Joys of Molecules. 1. Campaigns in Total Synthesis

Perspectives from nearly five decades of total synthesis of natural products and their analogues for biology and medicine

Covering: 1970 to 2020By definition total synthesis is the art and science of making the molecules of living Nature in the laboratory, and by extension, their analogues. Although obvious, its application to the synthesis of molecules for biology and medicine was not always the purpose of total synthesis. In recent years, however, the field has acquired momentum as its power to reach higher molecular complexity and diversity is increasing, and as the demand for rare bioactive natural products and their analogues is expanding due to their recognised potential to facilitate biology and drug discovery and development. Today this component of total synthesis endeavors is considered highly desirable, and could be part of interdisciplinary academic and/or industrial partnerships, providing further inspiration and momentum to the field. In this review we provide a brief historical background of the emergence of the field of total synthesis as it relates to making molecules for biology and medicine. We then discuss specific examples of this practice from our laboratories as they developed over the years. The review ends with a conclusion and future perspectives for natural products chemistry and its applications to biology and medicine and other added-value contributions to science and society.

The expanding spectrum of diketopiperazine natural product biosynthetic pathways containing cyclodipeptide synthases

Microorganisms are remarkable chemists, with enzymes as their tools for executing multi-step syntheses to yield myriad natural products. Microbial synthetic aptitudes are illustrated by the structurally diverse 2,5-diketopiperazine (DKP) family of bioactive nonribosomal peptide natural products. Nonribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPSs) have long been recognized as catalysts for formation of DKP scaffolds from two amino acid substrates. Cyclodipeptide synthases (CDPSs) are more recently recognized catalysts of DKP assembly, employing two aminoacyl-tRNAs (aa-tRNAs) as substrates. CDPS-encoding genes are typically found in genomic neighbourhoods with genes encoding additional biosynthetic enzymes. These include oxidoreductases, cytochrome P450s, prenyltransferases, methyltransferases, and cyclases, which equip the DKP scaffold with groups that diversify chemical structures and confer biological activity. These tailoring enzymes have been characterized from nine CDPS-containing biosynthetic pathways to date, including four during the last year. In this review, we highlight these nine DKP pathways, emphasizing recently characterized tailoring reactions and connecting new developments to earlier findings. Featured pathways encompass a broad spectrum of chemistry, including the formation of challenging C-C and C-O bonds, regioselective methylation, a unique indole alkaloid DKP prenylation strategy, and unprecedented peptide-nucleobase bond formation. These CDPS-containing pathways also provide intriguing models of metabolic pathway evolution across related and divergent microorganisms, and open doors to synthetic biology approaches for generation of DKP combinatorial libraries. Further, bioinformatics analyses support that much unique genetically encoded DKP tailoring potential remains unexplored, suggesting opportunities for further expansion of Nature's biosynthetic spectrum. Together, recent studies of DKP pathways demonstrate the chemical ingenuity of microorganisms, highlight the wealth of unique enzymology provided by bacterial biosynthetic pathways, and suggest an abundance of untapped biosynthetic potential for future exploration.

A novel Prins cascade process for the stereoselective synthesis of oxa-bicycles

E- and Z-9-Methyldeca-3,8-dien-1-ols undergo smooth cyclization with aldehydes in the presence of 20 mol% AgSbF6 under extremely mild conditions to generate the corresponding oxa-bicycles in good yields with excellent selectivity. In fact, E-olefin affords the trans-product exclusively, whereas the Z-olefin gives the cis-product predominantly. In the case of E- or Z-8-methylnona-3,8-dien-1-ol, the product is formed via the termination of Prins cyclization with an allylic C-H bond through olefin migration. The termination of Prins cyclization with tethered olefin is an unprecedented reaction, which provides a useful motif of various natural products.

Constructing molecular complexity and diversity: total synthesis of natural products of biological and medicinal importance

The advent of organic synthesis and the understanding of the molecule as they occurred in the nineteenth century and were refined in the twentieth century constitute two of the most profound scientific developments of all time. These discoveries set in motion a revolution that shaped the landscape of the molecular sciences and changed the world. Organic synthesis played a major role in this revolution through its ability to construct the molecules of the living world and others like them whose primary element is carbon. Although the early beginnings of organic synthesis came about serendipitously, organic chemists quickly recognized its potential and moved decisively to advance and exploit it in myriad ways for the benefit of mankind. Indeed, from the early days of the synthesis of urea and the construction of the first carbon-carbon bond, the art of organic synthesis improved to impressively high levels of sophistication. Through its practice, today chemists can synthesize organic molecules--natural and designed--of all types of structural motifs and for all intents and purposes. The endeavor of constructing natural products--the organic molecules of nature--is justly called both a creative art and an exact science. Often called simply total synthesis, the replication of nature's molecules in the laboratory reflects and symbolizes the state of the art of synthesis in general. In the last few decades a surge in total synthesis endeavors around the world led to a remarkable collection of achievements that covers a wide ranging landscape of molecular complexity and diversity. In this article, we present highlights of some of our contributions in the field of total synthesis of natural products of biological and medicinal importance. For perspective, we also provide a listing of selected examples of additional natural products synthesized in other laboratories around the world over the last few years.

Introducing the parvome: bioactive compounds in the microbial world

We describe and discuss the features and functions of the "parvome", the "-ome" of the chemical world, consisting of the small molecules produced by living organisms. Here, we focus specifically on the world of microbial small molecules. Many years of natural product discovery research, coupled with recent advances and applications of genetic and genomic techniques have revealed the presence of an enormous collection of unique small molecules that are the products of cellular metabolism. As yet, we have a poor understanding of their functions and, in most cases, little knowledge of their routes of biosynthesis, although such information is accruing rapidly. In this review, we attempt to address the raison d'etre of the parvome in the bacterial world, and we propose that a better understanding of the true biological roles of natural products will permit the application of rational approaches to the more effective exploitation of their use in medicine by humankind.

Novel organic materials through control of multichromophore interactions

The function of organic semiconducting and light-harvesting materials depends on the organization of the individual molecular components. Our group has tackled the problem of through-space delocalization via the design and synthesis of bichromphoric pairs held in close proximity by the [2.2]paracyclophane core. The linear and nonlinear optical properties of these molecules provide a challenge to theory. They are also useful in delineating the problem of intermolecular contacts in molecular conductivity measurements. Another area of research described here concerns conjugated polyelectrolytes. These macromolecules combine the properties of organic semiconductors and conventional polyelectrolytes. We have used these materials in the development of optically amplified biosensors and have also incorporated them into organic optoelectronic devices. Of particular interest to us is to derive useful structure/property relationships via molecular design that address important basic scientific problems and technological challenges.

Marine natural products: synthetic aspects

An overview of marine natural products synthesis during 2005 is provided. In a similar vein to earlier installments in this series, the emphasis is on total syntheses of molecules of contemporary interest, new total syntheses, and syntheses that have resulted in structure confirmation or stereochemical assignments.

Synthesis of Steroid−Biaryl Ether Hybrid Macrocycles with High Skeletal and Side Chain Variability by Multiple Multicomponent Macrocyclization Including Bifunctional Building Blocks

Utilizing the multiple multicomponent macrocyclization including bifunctional building blocks (MiB) strategy, a library of nonracemic, nonrepetitive peptoid-containing steroid-biaryl ether hybrid macrocycles was built. Up to 16 new bonds, including those of the macrocyclization, can be formed in one pot simultaneously while introducing varied elements of diversity. Functional diversity is generated primarily by choosing Ugi-reactive functional building blocks, bearing the respective recognition or catalytic motifs. These appear attached to the peptoid backbone of the macrocyclic cavity, similar to side chains of amino acids found in enzyme active sites. Likewise, skeletal diversity is based on the variation of defined bifunctional building blocks which allow the parallel formation of macrocyclic cavities that are highly diverse in shape and size and thus perspectively in function. This straightforward approach is suitable to generate multifunctional macrocycles for applications in catalysis, supramolecular, or biological chemistry.

Control of Stereochemistry: A General Synthesis of cis- or trans-β,γ-Disubstituted-γ-butyrolactones Following Z-Crotylboration

[reaction; see text] A general and practical procedure for the highly diastereoselective preparation of either the cis- or trans-beta,gamma-disubstituted-gamma-butyrolactones by appropriate choice of Lewis or Bronsted acid catalysts during crotylboration or lactonization is reported. The cis-stereochemistry of the Z-crotylboration product can be inverted with strong acids during lactonization. A carbocation mechanism and catalytic cycle has been proposed.