Synthesis of Endocyclic Cycloalkyne Amino Acids

Total Synthesis of Putative Melognine

Total synthesis of melognine was accomplished. A 10-membered cyclic alkyne was prepared via an intramolecular SN2 reaction of a nosylamide. Enyne metathesis of the cyclic alkyne under an atmosphere of ethylene afforded a 1,3-diene. Intramolecular cycloaddition of a nitrone and an azomethine ylide with the 1,3-diene moiety constructed the characteristic highly fused skeleton. Further transformation, including ring-closing metathesis, resulted in the synthesis of melognine, whose NMR spectra did not match the reported data. Close inspection of the spectra of melognine in the literature suggested that the structure of melognine might be identical with that of a known alkaloid, melodinine L.

Development of Fluorescent Isocoumarin-Fused Oxacyclononyne - 1,2,3-Triazole Pairs

Fluorescent isocoumarin-fused cycloalkynes, which are reactive in SPAAC and give fluorescent triazoles regardless of the azide nature, have been developed. The key structural feature that converts the non-fluorescent cycloalkyne/triazole pair to its fluorescent counterpart is the pi-acceptor group (COOMe, CN) at the C6 position of the isocoumarin ring. The design of the fluorescent cycloalkyne/triazole pairs is based on the theoretical study of the S1 state deactivation mechanism of the non-fluorescent isocoumarin-fused cycloalkyne IC9O using multi-configurational ab initio and DFT methodologies. The calculations revealed that deactivation proceeds through the electrocyclic ring opening of the α-pyrone cycle and is accompanied by a redistribution of electron density in the fused benzene ring. We proposed that the S1 excited state deactivation barrier could be increased by introducing a pi-acceptor group into a position that is in direct conjugation with the formed C=O group and has a reduced electron density in the transition state. As a proof of concept, we designed and synthesized two fluorescent isocoumarin-fused cycloalkynes IC9O-COOMe and IC9O-CN bearing pi-acceptors at the C6 position. The importance of the nature of a pi-acceptor group was shown by the example of much less fluorescent CF3 -substituted cycloalkyne IC9O-CF3 .

Synthesis of Functionalized Dibenzoazacyclooctynes by a Decomplexation Method for Dibenzo-Fused Cyclooctyne-Cobalt Complexes

A concise route for dibenzoazacyclooctynes (DIBACs) synthesis was developed based on Pictet-Spengler reaction and a novel cobalt decomplexation method established for dibenzo-fused cyclooctyne-cobalt complexes. The method allowed for the facile preparation of functionalized DIBACs, including bisDIBAC, which served as an efficient bisreactive linker for protein modification via the double-click reaction.