain Cbz-L-aa(1)-L-Pro-Bt (Bt=benzotriazole) sequences were converted into either the corresponding trans- or cis-fused 2,5-diketopiperazines (DKPs) depending on the reaction conditions. Thermodynamic tandem cyclization/epimerization afforded selectively the corresponding trans-DKPs (69-75%). Complementarily, tandem deprotection/cyclization led to the cis-DKPs (65-72%). A representative set of proline-containing cis- and trans-DKPs has been prepared. A mechanistic investigation, based on chiral HPLC, kinetics, and computational studies enabled a rationalization of the results.