Stereocontrolled glycosylation of sordaricin in the presence of ammonium salts

Synthesis of Simplified Azasordarin Analogs as Potential Antifungal Agents

A new series of simplified azasordarin analogs was synthesized using as key steps a Diels-Alder reaction to generate a highly substituted bicyclo[2.2.1]heptane core, followed by a subsequent nitrile alkylation. Several additional strategies were investigated for the generation of the key tertiary nitrile or aldehyde thought to be required for inhibition at the fungal protein eukaryotic elongation factor 2. This new series also features a morpholino glycone previously reported in semisynthetic sordarin derivatives with broad spectrum antifungal activity. Despite a lack of activity against Candida albicans for these early de novo analogs, the synthetic route reported here permits more comprehensive modifications of the bicyclic core and structure-activity relationship studies that were not heretofore possible.

Methods for 2-Deoxyglycoside Synthesis

Deoxy-sugars often play a critical role in modulating the potency of many bioactive natural products. Accordingly, there has been sustained interest in methods for their synthesis over the past several decades. The focus of much of this work has been on developing new glycosylation reactions that permit the mild and selective construction of deoxyglycosides. This Review covers classical approaches to deoxyglycoside synthesis, as well as more recently developed chemistry that aims to control the selectivity of the reaction through rational design of the promoter. Where relevant, the application of this chemistry to natural product synthesis will also be described.

Design of chemical glycosyl donors: does changing ring conformation influence selectivity/reactivity?

This tutorial review focuses on the design of glycosyl donors, especially on attempts to control selectivity/reactivity by employing bulky substituents, cyclic protecting groups, or bridged structures. These structural modifications are performed to change the conformational distributions of pyranoside/furanoside rings. We also briefly discuss this issue with regard to studies on furanosides and enzymatic glycosylation reactions. Readers will find that some of the designed glycosyl donors have been used to achieve total syntheses of natural products.

Identification of a broad-spectrum azasordarin with improved pharmacokinetic properties

The synthesis and antifungal activity of 5'- and 5'-6'-substituted azasordarin derivatives are described. Modification of the 5'-position led to the discovery of the spirocyclopentyl analogue 7g, which is the first azasordarin to register single-digit MIC values versus Aspergillus spp. Further investigation identified the 5'-i-Pr derivative 7b, which displays superior pharmacokinetic properties compared to other azasordarins.

Antifungal sordarins. Synthesis and structure-activity relationships of 3',4'-fused dioxolane and dioxane derivatives

A number of novel 3',4'-fused dioxolane and dioxane sordarin derivatives were synthesised for structure-activity relationship studies. Many of these derivatives exhibit high activity against Candida spp. and Cryptococcus neoformans.