Aminopurine based JNK inhibitors for the prevention of ischemia reperfusion injury.

In this Letter we describe the optimization of an aminopurine lead (1) with modest potency and poor overall kinase selectivity which led to the identification of a series of potent, selective JNK inhibitors. Improvement in kinase selectivity was enabled by introduction of an aliphatic side chain at the C-2 position. CC-359 (2) was selected as a potential clinical candidate for diseases manifested by ischemia reperfusion injury.

Asymmetric total synthesis of dendrobatid alkaloids: preparation of indolizidine 251F and its 3-desmethyl analogue using an intramolecular Schmidt reaction strategy.

Total syntheses of alkaloid 251F (1), a natural product detected from the skin extracts of the dendrobatid frog species Minyobates bombetes, and its racemic 3-desmethyl derivative (2) are reported. A Diels-Alder reaction initiated both syntheses and established four consecutive stereogenic centers. Important to the synthesis of 2 was a first-generation ozonolysis/olefination/aldol strategy to convert a [2.2.1] bicyclic acid to the [3.3.0]bicyclooctane diquinane 4b. Further elaboration to an appropriate keto azide allowed for a key intramolecular Schmidt reaction to deliver the tricyclic core of the target molecule. In a second-generation approach, a tandem ring-opening/ring-closing metathesis reaction effected an overall [2.2.1] --> [3.3.0] skeletal rearrangement to deliver diquinane 4a. In similar fashion, 4a was manipulated to an appropriate keto azide, and an intramolecular Schmidt reaction generated the core cyclic architecture of 251F.

Asymmetric Schmidt reaction of hydroxyalkyl azides with ketones.

An asymmetric equivalent of the Schmidt reaction permits stereocontrol in ring expansions of symmetrical cyclohexanones. The procedure involves the reaction of chiral 1,2- and 1,3-hydroxyalkyl azides with ketones under acid catalysis; the initial reaction affords an iminium ether that can be subsequently opened with base. A systematic study of this reaction is reported, in which ketone substrates, chiral hydroxyalkyl azides, and reaction conditions are varied. Selectivities as high as ca. 98:2 are possible for the synthesis of substituted caprolactams, with up to 1,7-stereoselection involved in the overall process. The fact that either possible migrating carbon is electronically identical provides an unusual opportunity to study a ring-expansion reaction controlled entirely by stereoelectronic factors. The mechanism of the reaction and the source of its stereoselectivity are also discussed.

Asymmetric total synthesis of dendrobatid alkaloid 251F.

The dendrobatid alkaloid (-)-251F was synthesized. The key steps of the synthesis were (1) an asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction to establish four of the necessary stereocenters in the target, (2) a ring-opening/ring-closing metathesis reaction to establish a key [3.3.0] bicyclic intermediate, and (3) an intramolecular Schmidt reaction.

Ellagitannin Chemistry. Syntheses of Tellimagrandin II and a Dehydrodigalloyl Ether-Containing Dimeric Gallotannin Analogue of Coriariin A.

The first chemical synthesis of the naturally occurring ellagitannin tellimagrandin II is reported. Key steps of the synthesis include the atropselective oxidative coupling of suitably protected galloyl rings at the O(4) and O(6) positions of a glucopyranose core, and the stereoselective acylation of the derived anomeric alcohol with a galloyl chloride. In addition, the synthesis of a novel gallotannin-ellagitannin hybrid is described. This dimeric construct relied on a hetero Diels-Alder cycloaddition/reductive rearrangement sequence to deliver the intact skeleton from a monomeric pentagalloylglucose-based orthoquinone.