Diastereoselective Pictet-Spengler approach for the synthesis of pyrrolo[3,2-e][1,4]diazepin-2-one peptide turn mimics

Sixteen pyrrolo[3,2- e][1,4]diazepin-2-ones 1 were synthesized in 4-5 steps and 5-48% overall yields from 4-oxoproline 8 by a route featuring a diastereoselective Pictet-Spengler reaction to close the seven-membered diazepinone ring. Crystallographic analysis of pyrrolo[3,2- e][1,4]diazepin-2-one 1b by X-ray diffraction demonstrated that the alpha-amino acid residue adopted dihedral angle geometry similar to an ideal gamma-turn, illustrating the potential for employing these novel heterocycles as peptide turn mimics.