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Tsien J, Hu C, Merchant RR, Qin T. Three-dimensional saturated C(sp 3)-rich bioisosteres for benzene. Nat Rev Chem 2024:10.1038/s41570-024-00623-0. [PMID: 38982260 DOI: 10.1038/s41570-024-00623-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 07/11/2024]
Abstract
Benzenes, the most ubiquitous structural moiety in marketed small-molecule drugs, are frequently associated with poor 'drug-like' properties, including metabolic instability, and poor aqueous solubility. In an effort to overcome these limitations, recent developments in medicinal chemistry have demonstrated the improved physicochemical profiles of C(sp3)-rich bioisosteric scaffolds relative to arenes. In the past two decades, we have witnessed an exponential increase in synthetic methods for accessing saturated bioisosteres of monosubstituted and para-substituted benzenes. However, until recent discoveries, analogous three-dimensional ortho-substituted and meta-substituted biososteres have remained underexplored, owing to their ring strain and increased s-character hybridization. This Review summarizes the emerging synthetic methodologies to access such saturated motifs and their impact on the application of bioisosteres for ortho-substituted, meta-substituted and multi-substituted benzene rings. It concludes with a perspective on the development of next-generation bioisosteres, including those within novel chemical space.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jet Tsien
- Department of Biochemistry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Chao Hu
- Department of Biochemistry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA
| | - Rohan R Merchant
- Department of Discovery Chemistry, Merck & Co., Inc., South San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Tian Qin
- Department of Biochemistry, The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
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2
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Bailey EP, Donohoe TJ, Smith MD. Functional group tolerant hydrogen borrowing C-alkylation. Nat Commun 2024; 15:5131. [PMID: 38879563 PMCID: PMC11180204 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-49249-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Hydrogen borrowing is an attractive and sustainable strategy for carbon-carbon bond formation that enables alcohols to be used as alkylating reagents in place of alkyl halides. However, despite intensive efforts, limited functional group tolerance is observed in this methodology, which we hypothesize is due to the high temperatures and harsh basic conditions often employed. Here we demonstrate that room temperature and functional group tolerant hydrogen borrowing can be achieved with a simple iridium catalyst in the presence of substoichiometric base without an excess of reagents. Achieving high yields necessitates the application of anaerobic conditions to counteract the oxygen sensitivity of the catalytic iridium hydride intermediate, which otherwise leads to catalyst degradation. Substrates containing heteroatoms capable of complexing the catalyst exhibit limited room temperature reactivity, but the application of moderately higher temperatures enables extension to a broad range of medicinally relevant nitrogen rich heterocycles. These newly developed conditions allow alcohols possessing functional groups that were previously incompatible with hydrogen borrowing reactions to be employed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elliot P Bailey
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | | | - Martin D Smith
- Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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3
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Levterov VV, Panasiuk Y, Shablykin O, Stashkevych O, Sahun K, Rassokhin A, Sadkova I, Lesyk D, Anisiforova A, Holota Y, Borysko P, Bodenchuk I, Voloshchuk NM, Mykhailiuk PK. 2-Oxabicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes: Synthesis, Properties, and Validation as Bioisosteres of ortho- and meta-Benzenes. Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 2024; 63:e202319831. [PMID: 38465464 DOI: 10.1002/anie.202319831] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2023] [Revised: 03/08/2024] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/12/2024]
Abstract
We have developed a general and practical approach towards 2-oxabicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes with two and three exit vectors via an iodocyclization reaction. The obtained compounds have been easily converted into the corresponding building blocks for use in medicinal chemistry. 2-Oxabicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes have been incorporated into the structure of five drugs and three agrochemicals, and validated biologically as bioisosteres of ortho- and meta-benzenes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Oleh Shablykin
- Enamine Ltd, Winston Churchill Str. 78, 02094, Kyiv, Ukraine
- V. P. Kukhar Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry and Petrochemistry NAS of Ukraine, Academician Kukhar Str. 1, 02094, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Oleksandr Stashkevych
- Enamine Ltd, Winston Churchill Str. 78, 02094, Kyiv, Ukraine
- Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv, Chemistry Department, Volodymyrska Str. 64, 01601, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Kateryna Sahun
- Enamine Ltd, Winston Churchill Str. 78, 02094, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Artur Rassokhin
- Enamine Ltd, Winston Churchill Str. 78, 02094, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Iryna Sadkova
- Enamine Ltd, Winston Churchill Str. 78, 02094, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Dmytro Lesyk
- Bienta, Winston Churchill Str. 78, 02094, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | - Yuliia Holota
- Bienta, Winston Churchill Str. 78, 02094, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Petro Borysko
- Bienta, Winston Churchill Str. 78, 02094, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | | | - Nataliya M Voloshchuk
- National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine, V. F. Peresypkin Department of Phytopathology, Heroyiv Oborony Str. 15, 03041, Kyiv, Ukraine
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4
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Li J, Fang M, Liao M, Xie H, Dong XQ, Han Z, Sun J, Huang H. Synthesis of medium-sized heterocycles from oxetanes based on an allylic amination/ring-opening strategy. Chem Commun (Camb) 2023; 59:14467-14470. [PMID: 37986611 DOI: 10.1039/d3cc04355j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2023]
Abstract
The construction of medium-sized ring compounds has been a prominent research area in synthetic chemistry. In this study, we developed a tandem strategy that combines allylic amination and ring-opening of oxetanes to synthesize medium-sized heterocycles. Specifically, N-aryl oxetan-3-amines undergo allylic amination with zwitterionic π-allylpalladium, followed by intramolecular ring-opening, resulting in the formation of medium-sized heterocycles. Notably, we are able to achieve the synthesis of 7-8 membered heterocycles with moderate to good yields by employing different types of zwitterionic π-allylpalladium species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jixing Li
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Catalytic Materials & Technology, School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China.
| | - Ming Fang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Catalytic Materials & Technology, School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China.
| | - Maoyan Liao
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Catalytic Materials & Technology, School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China.
| | - Hongling Xie
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Catalytic Materials & Technology, School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China.
| | - Xiu-Qin Dong
- College of Chemistry and Molecular Sciences, Engineering Research Center of Organosilicon Compounds & Materials, Ministry of Education, Wuhan University, Wuhan, Hubei, 430072, China
| | - Zhengyu Han
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Catalytic Materials & Technology, School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China.
- Jiangsu Province Key Laboratory of Fine Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China
| | - Jianwei Sun
- Department of Chemistry, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China
| | - Hai Huang
- Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Advanced Catalytic Materials & Technology, School of Petrochemical Engineering, Changzhou University, Changzhou 213164, China.
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5
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Abstract
The oxetane ring is an emergent, underexplored motif in drug discovery that shows attractive properties such as low molecular weight, high polarity, and marked three-dimensionality. Oxetanes have garnered further interest as isosteres of carbonyl groups and as molecular tools to fine-tune physicochemical properties of drug compounds such as pKa, LogD, aqueous solubility, and metabolic clearance. This perspective highlights recent applications of oxetane motifs in drug discovery campaigns (2017-2022), with emphasis on the effect of the oxetane on medicinally relevant properties and on the building blocks used to incorporate the oxetane ring. Based on this analysis, we provide an overview of the potential benefits of appending an oxetane to a drug compound, as well as potential pitfalls, challenges, and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan J. Rojas
- Department of Chemistry,
Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences
Research Hub, White City
Campus, Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
| | - James A. Bull
- Department of Chemistry,
Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences
Research Hub, White City
Campus, Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, U.K.
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6
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Denisenko A, Garbuz P, Voloshchuk NM, Holota Y, Al-Maali G, Borysko P, Mykhailiuk PK. 2-Oxabicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes as saturated bioisosteres of the ortho-substituted phenyl ring. Nat Chem 2023:10.1038/s41557-023-01222-0. [PMID: 37277469 PMCID: PMC10396955 DOI: 10.1038/s41557-023-01222-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 28.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2023] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The ortho-substituted phenyl ring is a basic structural element in chemistry. It is found in more than three hundred drugs and agrochemicals. During the past decade, scientists have tried to replace the phenyl ring in bioactive compounds with saturated bioisosteres to obtain novel patentable structures. However, most of the research in this area has been devoted to the replacement of the para-substituted phenyl ring. Here we have developed saturated bioisosteres of the ortho-substituted phenyl ring with improved physicochemical properties: 2-oxabicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes. Crystallographic analysis revealed that these structures and the ortho-substituted phenyl ring indeed have similar geometric properties. Replacement of the phenyl ring in marketed agrochemicals fluxapyroxad (BASF) and boscalid (BASF) with 2-oxabicyclo[2.1.1]hexanes dramatically improved their water solubility, reduced lipophilicity and most importantly retained bioactivity. This work suggests an opportunity for chemists to replace the ortho-substituted phenyl ring in bioactive compounds with saturated bioisosteres in medicinal chemistry and agrochemistry.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | - Galeb Al-Maali
- Bienta, Kyiv, Ukraine
- M.G. Kholodny Institute of Botany of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine
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7
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Dubois MAJ, Rojas JJ, Sterling AJ, Broderick HC, Smith MA, White AJP, Miller PW, Choi C, Mousseau JJ, Duarte F, Bull JA. Visible Light Photoredox-Catalyzed Decarboxylative Alkylation of 3-Aryl-Oxetanes and Azetidines via Benzylic Tertiary Radicals and Implications of Benzylic Radical Stability. J Org Chem 2023; 88:6476-6488. [PMID: 36868184 DOI: 10.1021/acs.joc.3c00083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/05/2023]
Abstract
Four-membered heterocycles offer exciting potential as small polar motifs in medicinal chemistry but require further methods for incorporation. Photoredox catalysis is a powerful method for the mild generation of alkyl radicals for C-C bond formation. The effect of ring strain on radical reactivity is not well understood, with no studies that address this question systematically. Examples of reactions that involve benzylic radicals are rare, and their reactivity is challenging to harness. This work develops a radical functionalization of benzylic oxetanes and azetidines using visible light photoredox catalysis to prepare 3-aryl-3-alkyl substituted derivatives and assesses the influence of ring strain and heterosubstitution on the reactivity of small-ring radicals. 3-Aryl-3-carboxylic acid oxetanes and azetidines are suitable precursors to tertiary benzylic oxetane/azetidine radicals which undergo conjugate addition into activated alkenes. We compare the reactivity of oxetane radicals to other benzylic systems. Computational studies indicate that Giese additions of unstrained benzylic radicals into acrylates are reversible and result in low yields and radical dimerization. Benzylic radicals as part of a strained ring, however, are less stable and more π-delocalized, decreasing dimer and increasing Giese product formation. Oxetanes show high product yields due to ring strain and Bent's rule rendering the Giese addition irreversible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryne A J Dubois
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Juan J Rojas
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Alistair J Sterling
- Department of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
| | - Hannah C Broderick
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Milo A Smith
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Andrew J P White
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Philip W Miller
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, U.K
| | - Chulho Choi
- Pfizer Global Research and Development, 445 Eastern Point Rd., Groton, Connecticut 06340, United States
| | - James J Mousseau
- Pfizer Global Research and Development, 445 Eastern Point Rd., Groton, Connecticut 06340, United States
| | - Fernanda Duarte
- Department of Chemistry, Chemistry Research Laboratory, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3TA, U.K
| | - James A Bull
- Department of Chemistry, Imperial College London, Molecular Sciences Research Hub, White City Campus, Wood Lane, London W12 0BZ, U.K
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