Design and 22-step synthesis of highly potent D-ring modified and linker-equipped analogs of spongistatin 1.

Spongistatin 1 is among the most potent anti-proliferative agents ever discovered rendering it an attractive candidate for development as a payload for antibody-drug conjugates and other targeted delivery approaches. Unfortunately, it is unavailable from natural sources and its size and complex stereostructure render chemical synthesis highly time- and resource-intensive. As a result, the design and synthesis of more acid-stable and linker functional group-equipped analogs that retain the low picomolar potency of the parent natural product requires more efficient and step-economical synthetic access. Using uniquely enabling direct complex fragment coupling crotyl- and alkallylsilylation reactions, we report a 22-step synthesis of a rationally designed D-ring modified analog of spongistatin 1 that is characterized by GI50 values in the low picomolar range, and a proof-of-concept result that the C(15) acetate may be replaced with linker functional group-bearing esters with only minimal reductions in potency.

Direct, Mild, and General n-Bu4NBr-Catalyzed Aldehyde Allylsilylation with Allyl Chlorides.

A direct, mild, and general method for the enantioselective allylsilylation of aldehydes with allyl chlorides is reported. The reactions are effectively catalyzed by 5 mol % of n-Bu4NBr, and this rate acceleration allows the use of complex allyl donors in fragment-coupling reactions and of electron-deficient allyl donors. The results are (1) significant progress toward a "universal" asymmetric aldehyde allylation reaction that can reliably and highly stereoselectively couple any allyl chloride_aldehyde combination and (2) the discovery of a novel mode of nucleophilic catalysis for aldehyde allylsilylation reactions.

Synthesis and Evaluation of a Linkable Functional Group-Equipped Analogue of the Epothilones.

An approach to the validation of a linker strategy for the epothilone family of microtubule-stabilizing agents is reported. An analogue of epothilone B in which the C(6) methyl group has been replaced with a 4-azidobutyl group has been prepared by total chemical synthesis, and amides derived from the azido group have been shown to retain the activity of the parent compound. These results set the stage for an evaluation of the potential of the epothilones to serve as the drug component of antibody-drug conjugates and other selective tumor cell-targeting conjugates.

Evolution of an Efficient and Scalable Nine-Step (Longest Linear Sequence) Synthesis of Zincophorin Methyl Ester.

Because of both their synthetically challenging and stereochemically complex structures and their wide range of often clinically relevant biological activities, nonaromatic polyketide natural products have for decades attracted an enormous amount of attention from synthetic chemists and played an important role in the development of modern asymmetric synthesis. Often, such compounds are not available in quantity from natural sources, rendering analogue synthesis and drug development efforts extremely resource-intensive and time-consuming. In this arena, the quest for ever more step-economical and efficient methods and strategies, useful and important goals in their own right, takes on added importance, and the most useful syntheses will combine high levels of step-economy with efficiency and scalability. The nonaromatic polyketide natural product zincophorin methyl ester has attracted significant attention from synthetic chemists due primarily to the historically synthetically challenging C(8)-C(12) all-anti stereopentad. While great progress has been made in the development of new methodologies to more directly address this problem and as a result in the development of more highly step-economical syntheses, a synthesis that combines high levels of step economy with high levels of efficiency and scalability has remained elusive. To address this problem, we have devised a new synthesis of zincophorin methyl ester that proceeds in just nine steps in the longest linear sequence and proceeds in 10% overall yield. Additionally, the scalability and practicability of the route have been demonstrated by performing all of the steps on a meaningful scale. This synthesis thus represents by a significant margin the most step-economical, efficient, and practicable synthesis of this stereochemically complex natural product reported to date, and is well suited to facilitate the synthesis of analogues and medicinal chemistry development efforts in a time- and resource-efficient manner.

Silane and Germane Molecular Electronics.

This Account provides an overview of our recent efforts to uncover the fundamental charge transport properties of Si-Si and Ge-Ge single bonds and introduce useful functions into group 14 molecular wires. We utilize the tools of chemical synthesis and a scanning tunneling microscopy-based break-junction technique to study the mechanism of charge transport in these molecular systems. We evaluated the fundamental ability of silicon, germanium, and carbon molecular wires to transport charge by comparing conductances within families of well-defined structures, the members of which differ only in the number of Si (or Ge or C) atoms in the wire. For each family, this procedure yielded a length-dependent conductance decay parameter, ß. Comparison of the different ß values demonstrates that Si-Si and Ge-Ge σ bonds are more conductive than the analogous C-C σ bonds. These molecular trends mirror what is seen in the bulk. The conductance decay of Si and Ge-based wires is similar in magnitude to those from π-based molecular wires such as paraphenylenes However, the chemistry of the linkers that attach the molecular wires to the electrodes has a large influence on the resulting ß value. For example, Si- and Ge-based wires of many different lengths connected with a methyl-thiomethyl linker give ß values of 0.36-0.39 Å-1, whereas Si- and Ge-based wires connected with aryl-thiomethyl groups give drastically different ß values for short and long wires. This observation inspired us to study molecular wires that are composed of both π- and σ-orbitals. The sequence and composition of group 14 atoms in the σ chain modulates the electronic coupling between the π end-groups and dictates the molecular conductance. The conductance behavior originates from the coupling between the subunits, which can be understood by considering periodic trends such as bond length, polarizability, and bond polarity. We found that the same periodic trends determine the electric field-induced breakdown properties of individual Si-Si, Ge-Ge, Si-O, Si-C, and C-C bonds. Building from these studies, we have prepared a system that has two different, alternative conductance pathways. In this wire, we can intentionally break a labile, strained silicon-silicon bond and thereby shunt the current through the secondary conduction pathway. This type of in situ bond-rupture provides a new tool to study single molecule reactions that are induced by electric fields. Moreover, these studies provide guidance for designing dielectric materials as well as molecular devices that require stability under high voltage bias. The fundamental studies on the structure/function relationships of the molecular wires have guided the design of new functional systems based on the Si- and Ge-based wires. For example, we exploited the principle of strain-induced Lewis acidity from reaction chemistry to design a single molecule switch that can be controllably switched between two conductive states by varying the distance between the tip and substrate electrodes. We found that the strain intrinsic to the disilaacenaphthene scaffold also creates two state conductance switching. Finally, we demonstrate the first example of a stereoelectronic conductance switch, and we demonstrate that the switching relies crucially on the electronic delocalization in Si-Si and Ge-Ge wire backbones. These studies illustrate the untapped potential in using Si- and Ge-based wires to design and control charge transport at the nanoscale and to allow quantum mechanics to be used as a tool to design ultraminiaturized switches.

Mechanism for Si-Si Bond Rupture in Single Molecule Junctions.

The stability of chemical bonds can be studied experimentally by rupturing single molecule junctions under applied voltage. Here, we compare voltage-induced bond rupture in two Si-Si backbones: one has no alternate conductive pathway whereas the other contains an additional naphthyl pathway in parallel to the Si-Si bond. We show that in contrast to the first system, the second can conduct through the naphthyl group when the Si-Si bond is ruptured using an applied voltage. We investigate this voltage induced Si-Si bond rupture by ab initio density functional theory calculations and molecular dynamics simulations that ultimately demonstrate that the excitation of molecular vibrational modes by tunneling electrons leads to homolytic Si-Si bond rupture.

High-Conductance Pathways in Ring-Strained Disilanes by Way of Direct σ-Si-Si to Au Coordination.

A highly conducting electronic contact between a strained disilane and Au is demonstrated through scanning tunneling microscope-based single-molecule measurements. Conformationally locked cis diastereomers of bis(sulfide)-anchor-equipped 1,2-disilaacenaphthenes readily form high-conducting junctions in which the two sulfide anchors bind in a bipodal fashion to one gold electrode, providing enough stability for a stable electrical contact between the Si-Si σ bond and the other electrode.

A Highly Stereoselective, Efficient, and Scalable Synthesis of the C(1)-C(9) Fragment of the Epothilones.

A second-generation synthesis of the C(1)-C(9) fragment of the epothilones is reported. The key tandem intramolecular silylformylation/crotylsilylation/"aprotic" Tamao oxidation sequence has been redeveloped as a stepwise intermolecular variant, allowing excellent levels of diastereoselectivity in the crotylation step and proceeds in 50% overall yield on gram scale. An improved synthesis of the homopropargyl alcohol starting material is also described, which proceeds in four steps and >99% ee from inexpensive starting materials and is amenable to multigram scales.

A "methyl extension" strategy for polyketide natural product linker site validation and its application to dictyostatin.

An approach to the validation of linker strategies for polyketide natural products with few or no obvious handles for linker attachment, and its application to dictyostatin, are described. Analogues in which the C(6)- and C(12)-methyl groups were replaced by 4-azidobutyl groups were prepared and shown to retain the low nanomolar potency of dictyostatin. Further, conjugation of the C(6) analogue with a cyclooctyne resulted in only minor attenuations in potency. Together, these results shed light on the binding of dictyostatin to ß-tubulin, establish a validated linker strategy for dictyostatin, and set the stage for the synthesis and study of dictyostatin conjugates.

Design, development, mechanistic elucidation, and rational optimization of a tandem Ireland Claisen/Cope rearrangement reaction for rapid access to the (iso)cyclocitrinol core.

An approach to the synthesis of the (iso)cyclocitrinol core structure is described. The key step is a tandem Ireland Claisen/Cope rearrangement sequence, wherein the Ireland Claisen rearrangement effects ring contraction to a strained 10-membered ring, and that strain in turn drives the Cope rearrangement under unusually mild thermal conditions. A major side product was identified as resulting from an unexpected and remarkably facile [1,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement, and a tactic to disfavor the [1,3] pathway and increase the efficiency of the tandem reaction was rationally devised.

Beyond the Roche ester: a new approach to polypropionate stereotriad synthesis.

An efficient, step-economical, and scalable approach to the synthesis of polypropionate stereotriads has been developed. Either 2-butyne or propyne is subjected to rhodium-catalyzed silylformylation and in situ crotylation of the resulting aldehydes. Tamao oxidation under either "standard" conditions or "aprotic" conditions then delivers the completed stereotriads in a three-step, two-pot sequence. In contrast to the classical Roche ester approach, the α-stereocenter is obtained for "free."

Silicon ring strain creates high-conductance pathways in single-molecule circuits.

Here we demonstrate for the first time that strained silanes couple directly to gold electrodes in break-junction conductance measurements. We find that strained silicon molecular wires terminated by alkyl sulfide aurophiles behave effectively as single-molecule parallel circuits with competing sulfur-to-sulfur (low G) and sulfur-to-silacycle (high G) pathways. We can switch off the high conducting sulfur-to-silacycle pathway by altering the environment of the electrode surface to disable the Au-silacycle coupling. Additionally, we can switch between conductive pathways in a single molecular junction by modulating the tip-substrate electrode distance. This study provides a new molecular design to control electronics in silicon-based single molecule wires.

Exploiting pseudo C2-symmetry for an efficient synthesis of the F-ring of the spongistatins.

A concise and efficient synthesis of the F-ring fragment of the potent antimitotic marine macrolide spongistatin 1 has been developed. The key sequence involves double cross-metathesis/Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation reactions to establish four stereocenters in a pseudo C2-symmetric array, followed by a selective protection reaction that breaks the pseudosymmetry, establishes a fifth stereocenter, and effectively differentiates the ester termini. Overall, the six contiguous stereocenters in the C(37)-C(45) F-ring fragment are established in just seven steps.

Toward a more step-economical and scalable synthesis of spongistatin 1 to facilitate cancer drug development efforts.

An efficient, step-economical, and scalable synthesis of a diene-bearing AB spiroketal fragment of spongistatin 1, and a demonstration of its efficient coupling to an aldehyde derived from silylformylation of a homopropargyl alcohol to produce the entire complex C(13)-C(17) linker region are described. The scalability of the synthesis of the AB spiroketal fragment was demonstrated by the preparation of 34.5 grams by one chemist in ~60 workdays, and more than 40 grams overall. With this material in hand and having established a method for its efficient coupling to the CD fragment, we have set the stage for the rapid synthesis and evaluation of a series of analogs of the CD spiroketal.

An "aprotic" Tamao oxidation/syn-selective tautomerization reaction for the efficient synthesis of the C1-C9 fragment of fludelone.

An efficient synthesis of the C(1)-C(9) fragment of fludelone has been developed. The key step is a tandem silylformylation-crotylsilylation/Tamao oxidation sequence that establishes the C(5) ketone, the C(6), C(7), and C(8) stereocenters, and the C(9) alkene in a single operation from a readily accessed starting material. The stereochemical outcome at C(6) depends critically on the development of an "aprotic" Tamao oxidation, which leads to a reversal in the intrinsic diastereoselectivity observed using "standard" Tamao oxidation conditions.

Direct and highly regioselective and enantioselective allylation of ß-diketones.

The enantioselective allylation of ketones is a problem of fundamental importance in asymmetric reaction design, especially given that only a very small number of methods can generate tertiary carbinols. Despite the vast amount of attention that synthetic chemists have given to this problem, success has generally been limited to just a few simple ketone types. A method for the selective allylation of functionally complex ketones would greatly increase the utility of ketone allylation methods in the chemical synthesis of important targets. Here we describe the operationally simple, direct, regioselective and enantioselective allylation of ß-diketones. The strong tendency of ß-diketones to act as nucleophilic species was overcome by using their enol form to provide the necessary Brønsted-acid activation. This reaction significantly expands the pool of enantiomerically enriched and functionally complex tertiary carbinols that may be easily accessed. It also overturns more than a century of received wisdom regarding the reactivity of ß-diketones.

A tandem cross-metathesis/semipinacol rearrangement reaction.

An efficient and (E)-selective synthesis of a 6-alkylidenebicyclo[3.2.1]octan-8-one has been developed. The key step is a tandem cross-metathesis/semipinacol rearrangement reaction, wherein the Hoveyda-Grubbs II catalyst, or more likely a derivative thereof, serves as the Lewis acid for the rearrangement. Despite the fact that both the starting alkene and the cross-metathesis product are viable rearrangement substrates, only the latter rearranges, suggesting that the Lewis acidic species is generated only after the cross-metathesis reaction is complete.