Mitomycin Synthetic Studies: Stereocontrolled and Convergent Synthesis of a Fully Elaborated Aziridinomitosane

A gold(i)-catalysed approach towards harmalidine an elusive alkaloid from Peganum harmala

Upon gold catalysis, the 2,3-dihydropyrrolo[1,2-a]indole motif, encountered in few but interesting bioactive natural products, was efficiently obtained from N-aryl 2-alkynylazetidine derivatives. In an attempt to apply this methodology to the synthesis of harmalidine, isolated from the seeds of Peganum harmala, advanced amino 2,3-hydropyrrolo[1,2-a]indol(one) derivatives were readily obtained in only 11 steps from but-3-yn-1-ol. While the reported structure of harmalidine could not be reached from these intermediates, a surprising 12-membered diimino dimer was isolated. Extensive comparison of the reported harmalidine NMR data to the experimental and calculated data of our synthetic molecules, harmaline or the synthetised N-methylharmaline show discrepancies with the proposed natural product structure.

4-Nitro-benzyl 3,4-bis-(acet-yloxy)-2-(4-meth-oxy-phen-yl)pyrrolidine-1-carboxyl-ate: crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis and computational chemistry

The title compound, C23H24N2O9, is a tetra-substituted pyrrolidine derivative with a twisted conformation, with the twist evident in the C-C bond bearing the adjacent acet-yloxy substituents. These are flanked on one side by a C-bound 4-meth-oxy-phen-yl group and on the other by a methyl-ene group. The almost sp 2-N atom [sum of angles = 357°] bears a 4-nitro-benzyl-oxycarbonyl substituent. In the crystal, ring-methyl-ene-C-H⋯O(acet-yloxy-carbon-yl) and methyl-ene-C-H⋯O(carbon-yl) inter-actions lead to supra-molecular layers lying parallel to (01); the layers stack without directional inter-actions between them. The analysis of the calculated Hirshfeld surfaces indicates the combined importance of H⋯H (42.3%), H⋯O/O⋯H (37.3%) and H⋯C/C⋯H (14.9%) surface contacts. Further, the inter-action energies, largely dominated by the dispersive term, point to the stabilizing influence of H⋯H and O⋯O contacts in the inter-layer region.

Metal-free, air-promoted, radical-mediated arylation of benzoquinone with phenylhydrazines

An efficient, economic, and air-promoted metal-free method for direct arylation of benzoquinone with phenylhydrazines was developed. This approach leads to the formation of corresponding [1,1′-biphenyl]-2,5-dione derivatives as biological and pharmaceutical materials of interest in good yields, under mild reaction conditions, and at ambient temperature.

[3+2]-Annulation of platinum-bound azomethine ylides with distal C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bonds of N-allenamides

A Pt-catalyzed, highly regioselective reaction between N-allenamides and imino-alkynes leading to pyrrolo[1,2-a]indoles is described. This represents the first example of [3+2]-annulation of Pt-bound azomethine ylides with the distal C[double bond, length as m-dash]C bond of N-allenamides. The mechanism of the reaction was established by computational studies.

Design for carbon–carbon bond forming reactions under ambient conditions

The carbon–carbon (C–C) bond forms the ‘backbone’ of nearly every organic molecule, and lies at the heart of the chemical sciences! Let us explore designing of carbon–carbon frameworks at ambient conditions.

General Approach to Nitrogen-Bridged Bicyclic Frameworks by Rh-Catalyzed Formal Carbenoid Insertion into an Amide C-N Bond

Various nitrogen-bridged bicyclic skeletons are found in bioactive natural products and pharmaceuticals. The development of a new reaction to construct these molecular frameworks has attracted considerable attention in synthetic organic chemistry. We developed a novel synthetic method for obtaining a wide variety of nitrogen-bridged bicyclic compounds with a catalytic process, Rh-catalyzed formal carbenoid insertion into an amide C-N bond. Using 0.1-0.4 mol % Rh2(NHCO(t)Bu)4 catalyst, various azabicyclo[X.Y.Z]alkane derivatives were obtained in good to excellent yield, successfully demonstrating the broad substrate scope of the developed process. Experimental and computational studies to elucidate the reaction mechanism revealed that the formal insertion reaction of a carbenoid into an amide C-N bond proceeded via the formation of Rh-associated N-ylides, followed by an acyl group-selective Stevens [1,2]-shift through a concerted addition/elimination process on the sp(2)-hybridized carbon.

[3 + 2] Annulations between indoles and α,β-unsaturated ketones: access to pyrrolo[1,2-a]indoles and model reactions toward the originally assigned structure of yuremamine

The efficient assembly of densely substituted, highly functionalized pyrrolo[1,2-a]indoles by the direct annulation of indoles and α,β-unsaturated ketones is reported.

Stereoselective synthesis of complex polycyclic aziridines: use of the Brønsted acid-catalyzed aza-Darzens reaction to prepare an orthogonally protected mitomycin C intermediate with maximal convergency

A concise synthesis of a highly functionalized intermediate lacking only C10 of the mitomycin backbone is described. The key to this development is the Brønsted acid-catalyzed aza-Darzens reaction used to forge the cis-aziridine. Additionally an oxidative ketalization fortuitously occurs during the quinone-enamine coupling step, leading to an orthogonally protected hydroquinone.

Synthesis and evaluation of arylquinones as BACE1 inhibitors, β-amyloid peptide aggregation inhibitors, and destabilizers of preformed β-amyloid fibrils

BACE1 activity, inhibition of Aβ aggregation, and disaggregation of preformed Aβ fibrils constitute the three major targets in the development of small-molecule lipophilic new drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Quinones are widely distributed among natural products and possess relevant and varied biological activities including antitumor and antibiotic, inhibition of HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, antidiabetic, or COX-inhibition, among others. We report herein the interaction of several arylquinones and their derivatives with the amyloidogenic pathway of the amyloid precursor protein processing. Our studies put forward that these compounds are promising candidates in the development of new drugs which are effective simultaneously towards the three major targets of AD.

Mitomycins syntheses: a recent update

Mitomycins are a class of very potent antibacterial and anti-cancer compounds having a broad activity against a range of tumours. They have been used in clinics since the 1960's, and the challenges represented by their total synthesis have challenged generations of chemists. Despite these chemical and medicinal features, these compounds, in racemic form, have succumbed to total synthesis only four times over the last 30 years.

Rhodium-Catalyzed [2+2+1+1] Cyclocarbonylative Coupling of Alkynes with Carbon Monoxide Affording Tetrasubstitutedp-Benzoquinones

In this strategy, the tetrasubstituted benzoquinones have been prepared directly by a [2+2+1+1] cyclocarbonylative coupling reaction of internal alkynes with CO in the presence of [RhCl(CO)2]2. The low concentration of CO in the reaction is the crucial point for the chemoselective formation of tetrasubstituted benzoquinones in good to high yields. Functional groups such as chloro, methoxy, cyano, vinyl, fluoro, and carboxylate are tolerated under the reaction conditions.

A New Entry to Polycyclic Indole Derivatives via Intramolecular Imino Diels−Alder Reaction: Observation of Unexpected Reaction

A new, efficient, and highly diastereoselective synthesis of polycyclic indole derivatives through intramolecular imino Diels-Alder reaction of aminoanthraquinone with N-prenylated indole-2-carboxaldehydes in the presence of 20 mol % of triphenylphosphonium perchlorate (TPPP) is reported with extremely high cis selectivity in good yield.

Synthesis of an advanced intermediate en route to the mitomycin natural products

[Structure: see text] An advanced intermediate in our planned synthesis of mitomycin C has been acquired in nine steps from tert-butyl glyoxylate. The aziridinyl pyrrolidine and quinone subunits are coupled regioselectively to arrive at an enamine that is prepared for C10 homologation.

Efficient and Green Telescoped Process to 2-Methoxy-3-methyl-[1,4]benzoquinone

A telescoped process for the preparation of 2-methoxy-3-methyl-[1,4]benzoquinone is disclosed. When this novel process is compared to the prevailing method that utilizes Na2Cr2O7 as the oxidant, the novel process represents a high yielding (95%), green, and environmentally benign alternative with H2O2 and HNO3 as the oxidants and CH3COOH as the reaction medium.