A mechanochemical approach to the synthesis of sydnones and derivatives.

Sydnones are heterocyclic compounds which display important biological activities, including their abilities to react in 1,3-dipolar additions for applications in the development of new prodrugs. Capitalizing on our preliminary work on the mechanosynthesis of sydnones, an extension of this work to two related families of molecules, diarylsydnones and iminosydnones is reported. A ball-milling approach towards the synthesis of diaryl sydnones was developed, a necessary step for the synthesis of potential sydnone-based ligands of metal complexes. A mechanochemistry-based synthesis of iminosydnones was optimized, including the preparation of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) related to feprosidnine, linsidomine, mesocarb and molsidomine. This work demonstrated that the ball-milling procedures were efficient and time saving through avoiding purification steps, and reduced the use of organic solvents.

Simple and Rapid Mechanochemical Synthesis of Lactide and 3S-(Isobutyl)morpholine-2,5-dione-Based Random Copolymers Using DBU and Thiourea.

There is a growing interest surrounding morpholine-2,5-dione-based materials due to their impressive biocompatibility as well as their capacity to break down by hydrolytic and enzymatic pathways. In this study, the ring-opening (co)polymerization of leucine-derived 3S-(isobutyl)morpholine-2,5-dione (MD) and lactide (LA) was performed via ball-milling using a catalytic system composed of 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU) and 3-[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-1-cyclohexylthiourea (TU). Once the homopolymerizations of MD and LA optimized and numerous parameters were studied, the mechanochemical ring-opening copolymerization of these monomers was explored. The feasibility of ring-opening copolymerizations in mechanochemical systems was demonstrated and a range of P(MD-co-LA) copolymers were produced with varying proportions of MD (23%, 48%, and 69%). Furthermore, the beneficial cocatalytic effects of TU with regards to ROP control were found to be operative within mechanochemical systems. Further parallels were observed between solution- and mechanochemical-based ROPs.

Coordination complexes involving sydnones as ligands.

Sydnones are mesioionic compounds studied for years for their versatile reactivity in substitution reactions, sydnone-alkyne or sydnone-alkene cycloaddition reactions. This perspective article focuses on the use of sydnones in coordination complexes, either through a metalation on one of the carbons of the sydnone ring, its modification to obtain polydentate ligands, or its use as a polar moiety that could influence the properties of the final complex. Such compounds are valuable either from a synthetic point of view or for their biological properties.

C-glyco"RGD" as αIIbß3 and αvß integrin ligands for imaging applications: Synthesis, in vitro evaluation and molecular modeling.

The design of conjugates displaying simultaneously high selectivity and high affinity for different subtypes of integrins is a current challenge. The arginine-glycine-aspartic acid amino acid sequence (RGD) is one of the most efficient short peptides targeting these receptors. We report herein the development of linear and cyclic fluoro-C-glycoside"RGD" conjugates, taking advantage of the robustness and hydrophilicity of C-glycosides. As attested by in vitro evaluation, the design of these C-glyco"RGD" with a flexible three-carbon triazolyl linker allows distinct profiles towards αIIbß3 and αvß3 integrins. Molecular-dynamics simulations confirm the suitability of cyclic C-glyco-c(RGDfC) to target αvß3 integrin. These C-glyco"RGD" could become promising biological tools in particular for Positron Emission Tomography imaging.

Mechanosynthesis of sydnone-containing coordination complexes.

N-Phenyl-4-(2-pyridinyl) sydnone was shown to act as a four-electron donor N,O-ligand in unprecedented coordination complexes featuring three different metallic centers (Co, Cu, and Zn). Starting with various anilines, the use of a ball-mill efficiently enabled the synthesis of N-arylglycines, subsequent nitrosylation and cyclization into sydnones, and further metalation.

A mechanochemical approach to access the proline-proline diketopiperazine framework.

Ball milling was exploited to prepare a substituted proline building block by mechanochemical nucleophilic substitution. Subsequently, the mechanocoupling of hindered proline amino acid derivatives was developed to provide proline-proline dipeptides under solvent-free conditions. A deprotection-cyclization sequence yielded the corresponding diketopiperazines that were obtained with a high stereoselectivity which could be explained by DFT calculations. Using this method, an enantiopure disubstituted Pro-Pro diketopiperazine was synthesized in 4 steps, making 5 new bonds using a ball mill.

Synthesis and revised stereochemical assignment of C-allyl glucopyranosides and derivatives.

α- and ß-C-allylglucopyranosides and hydroxy-, bromo- and azido-derivatives were prepared through allylation at C-1 of methyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-D-glucopyranoside or 1-O-acetyl-2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-D-glucopyranose and subsequent chemical modifications of the alkene on the anomeric arm. However, we picked out some discordance between some recent published studies and our results. After a thorough work of characterization and NMR analysis, we unambiguously confirmed α and ß stereochemistry of the two series of compounds and fully described for the first time ß-C-propyl alcohol, bromide and azide of 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-D-glucopyranose.