An enantiospecific polyene cyclization initiated by an enantiomerically pure bromonium ion.

Dimethylaluminum triflate-mediated activation of tetrafluorobenzoates of enantiomerically pure bromohydrins results in enantiospecific polyene cyclizations. The initiation of cyclization by enantiomerically pure bromonium ions and subsequent propagation is not subject to catastrophic erosion of enantiomeric purity by any intramolecular or intermolecular bromonium ion-to-alkene transfer.

Using antibody directed phototherapy to target oesophageal adenocarcinoma with heterogeneous HER2 expression.

Early oesophageal adenocarcinoma (OA) and pre-neoplastic dysplasia may be treated with endoscopic resection and ablative techniques such as photodynamic therapy (PDT). Though effective, discrete areas of disease may be missed leading to recurrence. PDT further suffers from the side effects of off-target photosensitivity. A tumour specific and light targeted therapeutic agent with optimised pharmacokinetics could be used to destroy residual cancerous cells left behind after resection. A small molecule antibody-photosensitizer conjugate was developed targeting human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2). This was tested in an in vivo mouse model of human OA using a xenograft flank model with clinically relevant low level HER2 expression and heterogeneity. In vitro we demonstrate selective binding of the conjugate to tumour versus normal tissue. Light dependent cytotoxicity of the phototherapy agent in vitro was observed. In an in vivo OA mouse xenograft model the phototherapy agent had desirable pharmacokinetic properties for tumour uptake and blood clearance time. PDT treatment caused tumour growth arrest in all the tumours despite the tumours having a clinically defined low/negative HER2 expression level. This new phototherapy agent shows therapeutic potential for treatment of both HER2 positive and borderline/negative OA.

Enantiospecific bromonium ion generation and intramolecular capture: a model system for asymmetric bromonium ion-induced polyene cyclisations.

Scalemic bromonium ions generated enantiospecifically by the action of catalytic triflic acid on scalemic regioisomeric bromohydrin derivatives are trapped intramolecularly, enantiospecifically and regioselectively to give bicyclic brominated carbocycles in excellent yield and high enantiomeric excess. This enantiospecific pathway is not significantly perturbed by the addition of a trisubstituted alkene.