Novel p-arylthio cinnamides as antagonists of leukocyte function-associated antigen-1/intracellular adhesion molecule-1 interaction. 2. Mechanism of inhibition and structure-based improvement of pharmaceutical properties

Palladium-catalyzed direct thiolation of aryl C-H bonds with disulfides

A catalytic variant of the direct thiolation of arenes, bearing directing groups, with disulfides or thiols has been developed under palladium and copper co-catalysis. Both sulfenyl moieties of the disulfide could be incorporated into the thiolated products, therefore, the reactions reached completion with only half an equivalent of disulfide, with respect to the starting arene. Experimental evidence suggested that the reaction proceeds through a Pd(II)/Pd(IV) mechanism.

Iron or boron-catalyzed C–H arylthiation of substituted phenols at room temperature

A simple, efficient and environmentally friendly method for iron or boron-catalyzed C–H arylthiation of substituted phenols at room temperature has been developed, and the corresponding diaryl sulfides were prepared in good to excellent yields.

The therapeutic potential of I-domain integrins

Due to their role in processes central to cancer and autoimmune disease I-domain integrins are an attractive drug target. Both antibodies and small molecule antagonists have been discovered and tested in the clinic. Much of the effort has focused on αLβ2 antagonists. Maybe the most successful was the monoclonal antibody efalizumab, which was approved for the treatment of psoriasis but subsequently withdrawn from the market due to the occurrence of a serious adverse effect (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy). Other monoclonal antibodies were tested for the treatment of reperfusion injury, post-myocardial infarction, but failed to progress due to lack of efficacy. New potent small molecule inhibitors of αv integrins are promising reagents for treating fibrotic disease. Small molecule inhibitors targeting collagen-binding integrins have been discovered and future work will focus on identifying molecules selectively targeting each of the collagen receptors and identifying appropriate target diseases for future clinical studies.

Efficient silver-catalyzed direct sulfenylation and selenylation of rich arenes

An efficient protocol for silver/copper-cocatalyzed direct sulfenylation and selenylation of arenes with aryl disulfides and diselenides has been developed.

One-pot palladium-catalyzed borrowing hydrogen synthesis of thioethers

Palladium on magnesium oxide is able to allow a one-pot reaction to synthesize thioethers from thiols and aldehydes formed in situ from the respective alcohol by means of a borrowing hydrogen method. The reaction is initiated by dehydrogenation of the alcohol to give a palladium hydride intermediate and an aldehyde. The latter reacts with a thiol involving most probably the intermediacy of a thionium ion RCH=S(+)R, which can be reduced in situ by the metal hydride to afford thioethers.

CuO hollow nanosphere-catalyzed cross-coupling of aryl iodides with thiols

New functionalized CuO hollow nanospheres on acetylene black (CuO/AB) and on charcoal (CuO/C) have been found to be effective catalysts for C-S bond formation under microwave irradiation. CuO catalysts showed high catalytic activity with a wide variety of substituents which include electron-rich and electron-poor aryl iodides with thiophenols by the addition of two equivalents of K2CO3 as base in the absence of ligands.

Cu-catalyzed synthesis of diaryl thioethers and S-cycles by reaction of aryl iodides with carbon disulfide in the presence of DBU

Diaryl thioethers and S-cycles were obtained on the basis of the copper-catalyzed reaction of carbon disulfide and aryl iodides in the presence of DBU. This reaction enables the one-pot synthesis of diaryl thioethers by employing cheap, available, and easy-to-handle carbon disulfide with aryl iodides. The reaction was successfully employed in the construction of sulfur-containing cyclic molecules.

Efficient Cu-catalyzed base-free C-S coupling under conventional and microwave heating. A simple access to S-heterocycles and sulfides

S-aryl thioacetates can be prepared by reaction of inexpensive potassium thioacetate with both electron-rich and electron-poor aryl iodides under a base-free copper/ligand catalytic system. CuI as copper source affords S-aryl thioacetates in good to excellent yields, by using 1,10-phenanthroline as a ligand in toluene at 100 °C after 24 h. Under microwave irradiation the time was drastically reduced to 2 h. Both procedures are simple and involve a low-cost catalytic system. This methodology was also applied to the “one-pot” synthesis of target heterocycles, such as 3H-benzo[c][1,2]dithiol-3-one and 2-methylbenzothiazole, alkyl aryl sulfides, diaryl disulfides and asymmetric diaryl sulfides in good yields.

Biophysical and computational fragment-based approaches to targeting protein-protein interactions: applications in structure-guided drug discovery

Drug discovery has classically targeted the active sites of enzymes or ligand-binding sites of receptors and ion channels. In an attempt to improve selectivity of drug candidates, modulation of protein-protein interfaces (PPIs) of multiprotein complexes that mediate conformation or colocation of components of cell-regulatory pathways has become a focus of interest. However, PPIs in multiprotein systems continue to pose significant challenges, as they are generally large, flat and poor in distinguishing features, making the design of small molecule antagonists a difficult task. Nevertheless, encouragement has come from the recognition that a few amino acids - so-called hotspots - may contribute the majority of interaction-free energy. The challenges posed by protein-protein interactions have led to a wellspring of creative approaches, including proteomimetics, stapled α-helical peptides and a plethora of antibody inspired molecular designs. Here, we review a more generic approach: fragment-based drug discovery. Fragments allow novel areas of chemical space to be explored more efficiently, but the initial hits have low affinity. This means that they will not normally disrupt PPIs, unless they are tethered, an approach that has been pioneered by Wells and co-workers. An alternative fragment-based approach is to stabilise the uncomplexed components of the multiprotein system in solution and employ conventional fragment-based screening. Here, we describe the current knowledge of the structures and properties of protein-protein interactions and the small molecules that can modulate them. We then describe the use of sensitive biophysical methods - nuclear magnetic resonance, X-ray crystallography, surface plasmon resonance, differential scanning fluorimetry or isothermal calorimetry - to screen and validate fragment binding. Fragment hits can subsequently be evolved into larger molecules with higher affinity and potency. These may provide new leads for drug candidates that target protein-protein interactions and have therapeutic value.

Nano-CuFe2O4 as a magnetically separable and reusable catalyst for the synthesis of diaryl/aryl alkyl sulfides via cross-coupling process under ligand-free conditions

An efficient protocol was developed for the CuFe(2)O(4) nanopowder-catalyzed aryl-sulfur bond formation between aryl halide and thiol/disulfide. A variety of aryl sulfides were synthesized in impressive yields with good chemoselectivity and functional group tolerance in the presence of a catalytic amount of CuFe(2)O(4), Cs(2)CO(3) as base, in nitrogen atmosphere, under ligand-free conditions, in DMSO as solvent at 100 °C. The catalyst is air-stable, inexpensive, magnetically separable and recyclable up to four cycles.

Transition metal catalyzed synthesis of aryl sulfides

The presence of aryl sulfides in biologically active compounds has resulted in the development of new methods to form carbon-sulfur bonds. The synthesis of aryl sulfides via metal catalysis has significantly increased in recent years. Historically, thiolates and sulfides have been thought to plague catalyst activity in the presence of transition metals. Indeed, strong coordination of thiolates and thioethers to transition metals can often hinder catalytic activity; however, various catalysts are able to withstand catalyst deactivation and form aryl carbon-sulfur bonds in high-yielding transformations. This review discusses the metal-catalyzed arylation of thiols and the use of disulfides as metal-thiolate precursors for the formation of C-S bonds.

Discovery of tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ) derivatives as potent and orally bioavailable LFA-1/ICAM-1 antagonists

This letter describes the discovery of a novel series of tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ)-derived small molecules that potently inhibit both human T-cell migration and super-antigen induced T-cell activation through disruption of the binding of integrin LFA-1 to its receptor, ICAM-1. In addition to excellent in vitro potency, 6q shows good pharmacokinetic properties and its ethyl ester (6t) demonstrates good oral bioavailability in both mouse and rat. Either intravenous administration of 6q or oral administration of its ethyl ester (6t) produced a significant reduction of neutrophil migration in a thioglycollate-induced murine peritonitis model.

TBAF-Catalysed Facile Synthesis of Unsymmetrical Diaryl Thioethers via Mild SNAr Reactions

By using tetrabutylammonium fluoride as the catalyst, the synthesis of unsymmetrical diaryl thioethers could be easily achieved in high yields via a mild nucleopilic aromatic substitution reaction of aryl fluorides and phenylthiotrimethylsilane.