A new approach to cyclic hydroxamic acids: Intramolecular cyclization of N-benzyloxy carbamates with carbon nucleophiles

Combining Desferriferrioxamine B and 1-Hydroxy-2-Piperidone ((PIPO)H) to Chelate Zirconium. Solution Structure of a Model Complex of the [89Zr]Zr-DFOcyclo*-mAb Radioimmunoconjugate

89Zr-immunoPET is a hot topic as 89Zr cumulates the advantages of 64Cu and 124I without their drawbacks. We report the synthesis of a model ligand of a chiral bioconjugable tetrahydroxamic chelator combining the desferriferrioxamine B siderophore and 1-hydroxy-2-piperidone ((PIPO)H), a chiral cyclic hydroxamic acid derivative, and the study by NMR spectroscopy of its zirconium complex. Nuclear Overhauser effect measurements (ROESY) indicated that the complex exists in the form of two diastereomers, in 77 : 23 ratio, resulting from the combination of the central chiralities at the 3-C of the (PIPO)H component and at the Zr4+ cation. The 44 lowest energy structures out of more than 1000 configurations/conformations returned by calculations based on density functional theory were examined. Comparison of the ROESY data and the calculated interatomic H⋅⋅⋅H distances allowed us to select the most probable configuration and conformations of the major complex.

Evaluation of Candidate Theranostics for 227Th/89Zr Paired Radioimmunotherapy of Lymphoma

²²⁷Th is a promising radioisotope for targeted α-particle therapy. It produces 5 α-particles through its decay, with the clinically approved ²²³Ra as its first daughter. There is an ample supply of ²²⁷Th, allowing for clinical use; however, the chemical challenges of chelating this large tetravalent f-block cation are considerable. Using the CD20-targeting antibody ofatumumab, we evaluated chelation of ²²⁷Th⁴⁺ for α-particle-emitting and radiotheranostic applications. Methods: We compared 4 bifunctional chelators for thorium radiopharmaceutical preparation: S-2-(4-Isothiocyanatobenzyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane tetraacetic acid (p-SCN-Bn-DOTA), 2-(4-isothicyanatobenzyl)-1,2,7,10,13-hexaazacyclooctadecane-1,4,7,10,13,16-hexaacetic acid (p-SCN-Bn-HEHA), p-isothiacyanatophenyl-1-hydroxy-2-oxopiperidine-desferrioxamine (DFOcyclo*-p-Phe-NCS), and macrocyclic 1,2-HOPO N-hydroxysuccinimide (L804-NHS). Immunoconstructs were evaluated for yield, purity, and stability in vitro and in vivo. Tumor targeting of the lead ²²⁷Th-labeled compound in vivo was performed in CD20-expressing models and compared with a companion ⁸⁹Zr-labeled PET agent. Results: ²²⁷Th-labeled ofatumumab-chelator constructs were synthesized to a radiochemical purity of more than 95%, excepting HEHA. ²²⁷Th-HEHA-ofatumumab showed moderate in vitro stability. ²²⁷Th-DFOcyclo*-ofatumumab presented excellent ²²⁷Th labeling efficiency; however, high liver and spleen uptake was revealed in vivo, indicative of aggregation. ²²⁷Th-DOTA-ofatumumab labeled poorly, yielding no more than 5%, with low specific activity (0.08 GBq/g) and modest long-term in vitro stability (<80%). ²²⁷Th-L804-ofatumumab coordinated ²²⁷Th rapidly and efficiently at high yields, purity, and specific activity (8 GBq/g) and demonstrated extended stability. In vivo tumor targeting confirmed the utility of this chelator, and the diagnostic analog, ⁸⁹Zr-L804-ofatumumab, showed organ distribution matching that of ²²⁷Th to delineate SU-DHL-6 tumors. Conclusion: Commercially available and novel chelators for ²²⁷Th showed a range of performances. The L804 chelator can be used with potent radiotheranostic capabilities for ⁸⁹Zr/²²⁷Th quantitative imaging and α-particle therapy.

Direct comparison of the in vitro and in vivo stability of DFO, DFO* and DFOcyclo* for 89Zr-immunoPET

PURPOSE

Currently, the most commonly used chelator for labelling antibodies with 89Zr for immunoPET is desferrioxamine B (DFO). However, preclinical studies have shown that the limited in vivo stability of the 89Zr-DFO complex results in release of 89Zr, which accumulates in mineral bone. Here we report a novel chelator DFOcyclo*, a preorganized extended DFO derivative that enables octacoordination of the 89Zr radiometal. The aim was to compare the in vitro and in vivo stability of [89Zr]Zr-DFOcyclo*, [89Zr]Zr-DFO* and [89Zr]Zr-DFO.

METHODS

The stability of 89Zr-labelled chelators alone and after conjugation to trastuzumab was evaluated in human plasma and PBS, and in the presence of excess EDTA or DFO. The immunoreactive fraction, IC50, and internalization rate of the conjugates were evaluated using HER2-expressing SKOV-3 cells. The in vivo distribution was investigated in mice with subcutaneous HER2+ SKOV-3 or HER2- MDA-MB-231 xenografts by PET/CT imaging and quantitative ex vivo tissue analyses 7 days after injection.

RESULTS

89Zr-labelled DFO, DFO* and DFOcyclo* were stable in human plasma for up to 7 days. In competition with EDTA, DFO* and DFOcyclo* showed higher stability than DFO. In competition with excess DFO, DFOcyclo*-trastuzumab was significantly more stable than the corresponding DFO and DFO* conjugates (p < 0.001). Cell binding and internalization were similar for the three conjugates. In in vivo studies, HER2+ SKOV-3 tumour-bearing mice showed significantly lower bone uptake (p < 0.001) 168 h after injection with [89Zr]Zr-DFOcyclo*-trastuzumab (femur 1.5 ± 0.3%ID/g, knee 2.1 ± 0.4%ID/g) or [89Zr]Zr-DFO*-trastuzumab (femur 2.0 ± 0.3%ID/g, knee 2.68 ± 0.4%ID/g) than after injection with [89Zr]Zr-DFO-trastuzumab (femur 4.5 ± 0.6%ID/g, knee 7.8 ± 0.6%ID/g). Blood levels, tumour uptake and uptake in other organs were not significantly different at 168 h after injection. HER2- MDA-MB-231 tumour-bearing mice showed significantly lower tumour uptake (p < 0.001) after injection with [89Zr]Zr-DFOcyclo*-trastuzumab (16.2 ± 10.1%ID/g) and [89Zr]Zr-DFO-trastuzumab (19.6 ± 3.2%ID/g) than HER2+ SKOV-3 tumour-bearing mice (72.1 ± 14.6%ID/g and 93.1 ± 20.9%ID/g, respectively), while bone uptake was similar.

CONCLUSION

89Zr-labelled DFOcyclo* and DFOcyclo*-trastuzumab showed higher in vitro and in vivo stability than the current commonly used 89Zr-DFO-trastuzumab. DFOcyclo* is a promising candidate to become the new clinically used standard chelator for 89Zr immunoPET.

Facile Access to Fe(III)-Complexing Cyclic Hydroxamic Acids in a Three-Component Format

Cyclic hydroxamic acids can be viewed as effective binders of soluble iron and can therefore be useful moieties for employing in compounds to treat iron overload disease. Alternatively, they are analogs of bacterial siderophores (iron-scavenging metabolites) and can find utility in designing antibiotic constructs for targeted delivery. An earlier described three-component variant of the Castagnoli—Cushman reaction of homophthalic acid (via in situ cyclodehydration to the respective anhydride) was extended to involve hydroxylamine in lieu of the amine component of the reaction. Using hydroxylamine acetate and O-benzylhydroxylamine was key to the success of this transformation due to greater solubility of the reagents in refluxing toluene (compared to hydrochloride salt). The developed protocol was found suitable for multigram-scale syntheses of N-hydroxy- and N-(benzyloxy)tetrahydroisoquinolonic acids. The cyclic hydroxamic acids synthesized in the newly developed format have been tested and shown to be efficient ligands for Fe³⁺, which makes them suitable candidates for the above-mentioned applications.

Cyclic Hydroxamic Acid Analogues of Bacterial Siderophores as Iron-Complexing Agents prepared through the Castagnoli-Cushman Reaction of Unprotected Oximes

The first application of multicomponent chemistry (the Castagnoli-Cushman reaction) toward the convenient one-step preparation of cyclic hydroxamic acids is described. Cyclic hydroxamic acids are close analogues of bacterial siderophores (iron-binding compounds) and form stable complexes with Fe³⁺ ions as confirmed by spectrophotometric measurements. These compounds are potential components for the design of chelating agents for iron overload disease therapy, as well as siderophore-based carrier systems for antibiotic delivery across the bacterial cell wall.

SF2312 is a natural phosphonate inhibitor of enolase

Despite being critical for energy generation in most forms of life, few if any microbial antibiotics specifically inhibit glycolysis. To develop a specific inhibitor of the glycolytic enzyme Enolase 2 for the treatment of cancers with deletion of Enolase 1, we modeled the synthetic tool compound inhibitor, Phosphonoacetohydroxamate (PhAH) into the active site of human ENO2. A ring-stabilized analogue of PhAH, with the hydroxamic nitrogen linked to the alpha-carbon by an ethylene bridge, was predicted to increase binding affinity by stabilizing the inhibitor in a bound conformation. Unexpectedly, a structure based search revealed that our hypothesized back-bone-stabilized PhAH bears strong similarity to SF2312, a phosphonate antibiotic of unknown mode of action produced by the actinomycete Micromonospora, which is active under anaerobic conditions. Here, we present multiple lines of evidence, including a novel X-ray structure, that SF2312 is a highly potent, low nM inhibitor of Enolase.

Type 1 Ring-Opening Reactions of Cyclopropanated 7-Azabenzonorbornadienes with Organocuprates

The first nucleophilic ring-opening reactions of cyclopropanated 7-azabenzonorbornadienes have been achieved using organocuprates. Tricyclic or tetracyclic γ-lactams were obtained as the sole product in good yields of up to 98% when alkoxycarbonyl groups occupied the N-substituent position. Successful conversions to lactams were observed for primary, secondary, tertiary, and aromatic nucleophiles, as well as for a variety of substrates functionalized on the benzene ring. A possible mechanism for these transformations is discussed.

Preparation of 3-benzyloxy-2-pyridinone functional linkers: Tools for the synthesis of 3,2-hydroxypyridinone (HOPO) and HOPO/hydroxamic acid chelators

In contrast to 2,3-dihydroxypyridine, the 3-benzyloxy protected derivative, 2, undergoes facile alkylation at ambient temperatures with a variety of functionalized alkyl halides in good yields. This alkylation has been used to prepare a number of linkers that permit the attachment of 3,2-HOPO moieties onto various scaffolds using a wide range of coupling methods. The Mitsunobu reaction of 2 with representative alcohols was found to be of limited value due to competing O-alkylation that led to product mixtures. The phthalimide 3j can be converted in two steps to HOPO isocyanate 6 in excellent yields. Isocyanate 6 can be coupled to amines at room temperature or to alcohols in refluxing dichloroethane to obtain the corresponding urea or carbamate linked ligand systems. The coupling of isocyanate 6 with TREN followed by deprotection gave the tris-HOPO 10, an interesting target as it has both cationic and anionic binding sites. The HOPO hydroxylamine linker 11 was shown to be especially valuable as its coupling with carboxylic acids proceeds with the concomitant generation of an additional hydroxamate ligand moiety in the framework. The utility of this linker was shown by the preparation of two mixed HOPO-hydroxamate chelators, 16 and 19, based on the structure of desferrioxamine, a well-known trihydroxamate siderophore.

Synthesis and antimalarial evaluation of prodrugs of novel fosmidomycin analogues

The continuous development of drug resistance by Plasmodium falciparum, the agent responsible for the most severe forms of malaria, creates the need for the development of novel drugs to fight this disease. Fosmidomycin is an effective antimalarial and potent antibiotic, known to act by inhibiting the enzyme 1-deoxy-d-xylulose-5-phosphate reductoisomerase (DXR), essential for the synthesis of isoprenoids in eubacteria and plasmodia, but not in humans. In this study, novel constrained cyclic prodrug analogues of fosmidomycin were synthesized. One, in which the hydroxamate function is incorporated into a six-membered ring, was found have higher antimalarial activity than fosmidomycin against the chloroquine and mefloquine resistant P. falciparum Dd2 strain. In addition, it showed very low cytotoxicity against cultured human cells.

Enantioselective approach to quinolizidines: total synthesis of cermizine D and formal syntheses of senepodine G and cermizine C

The formal syntheses of C5-epi-senepodine G and C5-epi-cermizine C have been accomplished through a novel diastereoselective, intramolecular amide Michael addition process. The total synthesis of cermizine D has been achieved through use of an organocatalyzed, heteroatom Michael addition to access a common intermediate. Additional key steps of this sequence include a matched, diastereoselective alkylation with an iodomethylphenyl sulfide and sulfone-aldehyde coupling/reductive desulfurization sequence to combine the major subunits. The utility of a Hartwig-style C-N coupling has been explored on functionally dense coupling partners. Diastereoselective conjugate additions to α,β-unsaturated sulfones have been investigated, which provided the key sulfone intermediate in just six steps from commercially available starting materials. The formal syntheses of senepodine G and cermizine C have been accomplished through an intramolecular cyclization process of a N-Boc-protected piperidine sulfone.

Synthetic approaches to mixed ligand chelators on t-butylphenol-formaldehyde oligomer (PFO) platforms

Synthetic approaches to mixed ligand chelators on readily available t-butylphenol-formaldehyde oligomer, PFO, scaffolds were examined. In a promising approach, tris and tetraphenol oligomers were selectively mono or di protected using t-butyldiphenyl silyl chloride. The utility of these protected intermediates to prepare representative mixed PFO chelators, carrying ligands such as hydroxamic acid, 3,2-hydroxypyridinones and others was then demonstrated. The introduction of the ligand tethers onto the phenolic scaffold can be done sequentially under relatively mild conditions that tolerate the presence of other sensitive ligand groups. The differential reactivity of the disilyl derivative 20b, allowed stepwise introduction of two different ligands on the internal phenolic positions. This enabled the introduction of three different ligand groups of choice onto the tetra phenol platform.

Preparation of bifunctional isocyanate hydroxamate linkers: Synthesis of carbamate and urea tethered polyhydroxamic acid chelators

Two novel bifunctional N-methylhydroxamate-isocyanate linkers 20 and 21 were prepared in good yield and high purity from the corresponding amine salts using a biphasic reaction with phosgene. The facile ring opening reaction of N-Boc lactams using the anion of O-benzylhydroxylamine gave the protected amino hydroxamates 6a and 6c in good yields. The selective methylation of the hydroxamate nitrogen in the presence of the N-Boc group in these intermediates could be readily accomplished. The utility of the linkers was clearly demonstrated by the synthesis of the carbamate-tethered trishydroxamic acid 27 and the urea-tethered 29.