HIV-1 protease inhibitors containing an N-Hydroxyamino acid core structure

Enantioselective Synthesis of Cα-Tetrasubstituted N-Hydroxyl-α-amino Nitriles via Cyanation of Ketonitrones Using Me2(CH2Cl)SiCN

Here, we report an unprecedented catalytic enantioselective cyanation of ketonitrones enabled by the bifunctional cyanating reagent Me₂(CH₂Cl)SiCN. This approach allows facile access to optically active N-hydroxyl-α-amino nitriles that are of high synthetic value but difficult to acquire by other methods. The use of bifunctional cyanating reagent Me₂(CH₂Cl)SiCN not only achieves an enantioselectivity higher than that with TMSCN but also enables various diversification reactions of the resulting silylated adducts. This represents the first enantioselective catalytic nucleophilic addition reaction of unactivated ketone-derived nitrones, exhibiting the potential of such tetrasubstituted C═N bonds for asymmetric synthesis of N-hydroxy α-amino acids and other N-hydroxy tertiary amines.

N-Hydroxy peptides: solid-phase synthesis and β-sheet propensity

Backbone amide hydroxylation of peptide strands enhances β-hairpin folding.

Total synthesis of the proposed structure of talarolide A

The proposed structure of talarolide A, a cycloheptapeptide featuring a hydroxamate moiety within the peptide backbone, was successfully synthesized.

Facile solid-phase synthesis of C-terminal peptide aldehydes and hydroxamates from a common Backbone Amide-Linked (BAL) intermediate*†

C-Terminal peptide aldehydes and hydroxamates comprise two separate classes of effective inhibitors of a number of serine, aspartate, cysteine, and metalloproteases. Presented here is a method for preparation of both classes of peptide derivatives from the same resin-bound Weinreb amide precursor. Thus, 5-[(2 or 4)-formyl-3,5-dimethoxyphenoxy]butyramido-polyethylene glycol-polystyrene (BAL-PEG-PS) was treated with methoxylamine hydrochloride in the presence of sodium cyanoborohydride to provide a resin-bound methoxylamine, which was efficiently acylated by different Fmoc-amino acids upon bromo-tris-pyrrolidone-phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (PyBrOP) activation. Solid-phase chain elongation gave backbone amide-linked (BAL) peptide Weinreb amides, which were cleaved either by trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in the presence of scavengers to provide the corresponding peptide hydroxamates, or by lithium aluminum hydride in tetrahydrofuran (THF) to provide the corresponding C-terminal peptide aldehydes. With several model sequences, peptide hydroxamates were obtained in crude yields of 68-83% and initial purities of at least 85%, whereas peptide aldehydes were obtained in crude yields of 16-53% and initial purities in the range of 30-40%. Under the LiAlH4 cleavage conditions used, those model peptides containing t-Bu-protected aspartate residues underwent partial side chain reduction to the corresponding homoserine-containing peptides. Similar results were obtained when working with high-load aminomethyl-polystyrene, suggesting that this chemistry will be generally applicable to a range of supporting materials.

N-Hydroxy and N-acyloxy peptides: synthesis and chemical modifications

The preparation of a series of N-hydroxy peptides is described, along with their acylation on the oxygen of the pseudopeptide bond. Nineteen N-acyloxy peptides, first examples of this new class of pseudopeptides, were thus synthesized; they present a range of acyl groups, including N-protected amino acyl groups. Possibilities of elongation for these pseudopeptides were also investigated.

HIV protease inhibitors: synthesis and activity of N-aryl-N'-hydroxyalkyl hydrazide pseudopeptides

We describe the synthesis and activities of a series of pseudopeptides containing an N-aryl-N'-hydroxyalkyl hydrazide core structure to inhibit human immunodeficiency virus protease and viral replication. Of the series, compound Hmb-Leu-N(Bzl)-N(CH2-CH-OH)-rPro-Boc (24) displayed the greatest inhibitory potency (IC50 < 1 microM) and exhibited enzymatic resistance and stability in vitro.

Facile incorporation of urea pseudopeptides into protease substrate analogue inhibitors

A new procedure that employs a one-pot, oxidative Hofmann rearrangement to incorporate a urea linkage into peptide backbones is detailed herein. This methodology was used to replace the scissile peptide bonds of [Leu5]enkephalin and a hexapeptide HIV-1 protease substrate. The [Leu5]enkephalin analogue was found to inhibit cleavage of hippurylhistidylleucine (HHL) by porcine kidney angiotensin-converting enzyme (PK-ACE) with a 0.88 mM IC50 value, comparable to the Michaelis constant of [Leu5]enkephalin with the same enzyme. The HIV-1 protease substrate analogue was shown to inhibit HIV-1 protease with an IC50=34 microM.

Peptide-bond modification for metal coordination: peptides containing two hydroxamate groups

Peptide-bond modification via N-hydroxylation has been explored as a strategy for metal coordination to induce conformational rigidity and orient side chains for specific molecular recognition. N-Hydroxyamides were prepared by reacting N-benzyloxyamino acid esters or amides with Fmoc-AA-Cl/AgCN (Fmoc: 9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl; AA: amino acid) in toluene or Fmoc-AA/HATU/DIEA in DMF (HATU: O-(7-azabenzotriazol-lyl)-1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate; DIEA: N,N-diisopropylethylamine; DMF: N,N-dimethylformamide), followed by deblocking of benzyl protecting groups. Novel linear and cyclic N,N'-dihydroxypeptides were efficiently assembled using Fmoc chemistry in solution and/or on a solid support. As screened by electrospray ionization-mass spectroscopy (ESI-MS), high iron-binding selectivity and affinity were attainable. Compounds having a spacer of two alpha-amino acids between the amino acids bearing the two hydroxamates, i.e., a spacer of 8 atoms, generated 1:1 iron complex species in the gas phase. Moreover, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), uv/vis, and (1)H-NMR analyses provided direct evidence for complex formations in solution. Significantly, the representative compound cyclo(Leu-Psi[CON(OH)]-Phe-Ala-Pro)(2) (P8) may serve as a robust metal-binding scaffold in construction of a metal-binding library for versatile metal-mediated molecular recognition.