Synthesis of a 10,000-membered library of molecules resembling carpanone and discovery of vesicular traffic inhibitors

Systematic Photoassisted Access to Designer Polyheterocycles via Modular Blocks and Scaffolding

Diverse polyheterocycles are accessed via scaffolded photoassisted synthesis involving decarboxylative aromatization of the primary photoproducts from intramolecular cycloadditions of azaxylylenes and tethered heteroaromatic unsaturated pendants.

Novel O-benzylcinnamic acid derivative L26 treats acute lung injury in mice by MD-2

Acute lung injury (ALI) is an inflammation-mediated respiratory disease that is associated with a high mortality rate. In this study, a series of novel O-benzylcinnamic acid derivatives were designed and synthesized using cinnamic acid as the lead compound. We tested the preliminary anti-inflammatory activity of the compounds by evaluating their effect on inhibiting the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in Hek-Blue-TLR4 cells, in which compound L26 showed the best activity and 7-fold more active than CIN. ELISA, immunoprecipitation, and molecular docking indicated that L26 targeted MD-2 protein and competed with LPS to bind to MD-2, which resulted in the inhibition of inflammation. In the LPS-induced mouse model of ALI, L26 was found to decrease ALP activity and inflammatory cytokine TNF-α release to reduce lung injury by inhibiting the NF-κB signaling pathway. Acute toxicity experiments showed that high doses of L26 did not cause adverse reactions in mice, and it was safe in vivo. Also, the preliminary pharmacokinetic parameters of L26 were investigated in SD rats (T_1/2 = 4.246 h). In summary, L26 exhibited optimal pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic characteristics, which suggested that L26 could serve as a potential agent for the development of ALI treatment.

Combining visible-light induction and copper catalysis for chemo-selective nitrene transfer for late-stage amination of natural products

Nitrene transfer chemistry is an effective strategy for introducing C-N bonds, which are ubiquitous in pharmaceuticals, agrochemicals and diverse bioactive natural products. The development of chemical methodology that can functionalize unique sites within natural products through nitrene transfer remains a challenge in the field. Herein, we developed copper catalyzed chemoselective allylic C-H amination and catalyst-free visible-light induced aziridination of alkenes through nitrene transfer. In general, both reactions tolerate a wide range of functional groups and occur with predictable regioselectivity. Furthermore, combination of these two methods enable the intermolecular chemo-selective late-stage amination of biologically active natural products, leading to C-H amination or C=C aziridination products in a tunable way. A series of control experiments indicate two-step radical processes were involved in both reaction systems.

Laccase-mediated synthesis of bioactive natural products and their analogues

Laccases are a class of multicopper oxidases that catalyse the one-electron oxidation of four equivalents of a reducing substrate, with the concomitant four-electron reduction of dioxygen to water. Typically, they catalyse many anabolic reactions, in which mostly phenolic metabolites were subjected to oxidative coupling. Alternatively, laccases catalyse the degradation or modification of biopolymers like lignin in catabolic processes. In recent years, laccases have proved valuable and green biocatalysts for synthesising compounds with therapeutic value, including antitumor, antibiotic, antimicrobial, and antioxidant agents. Further up to date applications include oxidative depolymerisation of lignin to gain new biomaterials and bioremediation processes of industrial waste. This review summarizes selected examples from the last decade's literature about the laccase-mediated synthesis of biologically active natural products and their analogues; these will include lignans and neolignans, dimeric stilbenoids, biflavonoids, biaryls and other compounds of potential interest for the pharmaceutical industry. In addition, a short section about applications of laccases in natural polymer modification has been included.

Oxidative dehydrogenative couplings of alkenyl phenols

Alkenyl phenols are utilized by nature in the construction of one of the most important biopolymers, lignin. Using similar building blocks, an array of distinct structures can be formed by selective dimerization of the starting phenols to form lignans, neolignans, oxyneolignans, and norlignans. Given the multitude of possible outcomes, many methods have been reported to affect the desired bond formations and access these biologically relevant scaffolds. The most biomimetic of these methods, discussed here, involve the unprotected phenols undergoing oxidative bond formation that proceeds via dehydrogenative coupling. This review aims to place the known literature in context, highlight the progress made toward the synthesis of these important molecules, and recognize the gaps and limitations that still exist.

Construction and Biological Evaluation of Small Libraries Based on the Intermediates within the Total Synthesis of Uvaretin

Discovering therapeutic agents: New bioactive agents, either as sole or combinational agents, have been constructed through the synthetic manipulation of the intermediates within the total synthesis of the uvaretin class of natural products. It was found that increasing the hydrophobic character of the phenolic core correlates to a decrease in sole agent cytotoxicity. The synthesis of new, small chemical screening libraries (CSL) constructed from the intermediates of our total synthesis route of the uvaretin class of natural products is demonstrated herein. Numerous chalcone-based CSLs with various substitution on the phenolic groups within the chalcone core were assembled. Through cytotoxicity investigations, it was found that the level of hydrophobicity of the phenolic core of the chalcones gives biases: less cytotoxicity with more hydrophobic cores. In addition, it was observed that the potentiation, evaluated with 6-thiopurine in the pancreatic cancer cell line MIA PaCa-2, is tunable by the inclusion of less-hydrophobic character on the phenolic core. The role of the o-hydroxybenzyl group, present within the uvaretin family, was revealed to be cytotoxic in character. Merging all of the structure-activity relationship studies performed on the CSLs constructed in this effort led to the construction of a new chalcone hybrid possessing both a cytotoxic enone group and a small-molecule-potentiating, reduced enone group.

Diastereoselective Synthesis of Benzoxanthenones

An oxidative catalytic vanadium(V) system was developed to access the naturally nonabundant diastereomers of carpanone from the corresponding alkenyl phenol monomer in one pot by tandem oxidation, oxidative coupling, and 4+2 cyclization. This system was applied to the synthesis of two other analogues of carpanone. Mild oxidizing silver salts were used as the terminal oxidant to minimize background oxidation which produces the natural diastereomer of carpanone. Further, the first examples of enantioselective oxidative benzoxanthenone formation are reported. Solvent polarity has a strong effect on enantioselectivity, consistent with a mechanism involving binding of vanadium Schiff base catalysts to the alcoholic moiety of the alkenyl phenols during the cyclization step.

Reconfigurable Flow Platform for Automated Reagent Screening and Autonomous Optimization for Bioinspired Lignans Synthesis

Naturally occurring benzoxanthenones, which belong to the vast family of lignans, are promising biologically relevant targets. They are biosynthetically produced by the oxidative dimerization of 2-propenyl phenols. In this manuscript, we disclose a powerful automated flow-based strategy for identifying and optimizing a cobalt-catalyzed oxidizing system for the bioinspired dimerization of 2-propenyl phenols. We designed a reconfigurable flow reactor associating online monitoring and process control instrumentation. Our machine was first configured as an automated screening platform to evaluate a matrix of 4 catalysts (plus the blank) and 5 oxidants (plus the blank) at two different temperatures, resulting in an array of 50 reactions. The automated screening was conducted on micromole scale at a rate of one fully characterized reaction every 26 min. After having identified the most promising cobalt-catalyzed oxidizing system, the automated screening platform was straightforwardly reconfigured to an autonomous self-optimizing flow reactor by implementation of an optimization algorithm in the closed-loop system. The optimization campaign allowed the determination of very effective experimental conditions in a limited number of experiments, which allowed us to prepare the natural products carpanone and polemannone B as well as synthetic analogues.

A Tryptoline Ring-Distortion Strategy Leads to Complex and Diverse Biologically Active Molecules from the Indole Alkaloid Yohimbine

High-throughput screening (HTS) is the primary driver to current drug-discovery efforts. New therapeutic agents that enter the market are a direct reflection of the structurally simple compounds that make up screening libraries. Unlike medically relevant natural products (e.g., morphine), small molecules currently being screened have a low fraction of sp³ character and few, if any, stereogenic centers. Although simple compounds have been useful in drugging certain biological targets (e.g., protein kinases), more sophisticated targets (e.g., transcription factors) have largely evaded the discovery of new clinical agents from screening collections. Herein, a tryptoline ring-distortion strategy is described that enables the rapid synthesis of 70 complex and diverse compounds from yohimbine (1); an indole alkaloid. The compounds that were synthesized had architecturally complex and unique scaffolds, unlike 1 and other scaffolds. These compounds were subjected to phenotypic screens and reporter gene assays, leading to the identification of new compounds that possessed various biological activities, including antiproliferative activities against cancer cells with functional hypoxia-inducible factors, nitric oxide inhibition, and inhibition and activation of the antioxidant response element. This tryptoline ring-distortion strategy can begin to address diversity problems in screening libraries, while occupying biologically relevant chemical space in areas critical to human health.

Late Stage Azidation of Complex Molecules

Selective functionalization of complex scaffolds is a promising approach to alter the pharmacological profiles of natural products and their derivatives. We report the site-selective azidation of benzylic and aliphatic C-H bonds in complex molecules catalyzed by the combination of Fe(OAc)₂ and a PyBox ligand. The same system also catalyzes the trifluoromethyl azidation of olefins to form derivatives of natural products containing both fluorine atoms and azides. In general, both reactions tolerate a wide range of functional groups and occur with predictable regioselectivity. Azides obtained by functionalization of C-H and C=C bonds were converted to the corresponding amines, amides, and triazoles, thus providing a wide variety of nitrogen-containing complex molecules.

Natural products as starting points for the synthesis of complex and diverse compounds

Covering: up to 2013. Natural products and their derivatives are used as treatments for numerous diseases. Many of these compounds are structurally complex, possessing a high percentage of sp(3) hybridized carbons and multiple stereogenic centers. Due to the difficulties associated with the isolation of large numbers of novel natural products, lead discovery efforts over the last two decades have shifted toward the screening of less structurally complex synthetic compounds. While there have been many success stories from these campaigns, the modulation of certain biological targets (e.g. protein-protein interactions) and disease areas (e.g. antibacterials) often require complex molecules. Thus, there is considerable interest in the development of strategies to construct large collections of compounds that mimic the complexity of natural products. Several of these strategies focus on the conversion of simple starting materials to value-added products and have been reviewed elsewhere. Herein we review the use of natural products as starting points for the generation of complex compounds, discussing both early ad hoc efforts and a more recent systematization of this approach.

Synthesis of complex and diverse compounds through ring distortion of abietic acid

Many compound screening collections are populated by members that possess a low degree of structural complexity. In an effort to generate compounds that are both complex and diverse, we have developed a strategy that uses natural products as a starting point for complex molecule synthesis. Herein we apply this complexity-to-diversity approach to abietic acid, an abundant natural product used commercially in paints, varnishes, and lacquers. From abietic acid we synthesize a collection of complex (as assessed by fraction of sp(3) -hybridized carbons and number of stereogenic centers) and diverse (as assessed by Tanimoto analysis) small molecules. The 84 compounds constructed herein, and those created through similar efforts, should find utility in a variety of biological screens.

Emulating the logic of monoterpenoid alkaloid biogenesis to access a skeletally diverse chemical library

We have developed a synthetic strategy that mimics the diversity-generating power of monoterpenoid indole alkaloid biosynthesis. Our general approach goes beyond diversification of a single natural product-like substructure and enables production of a highly diverse collection of small molecules. The reaction sequence begins with rapid and highly modular assembly of the tetracyclic indoloquinolizidine core, which can be chemoselectively processed into several additional skeletally diverse structural frameworks. The general utility of this approach was demonstrated by parallel synthesis of two representative chemical libraries containing 847 compounds with favorable physicochemical properties to enable its subsequent broad pharmacological evaluation.

High throughput technology: approaches of research in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis

High throughput experimentation (HTE) approaches and the choice of the design of experiment (DoE) tools are discussed with regard to their convenience and applicability in homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysis as a concerted workflow. Much attention is given to diverse methodologies and strategies, which are fundamental for the experimental planning. For two target reactions in two case studies presented in this chapter, HTE methods were applied to create and evaluate catalyst libraries. A homogeneous catalyst case study is illustrated first, which deals with parallel synthesis and screening of organometallic catalysts in the polymerisation of ethylene. The second case study (heterogeneous catalysis) focuses on coherent synthesis and testing of dopant effects on the performance of oxidation catalysts in a reaction of transformation of n-butane to maleic anhydride. Supporting examples from the literature described here show that careful planning of libraries and test conditions is vital in high throughput experimentation in order to deliver meaningful results leading to performance improvements or disruptive new findings.

The small molecule dispergo tubulates the endoplasmic reticulum and inhibits export

A small molecule called dispergo is identified that acutely and reversibly induces ER tubulation and the ER export block that results in the gradual merge of the Golgi membrane with the ER. It is the first reported small molecule with such a phenotype and could facilitate the functional study of the ER.

The mammalian endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is an organelle that maintains a complex, compartmentalized organization of interconnected cisternae and tubules while supporting a continuous flow of newly synthesized proteins and lipids to the Golgi apparatus. Using a phenotypic screen, we identify a small molecule, dispergo, that induces reversible loss of the ER cisternae and extensive ER tubulation, including formation of ER patches comprising densely packed tubules. Dispergo also prevents export from the ER to the Golgi apparatus, and this traffic block results in breakdown of the Golgi apparatus, primarily due to maintenance of the constitutive retrograde transport of its components to the ER. The effects of dispergo are reversible, since its removal allows recovery of the ER cisternae at the expense of the densely packed tubular ER patches. This recovery occurs together with reactivation of ER-to-Golgi traffic and regeneration of a functional Golgi with correct morphology. Because dispergo is the first small molecule that reversibly tubulates the ER and inhibits its export function, it will be useful in studying these complex processes.

A ring-distortion strategy to construct stereochemically complex and structurally diverse compounds from natural products

High-throughput screening is the dominant method used to identify lead compounds in drug discovery. As such, the makeup of screening libraries largely dictates the biological targets that can be modulated and the therapeutics that can be developed. Unfortunately, most compound-screening collections consist principally of planar molecules with little structural or stereochemical complexity, compounds that do not offer the arrangement of chemical functionality necessary for the modulation of many drug targets. Here we describe a novel, general and facile strategy for the creation of diverse compounds with high structural and stereochemical complexity using readily available natural products as synthetic starting points. We show through the evaluation of chemical properties (which include fraction of sp(3) carbons, ClogP and the number of stereogenic centres) that these compounds are significantly more complex and diverse than those in standard screening collections, and we give guidelines for the application of this strategy to any suitable natural product.

Diversity-Oriented Synthesis Yields a Novel Lead for the Treatment of Malaria

Here, we describe the discovery of a novel antimalarial agent using phenotypic screening of Plasmodium falciparum asexual blood-stage parasites. Screening a novel compound collection created using diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) led to the initial hit. Structure-activity relationships guided the synthesis of compounds having improved potency and water solubility, yielding a subnanomolar inhibitor of parasite asexual blood-stage growth. Optimized compound 27 has an excellent off-target activity profile in erythrocyte lysis and HepG2 assays and is stable in human plasma. This compound is available via the molecular libraries probe production centers network (MLPCN) and is designated ML238.

Synthesis of a novel suppressor of beta-cell apoptosis via diversity-oriented synthesis

The synthesis of a stereochemically diverse library of medium-sized rings accessible via a 'build/couple/pair' strategy is described. Key aspects of the synthesis include S(N)Ar cycloetherification of a linear amine template to afford eight stereoisomeric 8-membered lactams and subsequent solid-phase diversification of these scaffolds to yield a 6488-membered library. Screening of this compound collection in a cell-based assay for the suppression of cytokine-induced beta-cell apoptosis resulted in the identification of a small-molecule suppressor capable of restoring glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in a rat beta-cell line. The presence of all stereoisomers in the screening collection enabled preliminary determination of the structural and stereochemical requirements for cellular activity, while efficient follow-up chemistry afforded BRD-0476 (probe ML187), which had an approximately three-fold increase in activity. These results demonstrate the utility of diversity-oriented synthesis to probe discovery using cell-based screening, and the importance of including stereochemical diversity in screening collections for the development of stereo/structure-activity relationships.

Acid-base jointly promoted copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition

In this novel acid-base jointly promoted CuAAC, the combination of CuI/DIPEA/HOAc was developed as a highly efficient catalytic system. The functions of DIPEA and HOAc have been assigned, and HOAc was recognized to accelerate the conversions of the C-Cu bond-containing intermediates and buffer the basicity of DIPEA. As a result, all drawbacks occurring in the popular catalytic system CuI/NR(3) were overcome easily.

An aldol-based build/couple/pair strategy for the synthesis of medium- and large-sized rings: discovery of macrocyclic histone deacetylase inhibitors

An aldol-based build/couple/pair (B/C/P) strategy was applied to generate a collection of stereochemically and skeletally diverse small molecules. In the build phase, a series of asymmetric syn- and anti-aldol reactions were performed to produce four stereoisomers of a Boc-protected γ-amino acid. In addition, both stereoisomers of O-PMB-protected alaninol were generated to provide a chiral amine coupling partner. In the couple step, eight stereoisomeric amides were synthesized by coupling the chiral acid and amine building blocks. The amides were subsequently reduced to generate the corresponding secondary amines. In the pair phase, three different reactions were employed to enable intramolecular ring-forming processes: nucleophilic aromatic substitution (S(N)Ar), Huisgen [3+2] cycloaddition, and ring-closing metathesis (RCM). Despite some stereochemical dependencies, the ring-forming reactions were optimized to proceed with good to excellent yields, providing a variety of skeletons ranging in size from 8- to 14-membered rings. Scaffolds resulting from the RCM pairing reaction were diversified on the solid phase to yield a 14 400-membered library of macrolactams. Screening of this library led to the discovery of a novel class of histone deacetylase inhibitors, which display mixed enzyme inhibition, and led to increased levels of acetylation in a primary mouse neuron culture. The development of stereo-structure/activity relationships was made possible by screening all 16 stereoisomers of the macrolactams produced through the aldol-based B/C/P strategy.

Golgi-modifying properties of macfarlandin E and the synthesis and evaluation of its 2,7-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-one core

Golgi-modifying properties of the spongian diterpene macfarlandin E (MacE) and a synthetic analog, t-Bu-MacE, containing its 2,7-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-one moiety are reported. Natural product screening efforts identified MacE as inducing a novel morphological change in Golgi structure defined by ribbon fragmentation with maintenance of the resulting Golgi fragments in the pericentriolar region. t-Bu-MacE, which possesses the substituted 2,7-dioxabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-one but contains a tert-butyl group in place of the hydroazulene subunit of MacE, was prepared by chemical synthesis. Examination of the Golgi-modifying properties of MacE, t-Bu-MacE, and several related structures revealed that the entire oxygen-rich bridged-bicyclic fragment is required for induction of this unique Golgi organization phenotype. Further characterization of MacE-induced Golgi modification showed that protein secretion is inhibited, with no effect on the actin or microtubule cytoskeleton being observed. The conversion of t-Bu-MacE and a structurally related des-acetoxy congener to substituted pyrroles in the presence of primary amines in protic solvent at ambient temperatures suggests that covalent modification might be involved in the Golgi-altering activity of MacE.

Chemical biology studies on norrisolide

The cellular activity of norrisolide (7), a novel Golgi-vesiculating agent, was dissected as function of its chemical structure. This natural product induces irreversible vesiculation of the Golgi membranes and blocks protein transport at the level of the Golgi. The Golgi localization and fragmentation effects of 7 depend on the presence of the perhydroindane core, while the irreversibility of fragmentation depends on the acetyl group of 7. We show that fluorescent derivatives of norrisolide are able to localize to the Golgi apparatus and represent important tools for the study of the Golgi structure and function.

A new cross-coupling-based synthesis of carpanone

Carpanone has been stereoselectively synthesized in 55% yield and six steps from sesamol. The key step of the synthetic sequence is the direct introduction of the propenyl side chain via a Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction. The subsequent Pd(II)-catalyzed oxidative coupling yields carpanone as a single diastereoisomer independently of the geometric configuration of the starting precursor. A new mechanism is proposed for this transformation.

Selection of smart small-molecule ligands: the proof of principle

The development of drugs and diagnostics with desirable characteristics requires smart small-molecule ligandsligands with predefined binding parameters of interaction with the target. Here, we propose a general approach for selection of such ligands from highly diverse combinatorial libraries of small molecules by methods of kinetic capillary electrophoresis (KCE). We deduct three fundamental requirements for the combinatorial library to suit the KCE-based selection of smart ligands and suggest a universal design of the library for selecting smart small-molecule ligands: every small molecule in the library is tagged with DNA that encodes the structure of the molecule. Finally, we use several DNA-tagged small molecules, which represent a hypothetical library, to prove experimentally selection of smart small-molecule ligands by the proposed approach.

1-Azadienes in cycloaddition and multicomponent reactions towards N-heterocycles

1-Azadienes are versatile building blocks for the efficient construction of various N-heterocycles. Depending on the substitution pattern and reaction partner, they may participate in a range of different reactions. An overview of recent methods for the generation of 1-azadienes is presented, as well as their application in cycloaddition, electrocyclization, and multicomponent reactions. Considering the broad range of reactivities and resulting heterocyclic scaffold structures, 1-azadienes are very useful reactive intermediates for the development of modular reaction sequences in diversity-oriented synthesis.

Electrochemically protected copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition

The copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC) reaction has found broad application in myriad fields. For the most demanding applications that require high yields at low substrate concentrations, highly active but air-sensitive copper complexes must be used. We describe here the use of an electrochemical potential to maintain catalysts in the active Cu(I) oxidation state in the presence of air. This simple procedure efficiently achieves excellent yields of CuAAC products from both small-molecule and protein substrates without the use of potentially damaging chemical reducing agents. A new water-soluble carboxylated version of the popular tris(benzyltriazolylmethyl)amine (TBTA) ligand is also described. Cyclic voltammetry revealed reversible or quasi-reversible electrochemical redox behavior of copper complexes of the TBTA derivative (2; E(1/2)=60 mV vs. Ag/AgCl), sulfonated bathophenanthroline (3; E(1/2)=-60 mV), and sulfonated tris(benzimidazoylmethyl)amine (4; E(1/2) approximately -70 mV), and showed catalytic turnover to be rapid relative to the voltammetry time scale. Under the influence of a -200 mV potential that was established by using a reticulated vitreous carbon working electrode, CuSO4 and 3 formed a superior catalyst. Electrochemically protected bioconjugations in air were performed by using bacteriophage Qbeta that was derivatized with azide moieties at surface lysine residues. Complete derivatization of more than 600 reactive sites per particle was demonstrated within 12 h of electrolysis with substoichiometric quantities of Cu3.

Application of natural product-inspired diversity-oriented synthesis to drug discovery

Natural products have played a critical role in the identification of numerous medicines. Synthetic organic chemistry and combinatorial chemistry strategies such as diversity-oriented synthesis (DOS) have enabled the synthesis of natural product-like compounds. The combination of these approaches has both improved the desired biological properties of natural products as well as the identification of novel compounds. Diversity concepts and strategies to access novel compounds inspired by natural products will be reviewed.

A road less traveled by: exploring a decade of Ellman chemistry

The Ellman group has been one of the most influential in the development and widespread adoption of combinatorial chemistry techniques for biomedical research. Their work has included substantial methodological development for library synthesis with a particular focus on new scaffolds rationally targeted to biomolecules of interest and biologically relevant natural products. Herein we analyze a representative set of libraries from this group with respect to their biological and biomedical relevance in comparison to existing drugs and probe compounds. This analysis reveals that the Ellman group has not only provided new methodologies to the community but also provided libraries with unique potential for further biological study.

Benzimidazole and Related Ligands for Cu-Catalyzed Azide−Alkyne Cycloaddition

Tris(2-benzimidazolylmethyl)amines have been found to be superior accelerating ligands for the copper(I)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition reaction. Candidates bearing different benzimidazole N-substituents as well as benzothiazole and pyridyl ligand arms were evaluated by absolute rate measurements under relatively dilute conditions by aliquot quenching kinetics and by relative rate measurements under concentrated conditions by reaction calorimetry. Benzimidazole-based ligands with pendant alkylcarboxylate arms proved to be advantageous in the latter case. The catalyst system was shown to involve more than one active species, providing a complex response to changes in pH and buffer salts and the persistence of high catalytic rate in the presence of high concentrations of coordinating ligands. The water-soluble ligand (BimC4A)3 was found to be especially convenient for the rapid and high-yielding synthesis of several functionalized triazoles with 0.01-0.5 mol % Cu.

Scaffold composition and biological relevance of screening libraries

The chemical scaffolds from which screening libraries are built have strong influence on the libraries' utility for screening campaigns. Here we present analysis of the scaffold composition of several types of commercially available screening collections and compare those compositions to those of drugs and drug candidates.

The interdependence between screening methods and screening libraries

The most common methods for discovery of chemical compounds capable of manipulating biological function involves some form of screening. The success of such screens is highly dependent on the chemical materials - commonly referred to as libraries - that are assayed. Classic methods for the design of screening libraries have depended on knowledge of target structure and relevant pharmacophores for target focus, and on simple count-based measures to assess other properties. The recent proliferation of two novel screening paradigms, structure-based screening and high-content screening, prompts a profound rethink about the ideal composition of small-molecule screening libraries. We suggest that currently utilized libraries are not optimal for addressing new targets by high-throughput screening, or complex phenotypes by high-content screening.