Molecular Construction of Sulfonamide Antisense Oligonucleotides.

An efficient and scalable synthesis of new oligonucleotide monomers was developed for replacement of the phosphodiester backbone of RNA by a sulfonamide-containing backbone to enable construction of sulfonamide antisense oligonucleotides (SaASOs). It was shown that by employing these sulfonamide RNA (SaRNA) monomers, it was possible to synthesize oligomers in solution. The properties of a sulfonamide moiety replacement were evaluated by incorporation of a SaRNA-monomer into a DNA strand and performing thermal stability tests of the resulting DNA and RNA-double-strand hybrids. Although sulfonamide modification caused a decrease in melting temperature (Tm) of both hybrids, it was lower for the sulfonamide-containing DNA-RNA hybrid than that for the sulfonamide-containing DNA-DNA hybrid.

Polar Hinges as Functionalized Conformational Constraints in (Bi)cyclic Peptides.

Two polar hinges for cyclization of peptides have been developed, leading to bicyclic peptides and cyclized peptides with improved solubility and biological activity. Increasingly, we note that a good aqueous solubility of peptides is an absolute prerequisite, not only to allow handling and purification of our target peptides but also being crucial for biological activity characteristics. Compared to earlier hinges, the 1,1',1"-(1,3,5-triazinane-1,3,5-triyl)tris(2-bromoethanone) (TATB) and 2,4,6-tris(bromomethyl)-s-triazine (TBMT), each containing three nitrogen atoms are structurally similar but chemically very different. Both were accessible in a one-step fashion from bromoacetonitrile. TATB and TBMT are very suitable for the preparation of more soluble bicyclic peptides. Azide-modified TATB and TBMT derivatives provide hinges for the preparation of cyclized peptides for incorporation on scaffolds to afford protein mimics.