Process Mass Intensity (PMI): A Holistic Analysis of Current Peptide Manufacturing Processes Informs Sustainability in Peptide Synthesis.

Small molecule therapeutics represent the majority of the FDA-approved drugs. Yet, many attractive targets are poorly tractable by small molecules, generating a need for new therapeutic modalities. Due to their biocompatibility profile and structural versatility, peptide-based therapeutics are a possible solution. Additionally, in the past two decades, advances in peptide design, delivery, formulation, and devices have occurred, making therapeutic peptides an attractive modality. However, peptide manufacturing is often limited to solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS), liquid phase peptide synthesis (LPPS), and to a lesser extent hybrid SPPS/LPPS, with SPPS emerging as a predominant platform technology for peptide synthesis. SPPS involves the use of excess solvents and reagents which negatively impact the environment, thus highlighting the need for newer technologies to reduce the environmental footprint. Herein, fourteen American Chemical Society Green Chemistry Institute Pharmaceutical Roundtable (ACS GCIPR) member companies with peptide-based therapeutics in their portfolio have compiled Process Mass Intensity (PMI) metrics to help inform the sustainability efforts in peptide synthesis. This includes PMI assessment on 40 synthetic peptide processes at various development stages in pharma, classified according to the development phase. This is the most comprehensive assessment of synthetic peptide environmental metrics to date. The synthetic peptide manufacturing process was divided into stages (synthesis, purification, isolation) to determine their respective PMI. On average, solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) (PMI ≈ 13,000) does not compare favorably with other modalities such as small molecules (PMI median 168-308) and biopharmaceuticals (PMI ≈ 8300). Thus, the high PMI for peptide synthesis warrants more environmentally friendly processes in peptide manufacturing.

Toward a formal synthesis of laureatin: unexpected rearrangements involving cyclic ether nucleophiles.

Laureatin, a metabolite of the red algae Laurencia nipponica, has shown potent activity as a mosquito larvicide. The two previously published syntheses of laureatin involved an initial preparation of the 8-membered cyclic ether, followed by formation of the oxetane ring. Our strategy was the reverse, i.e., to utilize an oxetane as the framework to construct the larger ring. During this work, attempted N-bromosuccinimide (NBS)-mediated cyclization of oxetane alcohol 17, prepared from readily accessible 2-methyleneoxetane 12, yielded epoxytetrahydrofuran 19 rather than the expected laureatin core. Further derivatization of 19 yielded trans fused bis-tetrahydrofuran 32. The synthesis of 19 and 32, as well as structural and stereochemical elucidation studies, are described.

First approach to the frondosin C ring system via a tandem cyclization/Claisen rearrangement sequence.

[reaction: see text] A one-pot tandem 5-exo cyclization/Claisen rearrangement strategy is utilized as the key step in the straightforward construction of the tetracyclic ring system of frondosin C. This reaction is done under microwave irradiation in the presence of catalytic MeLi.

Unusual, strained heterocycles: 3-alkylidene-2-methyleneoxetanes from Morita-Baylis-Hillman-type adducts.

[reaction: see text] 3-Alkylidene-2-methyleneoxetanes have been prepared by treating alpha-alkylidene-beta-lactones, derived from Morita-Baylis-Hillman-type adducts, with dimethyltitanocene. Preliminary studies of the reactivity of these little known, strained heterocycles are also described.