Proteasome inhibition by new dual warhead containing peptido vinyl sulfonyl fluorides

Stereoselective Fluorosulfonylation of Vinylboronic Acids for (E)-Vinyl Sulfonyl Fluorides with Copper Participation

A practical synthetic method for the synthesis of vinyl sulfonyl fluorides through copper-promoted direct fluorosulfonylation has been developed. The reaction of the vinylboronic acids with DABSO and then NFSI is performed under mild reaction conditions. This transformation efficiently affords aryl or alkyl vinyl sulfonyl fluorides with good reaction yields, exclusive E-configuration, broad substrate scope, excellent compatibility, and operational simplicity.

The expanding repertoire of covalent warheads for drug discovery

The reactive functionalities of drugs that engage in covalent interactions with the enzyme/receptor residue in either a reversible or an irreversible manner are called 'warheads'. Covalent warheads that were previously neglected because of safety concerns have recently gained center stage as a result of their various advantages over noncovalent drugs, including increased selectivity, increased residence time, and higher potency. With the approval of several covalent inhibitors over the past decade, research in this area has accelerated. Various strategies are being continuously developed to tune the characteristics of warheads to improve their potency and mitigate toxicity. Here, we review research progress in warhead discovery over the past 5 years to provide valuable insights for future drug discovery.

Sulfur(VI) fluorides as tools in biomolecular and medicinal chemistry

Recent advances in the synthesis of sulfur(VI)-fluorides has enabled incredible growth in their application in biomolecular chemistry. This review aims to serve as a primer highlighting synthetic strategies toward a diversity of S(VI) fluorides and their application in chemical biology, bioconjugation, and medicinal chemistry.

Discovery of (E)-2-Methoxyethene-1-sulfonyl Fluoride for the Construction of Enaminyl Sulfonyl Fluoride

A new sulfonyl fluoride reagent (E)-2-methoxyethene-1-sulfonyl fluoride (MeO-ESF) was developed and successfully applied for the construction of enaminyl sulfonyl fluoride (N-ESF). This protocol provides highly atom-economical access to diverse N-ESF and produces CH₃OH as the sole byproduct under mild and environmentally benign conditions.

Facile synthesis of sulfonyl fluorides from sulfonic acids

Herein, we demonstrate two complementary strategies for the syntheses of sulfonyl fluorides using sulfonic acids and their salts. One strategy involves the conversion of sulfonic acid sodium salts to sulfonyl fluorides using thionyl fluoride in 90-99% yields in one hour. Lessons learned from the mechanism of this reaction also have enabled a complementary deoxyfluorination of sulfonic acids using Xtalfluor-E® - a bench stable solid - allowing for the conversion of both aryl and alkyl sulfonic acids and salts to sulfonyl fluorides in 41-94% yields. Notably, using Xtalfluor-E® enabled milder conditions and the use of both sulfonic acids and their sodium salts.

The synthesis and application of a colour-switch β-arylethenesulfonyl fluoride fluorescent probe in the detection of serum albumin

Proteins play a pivotal role in regulating important physiological processes and serve as important biomarkers for many diseases. Herein, we present a new strategy for bovine serum albumin (BSA) detection using a novel colour-switch fluorescent probe CPV-ESF ((E)-2-(4-((Z)-1-cyano-2-(4-(diethylamino)phenyl)vinyl)phenyl)ethene-1-sulfonyl fluoride). CPV-ESF reacts with nucleophilic amino acids of BSA via 1,4-Michael addition click chemistry to create a covalently linked CPV-ESF:BSA complex, which can be easily detected by a fluorescence colour-switch response. The sensing mechanism, sensitivity and selectivity of CPV-ESF for BSA detection as well as its application for cell imaging have been investigated.

Synthesis of a β-Arylethenesulfonyl Fluoride-Functionalized AIEgen for Activity-Based Urinary Trypsin Detection

Trypsin is one of the most important enzymes of the digestive system produced by the pancreatic acinar cells. Abnormal trypsin activity will affect pancreatic function, resulting in the corresponding pathological changes in the human body. Herein, we present a strategy based on the ensemble of a novel dual warhead probe HPC-ESF and the natural trypsin substrate bovine serum albumin (BSA) for the detection of trypsin activity including in real urine samples. The β-arylethenesulfonyl bearing HPC-ESF is nonemissive when dissolved in aqueous solution but becomes highly fluorescent upon conjugation to BSA through covalent bond formation with nucleophilic amino acids to create the HPC-ESF:BSA sensing system. The HPC-ESF:BSA complex can be hydrolyzed in the presence of trypsin, which results in a distinct fluorescence decrease in correlation with trypsin concentration and thus allows the detection of trypsin. Compared to previous methods, our covalent approach is simple to prepare and highly reliable. Our work will provide a different avenue for researchers to design fluorescent sensors based on a covalent labeling strategy, enriching the small library of functional groups available for such applications.

N-Acylamino Saccharin as an Emerging Cysteine-Directed Covalent Warhead and Its Application in the Identification of Novel FBPase Inhibitors toward Glucose Reduction

With a resurgence of covalent drugs, there is an urgent need for the identification of new moieties capable of cysteine bond formation. Herein, we report on the N-acylamino saccharin moieties capable of novel covalent reactions with cysteine. Their utility as alternative electrophilic warheads was demonstrated through the covalent modification of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase), a promising target associated with cancer and type 2 diabetes. The cocrystal structure of title compound W8 bound with FBPase unexpectedly revealed that the N-acylamino saccharin moiety worked as an electrophile warhead that covalently modified the noncatalytic C128 site in FBPase while releasing saccharin, suggesting a previously undiscovered covalent reaction mechanism of saccharin derivatives with cysteine. Treatment of title compound W8 displayed potent inhibition of glucose production in vitro and in vivo. This newly discovered reactive warhead supplements the current repertoire of cysteine covalent modifiers while avoiding some of the limitations generally associated with established moieties.

Photocatalytic access to aromatic keto sulfonyl fluorides from vinyl fluorosulfates

A photocatalytic transformation of vinyl fluorosulfates to aromatic β-keto sulfonyl fluorides is developed using 1 mol% of Ir catalyst irradiated by 3 W blue LEDs. This methodology provides an efficient and readily scalable approach to aromatic β-keto sulfonyl fluorides.

Structure-activity relationship, in vitro and in vivo evaluation of novel dienyl sulphonyl fluorides as selective BuChE inhibitors for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease

To discover novel scaffolds as leads against dementia, a series of δ-aryl-1,3-dienesulfonyl fluorides with α-halo, α-aryl and α-alkynyl were assayed for ChE inhibitory activity, in which compound A10 was identified as a selective BuChE inhibitor (IC50 = 0.021 μM for eqBChE, 3.62 μM for hBuChE). SAR of BuChE inhibition showed: (i) o- > m- > p-; -OCH3 > -CH3 > -Cl (-Br) for δ-aryl; (ii) α-Br > α-Cl, α-I. Compound A10 exhibited neuroprotective, BBB penetration, mixed competitive inhibitory effect on BuChE (Ki = 29 nM), and benign neural and hepatic safety. Treatment with A10 could almost entirely recover the Aβ1-42-induced cognitive dysfunction to the normal level, and the assessment of total amount of Aβ1-42 confirmed its anti-amyloidogenic profile. Therefore, the potential BuChE inhibitor A10 is a promising effective lead for the treatment of AD.

Radical-mediated vicinal addition of alkoxysulfonyl/fluorosulfonyl and trifluoromethyl groups to aryl alkyl alkynes

The addition of sulfonyl radicals to alkenes and alkynes is a valuable method for constructing useful highly functionalized sulfonyl compounds. The underexplored alkoxy- and fluorosulfonyl radicals are easily accessed by CF₃ radical addition to readily available allylsulfonic acid derivatives and then β-fragmentation. These substituted sulfonyl radicals add to aryl alkyl alkynes to give vinyl radicals that are trapped by trifluoromethyl transfer to provide tetra-substituted alkenes bearing the privileged alkoxy- or fluorosulfonyl group on one carbon and a trifluoromethyl group on the other. This process exhibits broad functional group compatibility and allows for the late-stage functionalization of drug molecules, demonstrating its potential in drug discovery and chemical biology.

An unprecedented method for vicinal addition of alkoxysulfonyl/fluorosulfonyl and trifluoromethyl groups to aryl alkyl alkynes has been developed to afford useful alkenylsulfonate esters and alkenylsulfonyl fluorides.

Synthetic Routes to Arylsulfonyl Fluorides

The goal of this mini-review is to shed the light on the existing methodologies to access arylsulfonyl fluorides. Today, a plethora of methods making use of a different pool of starting materials and in the presence of catalyst or under catalyst free conditions are disclosed in the literature.

Optimization of piperidine constructed peptidyl derivatives as proteasome inhibitors

A series of non-covalent piperidine-containing peptidyl derivatives with various substituents at side chains of different residues were designed, synthesized and evaluated as proteasome inhibitors. After proteasome inhibitory evaluations of all the synthesized target compounds, selected ones were tested for their anti-proliferation activities against three multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines. 8 analogues displayed more potent activities than carfilzomib, and the most promising compound 24 showed IC₅₀ values of 0.8 ± 0.2 nM against 20S proteasome and 8.42 ± 0.74 nM, 7.14 ± 0.52 nM, 14.20 ± 1.08 nM for RPMI 8226, NCI-H929 and MM.1S cell lines, respectively. Additionally, mechanisms of anti-cancer activity of representative compound 24 were further investigated. Apoptosis of RPMI-8226 cells were achieved through accumulating polyubiquitin and inducing the cleavage of caspase and PARP. Besides, half-life in rat plasma of compound 24 was prolonged after optimization, which would be helpful for increasing in vivo activities of this series of derivatives. All the studies confirmed that piperidine-containing non-covalent proteasome inhibitors can be potential leads for anti-MM drug development.

A Simple Protocol for the Stereoselective Construction of Enaminyl Sulfonyl Fluorides

A clickable connective hub 1-bromo-2-triazolethane-1-sulfonyl fluoride BTESF (1) was developed and successfully applied for the fluorosulfonylvinylation of a host of primary and secondary cyclic or acyclic amines including amino acids and pharmaceuticals. Further antimicrobial experiments revealed that vinyl sulfonyl fluoride functionalized norfloxacin (3ak), ciprofloxacin (3am), and lomefloxacin (3an) exhibited 4-fold improved antimicrobial activity against Gram-positive bacteria compared to their parent drugs.

Utilizing Carbonyl Coordination of Native Amides for Palladium-Catalyzed C(sp3 )-H Olefination

PdII -catalyzed C(sp3 )-H olefination of weakly coordinating native amides is reported. Three major drawbacks of previous C(sp3 )-H olefination protocols, 1) in situ cyclization of products, 2) incompatibility with α-H-containing substrates, and 3) installation of exogenous directing groups, are addressed by harnessing the carbonyl coordination ability of amides to direct C(sp3 )-H activation. The method enables direct C(sp3 )-H functionalization of a wide range of native amide substrates, including secondary, tertiary, and cyclic amides, for the first time. The utility of this process is demonstrated by diverse transformations of the olefination products.

Crystal structure of (E)-2-(4-cyanophenyl)ethenesulfonyl fluoride, C9H6FNO2S

C9H6FNO2S, triclinic, P1̄ (no. 2), a = 7.2786(2) Å, b = 8.1014(3) Å, c = 16.1084(5) Å, α = 76.320(1)°, β = 87.918(1)°, γ = 80.784(1)°, V = 911.00(5) Å3, Z = 4, R gt(F) = 0.0298, wR ref(F 2) = 0.0857, T = 100(2) K.

One-pot fluorosulfurylation of Grignard reagents using sulfuryl fluoride

Herein, we report a new method for the one-pot syntheses of sulfonyl fluorides.

Ethenesulfonyl fluoride derivatives as telomerase inhibitors: structure-based design, SAR, and anticancer evaluation in vitro

Based on our previous docking model, in order to carry out more rational drug design, totally 82 vinyl sulfonyl fluorides, including some 2-(hetero)arylethenesulfonyl fluorides and 1,3-dienylsulfonyl fluorides derivatives as potential human telomerase inhibitors were designed and synthesised. The in vitro anticancer activity assay showed that compound 57 (1E,3E)-4-(4-((E)-2-(fluorosulfonyl)vinyl)phenyl)buta-1,3-diene-1-sulfonyl fluoride exhibited high activity against A375 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines with IC₅₀ 1.58 and 3.22 µM, but it manifested obvious un-toxic effect against GES-1 and L-02 with IC₅₀ with IC₅₀ values less than 2.00 mM. By the modified TRAP assay, some compounds including 57 exhibited potent inhibitory activities against telomerase with IC₅₀ values of 0.71–0.97 µM.

1-Bromoethene-1-sulfonyl fluoride (1-Br-ESF), a new SuFEx clickable reagent, and its application for regioselective construction of 5-sulfonylfluoro isoxazoles

A new fluorosulfonylation reagent 1-bromoethene-1-sulfonyl fluoride was developed (1-Br-ESF). This unique reagent possesses three addressable handles (vinyl, bromide, and sulfonyl fluoride) and has great potential to function as a tris-electrophile and as a sulfur(vi) fluoride exchange (SuFEx) clickable material to enrich the SuFEx tool cabinet. The application of this reagent for regioselective synthesis of 5-sulfonylfluoro isoxazoles has been realized through a [3+2] cycloaddition with N-hydroxybenzimidoyl chlorides. This practical protocol provides a general and direct route to functionalized isoxazoles possessing sulfonyl fluoride moieties.

Palladium-Catalyzed Fluorosulfonylvinylation of Organic Iodides

A palladium-catalyzed fluorosulfonylvinylation reaction of organic iodides is described. Catalytic Pd(OAc)₂ with a stoichiometric amount of silver(I) trifluoroacetate enables the coupling process between either an (hetero)aryl or alkenyl iodide with ethenesulfonyl fluoride (ESF). The method is demonstrated in the successful syntheses of eighty-eight otherwise difficult to access compounds, in up to 99 % yields, including the unprecedented 2-heteroarylethenesulfonyl fluorides and 1,3-dienylsulfonyl fluorides.