Novel triazolopeptides: chirospecific synthesis and conformational studies of proline derived analogs

1,2,3-Triazoles as Biomimetics in Peptide Science

Natural peptides are an important class of chemical mediators, essential for most vital processes. What limits the potential of the use of peptides as drugs is their low bioavailability and enzymatic degradation in vivo. To overcome this limitation, the development of new molecules mimicking peptides is of great importance for the development of new biologically active molecules. Therefore, replacing the amide bond in a peptide with a heterocyclic bioisostere, such as the 1,2,3-triazole ring, can be considered an effective solution for the synthesis of biologically relevant peptidomimetics. These 1,2,3-triazoles may have an interesting biological activity, because they behave as rigid link units, which can mimic the electronic properties of amide bonds and show bioisosteric effects. Additionally, triazole can be used as a linker moiety to link peptides to other functional groups.

A strategic approach to [6,6]-bicyclic lactones: application towards the CD fragment of DHβE

We report an effective synthetic protocol to access [6,6]-bicyclic lactone moieties through a regio- and stereoselective intramolecular Mizoroki–Heck cross-coupling reaction followed by a 6π-electrocyclization. This method enabled the first synthesis of the elusive CD fragment of the Erythrina alkaloid DHβE. Preliminary pharmacological evaluations support the notion that the key pharmacophores of DHβE are located in the A and B rings.

A density functional theory study of the mechanisms of addition of transition metal oxides ReO3L(L = Cl-, O-, OCH3, CH3) to substituted ketenes

Ketenes are excellent precursors for catalytic asymmetric reactions, creating chiral centers mainly through addition across their C = C bonds. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations at the MO6/LACVP* and B3LYP/LACVP* levels of theory were employed in a systematic investigation of the peri-, chemo- and regio-selectivity of the addition of transition metal oxo complexes of the type ReO 3 L ( L = Cl -, O -, OCH 3, CH 3) to substituted ketenes O = C = C ( CH 3)(X) [ X = CH 3, H , CN , Ph ] with the aim of elucidating the effects of substituents on the mechanism of the reactions. The [2 + 2] addition pathway across the C = C or C = O (depending on the ligand) is the most preferred in the reactions of dimethyl ketene with all the metal complexes studied. The [2 + 2] pathway is also the most preferred in the reactions of ReO 3 Cl with all the substituted ketenes studied except when X = Cl . Thus of all the reactions studied, it is only the reaction of ReO 3 Cl with O = C = C ( CH 3)( Cl ) that prefers the [3 + 2] addition pathway. Reactions of dimethyl ketene with ReO 3 L favors addition across C = O bonds of the ketene when L = O - and CH 3 but favors addition across C = C bonds when L = OCH 3 and Cl . In the reactions of ReO 3 Cl with substituted ketenes, addition across C = O bonds is favored only when X = H while addition across C = C bonds is favored when X = CH 3, Cl , Ph , CN . The reactions of dimethyl ketene with ReO 3 L will most likely lead to the formation of an ester precursor in each case. A zwitterionic intermediate is formed in the reactions except in the reactions of [Formula: see text]. The order in the activation energies of the reactions of dimethyl ketenes with the metal complexes ReO 3 L with respect to changing ligand L is O - < CH 3 O - < Cl - < CH 3 while the order in reaction energies is CH 3 < CH 3 O - < O - < Cl -. For the reactions of substituted ketenes with ReO 3 Cl , the order in activation barriers is CH 3 < Ph < CN < Cl < H while the reaction energies follow the order Cl < CH 3 < H < Ph < CN . In the reactions of dimethyl ketenes with ReO 3 L , the trend in the selectivity of the reactions with respect to ligand L is Cl - < CH 3 O - < CH 3 < O - while the trend in selectivity is CH 3 < CN < Cl < Ph in the reactions of ReO 3 Cl with substituted ketenes. It is seen that reactions involving a change in oxidation state of metal from the reactant to product have high activation barriers while reactions that do not involve a change in oxidation state have low activation barriers. For both [3 + 2] and [2 + 2] additions, low activation barriers are obtained when the substituent on the ketene is electron-donating while high activation barriers are obtained when the substituent is electron-withdrawing.