Enabling Deoxygenative C(sp2)-C(sp3) Cross-Coupling for Parallel Medicinal Chemistry.

Herein we report the development of an automated deoxygenative C(sp2)-C(sp3) coupling of aryl bromide with alcohols to enable parallel medicinal chemistry. Alcohols are among the most diverse and abundant building blocks, but their usage as alkyl precursors has been limited. Although metallaphotoredox deoxygenative coupling is becoming a promising strategy to form C(sp2)-C(sp3) bond, the reaction setup limits its widespread application in library synthesis. To achieve high throughput and consistency, an automated workflow involving solid-dosing and liquid-handling robots has been developed. We have successfully demonstrated this high-throughput protocol is robust and consistent across three automation platforms. Furthermore, guided by cheminformatic analysis, we examined alcohols with comprehensive chemical space coverage and established a meaningful scope for medicinal chemistry applications. By accessing the rich diversity of alcohols, this automated protocol has the potential to substantially increase the impact of C(sp2)-C(sp3) cross-coupling in drug discovery.

Direct-to-Biology Accelerates PROTAC Synthesis and the Evaluation of Linker Effects on Permeability and Degradation.

A platform to accelerate optimization of proteolysis targeting chimeras (PROTACs) has been developed using a direct-to-biology (D2B) approach with a focus on linker effects. A large number of linker analogs-with varying length, polarity, and rigidity-were rapidly prepared and characterized in four cell-based assays by streamlining time-consuming steps in synthesis and purification. The expansive dataset informs on linker structure-activity relationships (SAR) for in-cell E3 ligase target engagement, degradation, permeability, and cell toxicity. Unexpected aspects of linker SAR was discovered, consistent with literature reports on "linkerology", and the method dramatically speeds up empirical optimization. Physicochemical property trends emerged, and the platform has the potential to rapidly expand training sets for more complex prediction models. In-depth validation studies were carried out and confirm the D2B platform is a valuable tool to accelerate PROTAC design-make-test cycles.

Convergent Synthesis of the NS5B Inhibitor GSK8175 Enabled by Transition Metal Catalysis.

A convergent eight-stage synthesis of the boron-containing NS5B inhibitor GSK8175 is described. The previous route involves 13 steps in a completely linear sequence, with an overall 10% yield. Key issues include a multiday SNAr arylation of a secondary sulfonamide using HMPA as solvent, multiple functional group interconversions after all of the carbon atoms are installed (including a Sandmeyer halogenation), use of carcinogenic chloromethyl methyl ether to install a protecting group late in the synthesis, and an unreliable Pd-catalyzed Miyaura borylation as the penultimate step. We have devised an orthogonal approach using a Chan-Lam coupling between a halogenated aryl pinacol boronate ester and an aryl methanesulfonamide. This reaction is performed using a cationic Cu(I) precatalyst, which can be easily generated in situ using KPF6 as a halide abstractor. High-throughput screening revealed a new Pd catalyst system to effect the penultimate borylation chemistry using simple monodentate phosphine ligands, with PCyPh2 identified as optimal. Reaction progress analysis of this borylation indicated likely mass-transfer rate limitations under standard conditions using KOAc as the base. We have devised a K2CO3/pivalic acid system as an alternative, which dramatically outperforms the standard conditions. This new synthesis proceeds in eight stages with a 20% overall yield.

Aerobic Linear Allylic C-H Amination: Overcoming Benzoquinone Inhibition.

An efficient aerobic linear allylic C-H amination reaction is reported under palladium(II)/bis-sulfoxide/Brønsted base catalysis. The reaction operates under preparative, operationally simple conditions (1 equiv of olefin, 1 atm O2 or air) with reduced Pd(II)/bis-sulfoxide catalyst loadings while providing higher turnovers and product yields than systems employing stoichiometric benzoquinone (BQ) as the terminal oxidant. Pd(II)/BQ π-acidic interactions have been invoked in various catalytic processes and are often considered beneficial in promoting reductive functionalizations. When such electrophilic activation for functionalization is not needed, however, BQ at high concentrations may compete with crucial ligand (bis-sulfoxide) binding and inhibit catalysis. Kinetic studies reveal an inverse relationship between the reaction rate and the concentration of BQ, suggesting that BQ is acting as a ligand for Pd(II) which results in an inhibitory effect on catalysis.

Catalyst-controlled C-O versus C-N allylic functionalization of terminal olefins.

The divergent synthesis of syn-1,2-aminoalcohol or syn-1,2-diamine precursors from a common terminal olefin has been accomplished using a combination of palladium(II) catalysis with Lewis acid cocatalysis. Palladium(II)/bis-sulfoxide catalysis with a silver triflate cocatalyst leads for the first time to anti-2-aminooxazolines (C-O) in good to excellent yields. Simple removal of the bis-sulfoxide ligand from this reaction results in a complete switch in reactivity to afford anti-imidazolidinone products (C-N) in good yields and excellent diastereoselectivities. Mechanistic studies suggest the divergent C-O versus C-N reactivity from a common ambident nucleophile arises due to a switch in mechanism from allylic C-H cleavage/functionalization to olefin isomerization/oxidative amination.