Trifluoromethylthiolation of Hindered α-Bromoamides with Nucleophilic Trifluoromethylthiolating Reagents.

General methods have not been previously developed for the synthesis of sterically hindered α-SCF3-substituted carbonyl compounds using nucleophilic trifluoromethylthiolating reagents. Thus, we herein report sp3C-SCF3 bond formation in hindered α-bromoamides containing 3-bromo-oxindoles and linear α-bromoamides using CuSCF3 or AgSCF3 under mild conditions to access sterically hindered α-SCF3-substituted amides. This transformation is applicable to not only 3-SCF3-substituted oxindoles but also primary and secondary amides and reveals a broad functional group tolerance. This method will benefit the fields of medicinal and agricultural chemistry.

Silver-Promoted Fluorination Reactions of α-Bromoamides.

Silver-promoted C-F bond formation in α-bromoamides by using AgF under mild conditions is reported. This simple method enables access to tertiary, secondary, and primary alkyl fluorides involving biomolecular scaffolds. This transformation is applicable to primary and secondary amides and shows broad functional-group tolerance. Kinetics experiments revealed that the reaction rate increased in the order of 3°>2°>1° α-carbon atom. In addition, it was found that the acidic amide proton plays an important role in accelerating the reaction. Mechanistic studies suggested generation of an aziridinone intermediate that undergoes subsequent nucleophilic addition to form the C-F bond with stereospecificity (i.e., retention of configuration). The synthesis of sterically hindered alcohols and ethers by using AgI is also demonstrated. Examples of reactions of α-bromoamides with O nucleophiles are presented.

Design and Development of an HBT-Based Ratiometric Fluorescent Probe to Monitor Stress-Induced Premature Senescence.

Stress-induced premature senescence (SIPS) can be induced in tumor cells by reactive oxygen species (ROS) or oncogenes. The antineoplastic drugs cause apoptosis and senescence by damaging the DNA. Although the detection of cellular senescence is important to monitor drug response during anticancer therapy, only a few probes have been studied for imaging SIPS. In this study, we developed 2-(2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole (HBT)-based fluorescent probes to determine SIPS by monitoring the oxidative stress and ß-galactosidase activity. HBT is a commonly used fluorophore because of its luminescence mechanism via excited-state intramolecular proton transfer, and it has attractive properties, such as a four-level photochemical process and large Stokes shift (151 nm). A novel fluorescent probe, (2-(benzo[d]thiazol-2-yl)phenyl)boronic acid, was prepared for the detection of ROS, including H2O2, via the oxidation reaction of arylboronic acids to form the fluorescent phenol, HBT. In addition, to determine the enzymatic activity of ß-galactosidase, a 2-(4'-chloro-2'-hydroxyphenyl)benzothiazole (CBT)-based enzymatic turn-on probe (CBT-ß-Gal) was designed and synthesized. ß-Galactosidase catalyzed the hydrolysis of ß-galactopyranoside from CBT-ß-Gal to release the fluorescent CBT. These probes were capable of ratiometric imaging the accumulation of H2O2 and the degree of ß-galatosidase activity in contrast to H2O2-untreated and H2O2-treated HeLa cells. Furthermore, these probes were successfully employed for imaging the increased levels of ROS and ß-galactosidase activity in the doxorubicin-treated HeLa cells.

Synthesis of Trifluoromethyl-α,ß-unsaturated Lactones and Pyrazolinones and Discovery of Influenza Virus Polymerase Inhibitors.

To explore the potential biological activities of trifluoromethyl heterocycles, we recently developed a synthetic approach to access a series of α-trifluoromethyl-α,ß-unsaturated lactones and trifluoromethyl pyrazolinones. The compounds were tested for their antimicrobial activity, and we found that some compounds had anti-influenza viral activity. The ß-aryl-α-trifluoromethyl α,ß-unsaturated lactone derivatives 5 g (5-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-methyl-4-phenyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)furan-2-one), 7 b (4-(4-methoxyphenyl)-3-(trifluoromethyl)spiro[furan-5,1'-indane]-2-one), and the trifluoromethyl pyrazolinone 12 c (1-(6-methoxy-2-naphthyl)-2-(trifluoromethyl)-5,6,7,8-tetrahydropyrazolo[1,2-a]pyridazin-3-one) were found to possess promising inhibitory activity against influenza virus type A, strain A/WSN/33 (H1N1). These three hit compounds were successfully optimized, and we identified that the most potent compound 5 h (5-(4-chlorophenyl)-4-(6-methoxy-2-naphthyl)-5-methyl-3-(trifluoromethyl)furan-2-one) showed inhibitory activity against various types of influenza A and B viruses in the low-micromolar range without showing cytotoxicity. Moreover, 5 h was more effective against the clinical isolate A/California/7/2009 (H1N1pdm) strain than the influenza viral polymerase inhibitor, favipiravir (T-705). We also delineated the structure-activity relationship and obtained mechanistic insight into inhibition of the viral polymerase.

Ionic Liquid-Mediated Hydrofluorination of o-Azaxylylenes Derived from 3-Bromooxindoles.

The hydrofluorination reaction of 3-bromooxindole using mild HF reagents in an ionic liquid is described. This transformation can operate at room temperature to give a series of 3-substituted 3-fluorooxindole derivatives including racemic BMS 204352 (MaxiPost). The mechanistic study about interactions between HF and 3-butyl-1-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate [bmim][BF4] is also discussed on the basis of energy calculations.