Further studies toward the stereocontrolled synthesis of silicon-containing peptide mimics

Enantioselective Hydrosilylation of β,β-Disubstituted Enamides to Construct α-Aminosilanes with Vicinal Stereocenters

Despite the advances in the area of catalytic alkene hydrosilylation, the enantioselective hydrosilylation of alkenes bearing a heteroatom substituent is scarce. Here we report a rhodium-catalyzed hydrosilylation of β,β-disubstituted enamides to directly afford valuable α-aminosilanes in a highly regio-, diastereo-, and enantioselective manner. Stereodivergent synthesis could be achieved by regulating substrate geometry and ligand configuration to generate all the possible stereoisomers in high enantio-purity.

Structure-Activity Relationship Explorations and Discovery of a Potent Antagonist for the Free Fatty Acid Receptor 2

Free fatty acid receptor 2 (FFA2) is a sensor for short-chain fatty acids that has been identified as an interesting potential drug target for treatment of metabolic and inflammatory diseases. Although several ligand series are known for the receptor, there is still a need for improved compounds. One of the most potent and frequently used antagonists is the amide-substituted phenylbutanoic acid known as CATPB ( 1 ). We here report the structure-activity relationship exploration of this compound, leading to the identification of homologues with increased potency. The preferred compound 37 (TUG-1958) was found, besides improved potency, to have high solubility and favorable pharmacokinetic properties.

NHC-Copper-Catalyzed Asymmetric Dearomative Silylation of Indoles

We report an asymmetric dearomative silylation reaction of 3-acylindoles using a chiral NHC-copper(I) complex as catalyst to afford a range of cyclic α-aminosilanes with high regio- and enantioselectivity. Initial mechanistic studies revealed that the observed high diastereoselectivity was attributed to the facile epimerization of the 3-acyl group. We also demonstrated that the product could be used as a versatile precursor for the synthesis of functionalized indolines in high enantiomeric purity.

A practical approach to asymmetric synthesis of dolastatin 10

Dolastatin 10, an antineoplastic agent for cancer chemotherapy, is a linear peptide possessing N,N-dimethyl Val-OH, l-valine, (3R,4S,5S)-dolaisoleucine, (2R,3R,4S)-dolaproine and (S)-dolaphenine. Our efficient synthesis includes the following three key features: (1) SmI₂-induced cross-coupling was employed to couple aldehyde 11 with (S)-N-tert-butanesulfinyl imine 12 to generate the required stereocenters of Dap (7); (2) asymmetric addition of chiral N-sulfinyl imine 10 provided a straightforward approach to the synthesis of the protected Doe ((S,S)-8); (3) a practical method to the key subunit Val-Dil (24a) has been established as an alternative synthetic route for the synthesis of this challenging chemical structure.

Progress in the medicinal chemistry of silicon: C/Si exchange and beyond

Application of silyl functionalities is one of the most promising strategies among various ‘elements chemistry’ approaches for the development of novel and distinctive drug candidates. Replacement of one or more carbon atoms of various biologically active compounds with silicon (so-called sila-substitution) has been intensively studied for decades, and is often effective for alteration of activity profile and improvement of metabolic profile. In addition to simple C/Si exchange, several novel approaches for utilizing silicon in medicinal chemistry have been suggested in recent years, focusing on the intrinsic differences between silicon and carbon. Sila-substitution offers great potential for enlarging the chemical space of medicinal chemistry, and provides many options for structural development of drug candidates.

Ru(ii)-Pheox-catalyzed Si–H insertion reaction: construction of enantioenriched carbon and silicon centers

We established a highly enantioselective Si–H insertion reaction to construct chiral centers at the carbon and silicon atoms, using a Ru(ii)–Pheox catalyst.

Synthesis of β-Boryl-α-Aminosilanes by Copper-Catalyzed Aminoboration of Vinylsilanes

A copper-catalyzed regioselective and stereospecific aminoboration of vinylsilanes with bis(pinacolato)diboron (pinB-Bpin) and hydroxylamines has been developed. In the presence of a CuCl/MeO-dppbz catalyst, the boryl group and amino group are incorporated at the β position and α position, respectively, and the corresponding β-boryl-α-aminosilanes are obtained with good diastereoselectivity. The boryl group is a good latent functional group, and subsequent manipulations provide a variety of β-functionalized α-aminosilanes of great potential in medicinal chemistry. Additionally, preliminary application to asymmetric catalysis is also described.

Enantioselective synthesis of α-aminosilanes by copper-catalyzed hydroamination of vinylsilanes

The synthesis of α-aminosilanes by a highly enantio- and regioselective copper-catalyzed hydroamination of vinylsilanes is reported. The system employs Cu-DTBM-SEGPHOS as the catalyst, diethoxymethylsilane as the stoichiometric reductant, and O-benzoylhydroxylamines as the electrophilic nitrogen source. This hydroamination reaction is compatible with differentially substituted vinylsilanes, thus providing access to amino acid mimics and other valuable chiral organosilicon compounds.

Enantioselective addition of silicon nucleophiles to aldimines using a preformed NHC-Copper(I) complex as the catalyst

A remaining major challenge in the asymmetric addition of silicon nucleophiles to typical prochiral acceptors, the enantioselective 1,2-addition to aldimines, is addressed. Activation of the SiB bond in the silicon pronucleophile by a copper(I) alkoxide with McQuade's chiral six-membered N-heterocyclic carbene as a supporting ligand releases the silicon nucleophile, which adds to various aldimines with high levels of enantioselectivity. The new method provides a catalytic asymmetric access to α-silylated amines.

Efficient routes to carbon-silicon bond formation for the synthesis of silicon-containing peptides and azasilaheterocycles

Silasubstitution, where silicon is substituted for carbon at specific sites of the substrate, has become a growing practice in medicinal chemistry. Introducing silicon into bioactive compounds provides slight physical and electronic alterations to the parent compound, which in certain instances could make the substrate a more viable candidate for a drug target. One application is in the field of protease inhibition. Various silane diol isosteres can act as potent inhibitors of aspartic and metalloproteases because of their ability to mimic the high-energy tetrahedral intermediate in peptide bond hydrolysis. In particular, since 1998, the Sieburth group has prepared a number of functionalized peptide silane diol isosteres. In a seminal study, they demonstrated that these molecules can bind to the active site of the enzymes. Inspired by these results, we initiated a study to develop a concise and straightforward route to access highly functionalized silicon diol based peptidomimetic analogs, which we describe in this Account. The synthesis of such analogs is challenging because the dipeptide mimics require the formation of two carbon-silicon bonds as well as two chiral carbon centers. Our first strategy was to assemble the two C-Si bonds from diphenylsilane through an initial regioselective hydrosilylation step of a terminal alkene, followed by lithiation of the formed alkyldiphenylsilane by a simple lithium metal reduction. Subsequent diastereoselective addition of this silyllithium species to a tert-butylsulfinimine provided a rapid method to assemble the dipeptide mimic with stereochemical control at the new chiral carbon center adjacent to the silicon. This strategy worked with a wide range of functional groups. However, there were some limitations with the more elaborate targets. In particular, we needed to exchange the phenyl groups of the diphenylsilane with aryl groups that were more labile under acidic conditions in order to introduce Si-O bonds in the end product. We demonstrated that a variety of Ar(2)SiH(2) compounds with methyl substituents on the aromatic core could effectively undergo hydrosilylation and reductive lithiation with a soluble reducing agent, lithium naphthalenide. The electron-rich aromatic groups were more acid labile and, depending on the conditions, could produce either the silane diol or the silanol. In an alternative strategy, we used a highly regioselective Rh-catalyzed sequential double hydrosilylation to form the two C-Si bonds with a single catalyst. This approach is a more efficient, atom economical way to synthesize a wider range of highly functionalized organosilanes with the added possibility of extending this method into an asymmetric protocol. By this method, various functional groups that were not previously tolerated in the lithiation protocol, including OBn, OAc, furyl, and thiophenes, could now be incorporated. Hydrosilylation of a terminal olefin and a peptide functionalized with an enamide at the C-terminus achieved the desired silane in high yields in a one pot reaction without compromising the stereochemical integrity of the peptide. As an extension of this work, we used these methods to efficiently generate a variety of chiral azasilaheterocycles, including silapiperidines and silaindolizidines.

Serine protease inhibition by a silanediol peptidomimetic

Silanediol peptidomimetics are demonstrated to inhibit a serine protease. Asymmetric synthesis of the inhibitor was accomplished using Brown hydroboration and CBS reduction of an acylsilane intermediate. The silanediol product was found to inhibit the serine protease chymotrypsin with a K(i) of 107 nM. Inhibition of the enzyme may involve exchange of a silane hydroxyl with the active site serine nucleophile, contrasting with previous silanediol protease inhibitors.

Efficient, enantioselective assembly of silanediol protease inhibitors

A five-step assembly of silicon-protected dipeptide mimics from commercially available reagents is described. This methodology makes silanediol protease inhibitors readily available for the first time. The sequence features asymmetric hydrosilylation, a novel reduction of a silyl ether to a silyllithium reagent, and addition of this dianion to a sulfinimine, to produce the complete inhibitor skeleton with full control of stereochemistry. Oxidation of the primary alcohol to an acid completes the synthesis.