First preparation of spacer-linked cyclic neooligoaminodeoxysaccharides

Preparation of Ruthenium Olefin Metathesis Catalysts Immobilized on MOF, SBA-15, and 13X for Probing Heterogeneous Boomerang Effect

Promoted by homogeneous Ru-benzylidene complexes, the olefin metathesis reaction is a powerful methodology for C-C double bonds formation that can find a number of applications in green chemical production. A set of heterogeneous olefin metathesis pre-catalysts composed of ammonium-tagged Ru-benzylidene complexes 4 (commercial FixCat™ catalyst) and 6 (in-house made) immobilized on solid supports such as 13X zeolite, metal-organic framework (MOF), and SBA-15 silica were obtained and tested in catalysis. These hybrid materials were doped with various amounts of ammonium-tagged styrene derivative 5—a precursor of a spare benzylidene ligand—in order to enhance pre-catalyst regeneration via the so-called release-return “boomerang effect”. Although this effect was for the first time observed inside the solid support, we discovered that non-doped systems gave better results in terms of the resulting turnover number (TON) values, and the most productive were hybrid catalysts composed of 4@MOF, 4@SBA-15, and 6@SBA-15.

An eco-compatible strategy for the diversity-oriented synthesis of macrocycles exploiting carbohydrate-derived building blocks

An efficient, eco-compatible diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) approach for the generation of library of sugar embedded macrocyclic compounds with various ring size containing 1,2,3-triazole has been developed. This concise strategy involves the iterative use of readily available sugar-derived alkyne/azide-alkene building blocks coupled through copper catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction followed by pairing of the linear cyclo-adduct using greener reaction conditions. The eco-compatibility, mild reaction conditions, greener solvents, easy purification and avoidance of hazards and toxic solvents are advantages of this protocol to access this important structural class. The diversity of the macrocycles synthesized (in total we have synthesized 13 macrocycles) using a set of standard reaction protocols demonstrate the potential of the new eco-compatible approach for the macrocyclic library generation.

Synthetic and structural studies on macrocyclic amino cyclitols--conformational chameleons

Starting from quinic acid the synthesis of 1,4-butanediol-linked macrocyclic aminocyclitols 30, 32, 34, 36 and 38 is described. Assembly was achieved by olefin cross-metathesis of appropriate cyclohexyl allyl ethers followed by ring-closing metathesis of bis-O-allyl homodimers. In all five cases studied, the only products that were formed were those resulting from direct ring-closing metathesis; the formation of larger rings was not detected. These macrocycles exhibited diverse conformational behaviour which included formation of stable separable conformers 31a and 31b as well as conformationally dynamic macrocycles 35 in which a ring flip in one cyclohexane chair conformer induces a ring flip of the other cyclohexane ring through the linking chains of the macrocycles. The activation energy for the inversion of the chair conformation in this process was determined to be about 38 kJ mol(-1), which is about 7 kJ mol(-1) lower than the activation energy for the ring flip of the unsubstituted cyclohexane ring. In all cases, the conformational studies strongly suggest that intramolecular H-bonding between 1,3-diaxially oriented amido and alcohol or ether groups exerts a decisive contribution to the overall stabilisation of the preferred cyclohexane chair conformation.

Synthetic access to spacer-linked 3,6-diamino-2,3,6-trideoxy-α-d-glucopyranosides—potential aminoglycoside mimics for the inhibition of the HIV-1 TAR-RNA/Tat-peptide complex

The synthesis of spacer-linked neoaminoglycoside 5 is described. Key steps of the synthesis are the introduction of nitrogen functionalities at C-3 and C-6 and the olefin cross metathesis of allyl glycoside 16. Although it is known that Grubbs catalysts tolerate nitrogen functionalities, difficulties were encountered in the cross metathesis reaction. Factors that govern this dimerization are the steric and electronic demands of the catalyst and the substrate. Preliminary biological evaluation of homodimer 5, by studying the inhibition of HIV-1 TAR-RNA/Tat-peptide complex using a method based on fluorescence titration, revealed an inhibitory effect of 5.

TAR-RNA recognition by a novel cyclic aminoglycoside analogue

The formation of the Tat-protein/TAR-RNA complex is a crucial step in the regulation of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-gene expression. To obtain full-length viral transcripts the Tat/TAR complex has to recruit the positive transcription elongation factor complex (P-EFTb), which interacts with TAR through its cyclin T1 (CycT1) component. Mutational studies identified the TAR hexanucleotide loop as a crucial region for contacting CycT1. Interfering with the interaction between the Tat/CycT1 complex and the TAR-RNA is an attractive strategy for the design of anti-HIV drugs. Positively charged molecules, like aminoglycosides or peptidomimetics, bind the TAR-RNA, disrupting the Tat/TAR complex. Here, we investigate the complex between the HIV-2 TAR-RNA and a neooligoaminodeoxysaccharide by NMR spectroscopy. In contrast to other aminoglycosides, this novel aminoglycoside analogue contacts simultaneously the bulge residues required for Tat binding and the A35 residue of the hexanucleotide loop. Upon complex formation, the loop region undergoes profound conformational changes. The novel binding mode, together with the easy accessibility of derivatives for the neooligoaminodeoxysaccharide, could open the way to the design of a new class of TAR-RNA binders, which simultaneously inhibit the formation of both the Tat/TAR binary complex and the Tat/TAR/CycT1 ternary complex by obstructing both the bulge and loop regions of the RNA.

Catalysts for new tasks: preparation and applications of tunable ruthenium catalysts for olefin metathesis

A continuous survey across structures, made over the past decades, has led to the development of highly active olefin metathesis catalysts for sophisticated synthetic tasks and for polymer technology. In this paper, our efforts toward novel and improved ruthenium complexes with even better performance in olefin metathesis are described. Oxygen ether derivatives 3, pioneered by Hoveyda, exhibit high activity and possess excellent functional group tolerance. We have successfully fine-tuned catalyst 3b to increase its activity and applicability by the introduction of electron-withdrawing groups to diminish the donor properties of the oxygen atom. As a result, the stable and easily accessible nitro-substituted catalyst 6 has found a number of successful applications in various research and industrial laboratories. We were intrigued by the possibility to further fine-tune the Hoveyda-type catalysts by combining two activating effects-steric and electronic-in a single catalyst. This was possible to achieve in so-called scorpio carbenes, which are currently under investigation in our laboratory. These modifications can be used not only to control the catalyst activity, but also to alter its physical-chemical properties, such as solubility in a given medium or an affinity to silica gel. An example of immobilization strategy based on this concept is presented.

A short route for the synthesis of “sweet” macrocycles via a click-dimerization–ring-closing metathesis approach

A facile and flexible approach for the preparation of macrocyclic molecules containing different carbohydrate moieties is presented, employing the reaction cascade: click-dimerization and ring-closing metathesis.