Substitution-Induced Mechanistic Switching in SNAr-Warheads for Cysteine Proteases.

The aim of this study was to investigate the transition from non-covalent reversible over covalent reversible to covalent irreversible inhibition of cysteine proteases by making delicate structural changes to the warhead scaffold. To this end, dipeptidic rhodesain inhibitors with different N-terminal electrophilic arenes as warheads relying on the SNAr mechanism were synthesized and investigated. Strong structure-activity relationships of the inhibition potency, the degree of covalency, and the reversibility of binding on the arene substitution pattern were found. The studies were complemented and substantiated by molecular docking and quantum-mechanical calculations of model systems. Furthermore, the improvement in the membrane permeability of peptide esters in comparison to their corresponding carboxylic acids was exemplified.

A Regio- and Diastereoselective Anodic Aryl-Aryl Coupling in the Biomimetic Total Synthesis of (-)-Thebaine.

The biosynthesis of thebaine is based on the regioselective, intramolecular, oxidative coupling of (R)-reticuline. For decades, chemists have sought to mimic this coupling by using stoichiometric oxidants. However, all approaches to date have suffered from low yields or the formation of undesired regioisomers. Electrochemistry would represent a sustainable alternative in this respect but all attempts to accomplish an electrochemical synthesis of thebaine have failed so far. Herein, a regio- and diastereoselective anodic coupling of 3',4',5'-trioxygenated laudanosine derivatives is presented, which finally enables electrochemical access to (-)-thebaine.

A Modular Access to (±)-Tubocurine and (±)-Curine - Formal Total Synthesis of Tubocurarine.

Two consecutive Cu-catalyzed Ullmann-type C-O couplings permitted the first successful entry toward the curare alkaloids (±)-tubocurine and (±)-curine. Starting from vanillin, the synthetic sequence comprises 15 linear steps and includes a total of 24 transformations. In addition, the total synthesis of tubocurine represents a formal total synthesis of the famous arrow poison alkaloid tubocurarine.

Simple two-step synthesis of 2,4-disubstituted pyrroles and 3,5-disubstituted pyrrole-2-carbonitriles from enones.

The cyclocondensation of enones with aminoacetonitrile furnishes 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrrole-2-carbonitriles which can be readily converted to 2,4-disubstituted pyrroles by microwave-induced dehydrocyanation. Alternatively, oxidation of the intermediates produces 3,5-disubstituted pyrrole-2-carbonitriles.

Di-tert-butyl Phosphonate Route to the Antiviral Drug Tenofovir.

Di-tert-butyl oxymethyl phosphonates were investigated regarding their suitability for preparing the active pharmaceutical ingredient tenofovir (PMPA). First, an efficient and simple access to the crystalline di-tert-butyl(hydroxymethyl)phosphonate was developed. O-Mesylation gave high yields of the active phosphonomethylation reagent. For the synthesis of tenofovir, a two-step sequence was developed using Mg(OtBu)2 as the base for the alkylation of (R)-9-(2-hydroxypropyl)adenine. Subsequent deprotection could be achieved with aqueous acids. (Di-tert-butoxyphosphoryl)methyl methanesulfonate showed to be the most efficient electrophile tested, affording PMPA in 72% yield on a 5 g scale. The developed protocol could also be applied for the preparation of the hepatitis B drug adefovir (64% yield/1 g scale).

(Z)-Amino-(2-methyl-3-oxoisoindolin-1-yl-idene)acetonitrile.

The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C(11)H(9)N(3)O, contains two independent and nearly identical mol-ecules (A and B). Mol-ecule A can be transformed to B using a rotation of approximately 85° around the [111] direction. Each A mol-ecule is connected to three B mol-ecules via N-H⋯N and N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds and vice versa. Centrosymmetric-ally related mol-ecules of the same residue form π-π inter-actions with centroid-centroid distances of 4.326 (1) and 3.826 (1) Šfor the benzene rings of mol-ecules A and B, respectively.

Total Synthesis of (-)-Oxycodone via Anodic Aryl-Aryl Coupling.

A fully regio- and diastereoselective electrochemical 4a-2'-coupling of a 3',4',5'-trioxygenated laudanosine derivative enables the synthesis of the corresponding morphinandienone. This key intermediate is further transformed into (-)-oxycodone through conjugate nucleophilic substitution for E-ring closure and [4 + 2] cycloaddition with photogenerated singlet oxygen to accomplish diastereoselective hydroxylation at C-14. The anodic transformation provides high yields and can be performed under constant current conditions both in a simple undivided cell or in continuous flow.

Preparation of indoles from alpha-aminonitriles: A short synthesis of FGIN-1-27.

Alpha-Aminonitriles derived from 2-aminocinnamic acid esters and amides can be cyclized under basic conditions to furnish substituted indole-3-acetic acid derivatives in quantitative yield. The reaction provides a simple access to a class of biologically active compounds.

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of functional sialyl Lewis(x) mimetics with a heteroaromatic core.

Functional mimetics of the sialyl Lewis(X) tetrasaccharide were prepared by the enzymatic sialylation of a 1,3-diglycosylated indole and a glycosyl azide, which was subsequently transformed into a 1,4-diglycosylated 1,2,3-triazole, by using the trans-sialidase of Trypanosoma cruzi. These compounds inhibited the binding of E-, L-, and P-selectin-coated nanoparticles to polyacrylamide-bound sialyl-Lewis(X) -containing neighboring sulfated tyrosine residues (sTyr/sLe(X) -PAA) at low or sub-millimolar concentrations. Except for E-selectin, the mimetics showed higher activities than the natural tetrasaccharide.

An unexpected three-component condensation leading to amino- (3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-1-ylidene)- acetonitriles.

The reaction of 2-carboxybenzaldehyde with primary amines in the presence of cyanide leads to the formation of 2-substituted amino(3-oxo-2,3-dihydro-1H-isoindol-1-ylidene)acetonitriles. These compounds originate from the condensation of 2-carboxybenzaldehyde with the amine and two molecules of hydrogen cyanide and represent a novel class of isoindolinones.