Studies of mild dehydrogenations in heterocyclic systems

Macrocyclic pyridyl polyoxazoles: structure-activity studies of the aminoalkyl side-chain on G-quadruplex stabilization and cytotoxic activity

Pyridyl polyoxazoles are 24-membered macrocyclic lactams comprised of a pyridine, four oxazoles and a phenyl ring. A derivative having a 2-(dimethylamino)ethyl chain attached to the 5-position of the phenyl ring was recently identified as a selective G-quadruplex stabilizer with excellent cytotoxic activity, and good in vivo anticancer activity against a human breast cancer xenograft in mice. Here we detail the synthesis of eight new dimethylamino-substituted pyridyl polyoxazoles in which the point of attachment to the macrocycle, as well as the distance between the amine and the macrocycle are varied. Each compound was evaluated for selective G-quadruplex stabilization and cytotoxic activity. The more active analogs have the amine either directly attached to, or separated from the phenyl ring by two methylene groups. There is a correlation between those macrocycles that are effective ligands for the stabilization of G-quadruplex DNA (DT(tran) 15.5-24.6 °C) and cytotoxicity as observed in the human tumor cell lines, RPMI 8402 (IC₅₀ 0.06-0.50 μM) and KB3-1 (IC₅₀ 0.03-0.07 μM). These are highly selective G-quadruplex stabilizers, which should prove especially useful for evaluating both in vitro and in vivo mechanism(s) of biological activity associated with G-quaqdruplex ligands.

Tempering the reactivities of postulated α-oxo gold carbenes using bidentate ligands: implication of tricoordinated gold intermediates and the development of an expedient bimolecular assembly of 2,4-disubstituted oxazoles

2,4-Oxazole is an important structural motif in various natural products. An efficient modular synthesis of this structure has been achieved via a [3 + 2] annulation between a terminal alkyne and a carboxamide using a gold-catalyzed oxidation strategy. The postulated reactive intermediate, a terminal α-oxo gold carbene, previously known to be highly electrophilic and hence unlikely to be trapped by stoichiometric external nucleophiles, is coerced to react smoothly with the carboxamide en route to the oxazole ring by a P,N- or P,S-bidentate ligand such as Mor-DalPhos; in stark contrast, often-used ligands such as monodentate phosphines and N-heterocyclic carbenes are totally ineffective. The role of these bidentate phosphines in this reaction is attributed to the formation of a tricoordinated gold carbene intermediate, which is less electrophilic and hence more chemoselective when reacting with nucleophiles. The success in using bidentate phosphine ligands to temper the reactivities of in situ-generated gold carbenes is likely to open many new opportunities to apply oxidative gold catalysis to the development of novel methods, and the implication of tricoordinated gold intermediates in homogeneous gold catalysis should stimulate further advances in gold catalysis.

Copper-catalyzed oxidation of azolines to azoles

We report herein convenient, aerobic conditions for the oxidation of thiazolines to thiazoles and data regarding the oxidation mechanism. These reactions feature operationally simple and environmentally benign conditions and proceed in good yield to afford the corresponding azoles, thus enabling the inexpensive preparation of valuable molecular building blocks. Incorporation of a novel diimine-ligated copper catalyst, [((Mes)DAB(Me))Cu(II)(OH(2))(3)](2+) [(-)OTf](2), provides increased reaction efficiency in many cases. In other cases copper-free conditions involving a stoichiometric quantity of base affords superior results.

Generation and exploration of new classes of antitubercular agents: The optimization of oxazolines, oxazoles, thiazolines, thiazoles to imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines and isomeric 5,6-fused scaffolds

Tuberculosis (TB) is a devastating disease resulting in a death every 20s. Thus, new drugs are urgently needed. Herein we report ten classes of compounds-oxazoline, oxazole, thiazoline, thiazole, pyrazole, pyridine, isoxazole, imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine, imidazo[1,2-a]pyrimidine and imidazo[1,2-c]pyrimidine-which have good (micromolar) to excellent (sub-micromolar) antitubercular potency. The 5,6-fused heteroaromatic compounds were the most potent with MIC's as low as <0.195 μM (9 and 11). Overall, the imidazo[1,2-a]pyridine class was determined to be most promising, with potency similar to isoniazid and PA-824 against replicating Mtb H(37)Rv, clinically relevant drug sensitive, multi- and extensively resistant Mtb strains as well as having good in vitro metabolic stability.

Accessing the disallowed conformations of peptides employing amide-to-imidate modification

Selective modification of the C-terminal amide in peptides to dihydrooxazine (a novel stable imidate isostere) by intramolecular nucleophilic cyclo-O-alkylation of the corresponding N-(3-bromopropyl)amides results in constraining of the C-terminal residue in natively disallowed conformations both in crystals and in solution.

Design, synthesis, and SAR studies of 4-substituted methoxylbenzoyl-aryl-thiazoles analogues as potent and orally bioavailable anticancer agents

In a continued effort to improve upon the previously published 4-substituted methoxybenzoyl-aryl-thiazole (SMART) template, we explored chemodiverse "B" rings and "B" to "C" ring linkage. Further, to overcome the poor aqueous solubility of this series of agents, we introduced polar and ionizable hydrophilic groups to obtain water-soluble compounds. For instance, based on in vivo pharmacokinetic (PK) studies, an orally bioavailable phenyl-amino-thiazole (PAT) template was designed and synthesized in which an amino linkage was inserted between "A" and "B" rings of compound 1. The PAT template maintained nanomolar (nM) range potency against cancer cell lines via inhibiting tubulin polymerization and was not susceptible to P-glycoprotein mediated multidrug resistance in vitro, and markedly improved solubility and bioavailability compared with the SMART template (45a-c (PAT) vs 1 (SMART)).

Total synthesis of hoiamide C

Hoiamide C was synthesized in 16 steps with an overall yield of 1.8% starting from homoallylic alcohol 18, unambiguously confirming its structure.

A direct synthesis of oxazoles from aldehydes

An expedient method for the direct conversion of aldehydes to 2,4-disubstituted oxazoles is presented. The method relies on the oxidation of an oxazolidine formed from the condensation of serine with an aldehyde and proceeds through a 2,5-dihydrooxazole intermediate. In contrast to standard methods that start from carboxylic acids, the use of aldehydes as starting materials does not require intermediate purification and affords the oxazoles under relatively mild conditions.

Discovery of novel 2-aryl-4-benzoyl-imidazoles targeting the colchicines binding site in tubulin as potential anticancer agents

A series of 2-aryl-4-benzoyl-imidazoles (ABI) was synthesized as a result of structural modifications based on the previous set of 2-aryl-imidazole-4-carboxylic amide (AICA) derivatives and 4-substituted methoxylbenzoyl-aryl-thiazoles (SMART). The average IC(50) of the most active compound (5da) was 15.7 nM. ABI analogues have substantially improved aqueous solubility (48.9 μg/mL for 5ga vs 0.909 μg/mL for SMART-1, 0.137 μg/mL for paclitaxel, and 1.04 μg/mL for combretastatin A4). Mechanism of action studies indicate that the anticancer activity of ABI analogues is through inhibition of tubulin polymerization by interacting with the colchicine binding site. Unlike paclitaxel and colchicine, the ABI compounds were equally potent against multidrug resistant cancer cells and the sensitive parental melanoma cancer cells. In vivo results indicated that 5cb was more effective than DTIC in inhibiting melanoma xenograph tumor growth. Our results suggest that the novel ABI compounds may be developed to effectively treat drug-resistant tumors.

Synthesis of the C9-C23 (C9'-C23') fragment of the dimeric natural product rhizopodin

A stereoselective assembly of the C9-C23 (C9'-C23') fragment of rhizopodin, a 38-membered bis-lactone natural product, has been developed. A highly efficient approach to this fragment assembles >50% of the carbon skeleton and the stereochemical elements present in the natural product.

Macrocyclic pyridyl polyoxazoles: selective RNA and DNA G-quadruplex ligands as antitumor agents

The synthesis of a series of 24-membered pyridine-containing polyoxazole macrocycles is described. Seventeen new macrocycles were evaluated for cytotoxic activity against RPMI 8402, KB-3, and KB-3 cell lines that overexpress the efflux transporters MDR1 (KBV-1) and BCRP (KBH5.0). Macrocycles in which the pyridyl-polyoxazole moiety is linked by a 1,3-bis(aminomethyl)phenyl group with a 5-(2-aminoethyl)- (18) or a 5-(2-dimethylaminoethyl)- substituent (19) displayed the greatest cytotoxic potency. These compounds exhibit exquisite selectivity for stabilizing G-quadruplex DNA with no stabilization of duplex DNA or RNA. Compound 19 stabilizes quadruplex mRNA that encodes the cell-cycle checkpoint protein kinase Aurora A to a greater extent than the quadruplex DNA of a human telomeric sequence. These data may suggest a role for G-quadruplex ligands interacting with mRNA being associated with the biological activity of macrocyclic polyoxazoles. Compound 19 has significant in vivo anticancer activity against a human breast cancer xenograft (MDA-MB-435) in athymic nude mice.

Structure-activity relationship of new anti-tuberculosis agents derived from oxazoline and oxazole benzyl esters

During the syntheses and studies of natural iron chelators (mycobactins), we serendipitously discovered that a simple, small molecule, oxazoline-containing intermediate 3 displayed surprising anti-tuberculosis activity (MIC of 7.7 microM, average). Herein we report elaboration of SAR around this hit as well as the syntheses and evaluation of a hundred oxazoline- and oxazole-containing compounds derived from an efficient three step process: 1) formation of beta-hydroxy amides with serine or threonine; 2) cyclization to afford oxazolines; and 3) dehydration to give the corresponding oxazoles. A number of compounds prepared by this method were shown to possess impressive activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis, extremely low toxicity and therefore high therapeutic indexes, as well as activity against even the more recalcitrant non-replicating form of M. tuberculosis. The uniqueness of their structures and their simplicity should allow them to be further optimized to meet ADME (absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion) requirements. The syntheses of eight of the most potent in vitro compounds were scaled up and the compounds were tested in an in vivo mouse infection model to evaluate their efficacy before engaging upon more elaborate compound design and optimization.

An effective C-C double bond formation via Cu(I)-catalyzed dehydrogenation

A dehydrogenation method using Cu(I) and either N,N-di-tert-butylthiadiaziridine 1,1-dioxide or N,N-di-tert-butyldiaziridinone is reported. The dehydrogenation allows a facile introduction of C-C double bond(s) into various carbo- and heterocycles such as oxazolines and thiazolines.

Synthesis and biological properties of iron chelators based on a bis-2-(2-hydroxy-phenyl)-thiazole-4-carboxamide or -thiocarboxamide (BHPTC) scaffold

Bis-2-(2-hydroxy-phenyl)-thiazole-4-carboxamides and -thiocarboxamides (BHPTCs) form a family of gemini hexacoordinated bis-tridentate chelating scaffolds. Four molecules were synthesized and shown to chelate iron(III) efficiently with a 1:1 stoichiometry. A dithioamide BHPTC displayed promising antiproliferative activity in several cancerous cell lines, making this molecule an interesting lead compound for the design of new iron-chelating anticancer drugs. Conversely, diamide BHPTCs had significant cytoprotective activity against iron overload in HepaRG cells in vitro, and were as efficient as and less toxic than deferoxamine B (DFO).

Discovery of 4-substituted methoxybenzoyl-aryl-thiazole as novel anticancer agents: synthesis, biological evaluation, and structure-activity relationships

A series of 4-substituted methoxybenzoyl-aryl-thiazoles (SMART) have been discovered and synthesized as a result of structural modifications of the lead compound 2-arylthiazolidine-4-carboxylic acid amides (ATCAA). The antiproliferative activity of the SMART agents against melanoma and prostate cancer cells was improved from muM to low nM range compared with the ATCAA series. The structure-activity relationship was discussed from modifications of "A", "B", and "C" rings and the linker. Preliminary mechanism of action studies indicated that these compounds exert their anticancer activity through inhibition of tubulin polymerization.