Enantioselective synthesis of the carbocyclic nucleoside (-)-abacavir.

An enantiopure ß-lactam with a suitably disposed electron withdrawing group on nitrogen, participated in a π-allylpalladium mediated reaction with 2,6-dichloropurine tetrabutylammonium salt to afford an advanced cis-1,4-substituted cyclopentenoid with both high regio- and stereoselectivity. This advanced intermediate was successfully manipulated to the total synthesis of (-)-Abacavir.

Synthesis and in vitro evaluation of imidazopyridazines as novel inhibitors of the malarial kinase PfPK7.

A high-throughput screening campaign identified a number of imidazopyridazines as novel inhibitors of the malarial kinase PfPK7. Further synthetic chemistry efforts enabled the preparation of a number of analogues with promising in vitro potencies. Although these compounds show likely broad spectrum inhibitory activity, they represent a useful starting point for further chemical optimisation.