Efficient chemoenzymatic dynamic kinetic resolution of 1-heteroaryl ethanols

Enzymatic synthesis of pyridine heterocyclic compounds and their thermal stability

An efficient method was discovered for catalyzing the esterification under air using Novozym 435 to obtain pyridine esters. The following conditions were found to be optimal: 60 mg of Novozyme 435, 5.0 mL of n-hexane, a molar ratio of 2:1 for nicotinic acids (0.4 mmol) to alcohols (0.2 mmol), 0.25 g of molecular sieve 3A, a revolution speed of 150 rpm, a reaction temperature of 50 °C, and reaction time of 48 h. Under nine cycles of Novozym 435, the 80 % yield was consistently obtained. Optimum conditions were used to synthesize 23 pyridine esters, including five novel compounds. Among them, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-olfactometry (GC-MS-O) showed phenethyl nicotinate (3g), (E)-hex-4-en-1-yl nicotinate (3m), and octyl nicotinate (3n) possessed strong aromas. Thermogravimetric analysis (TG) revealed that the compounds 3g, 3m and 3n exhibited stability at the specified temperature. This finding provides theoretical support for adding pyridine esters fragrance to high-temperature processed food.

Chemoenzymatic dynamic kinetic resolution: a powerful tool for the preparation of enantiomerically pure alcohols and amines

Chemoenzymatic dynamic kinetic resolution (DKR) constitutes a convenient and efficient method to access enantiomerically pure alcohol and amine derivatives. This Perspective highlights the work carried out within this field during the past two decades and pinpoints important avenues for future research. First, the Perspective will summarize the more developed area of alcohol DKR, by delineating the way from the earliest proof-of-concept protocols to the current state-of-the-art systems that allows for the highly efficient and selective preparation of a wide range of enantiomerically pure alcohol derivatives. Thereafter, the Perspective will focus on the more challenging DKR of amines, by presenting the currently available homogeneous and heterogeneous methods and their respective limitations. In these two parts, significant attention will be dedicated to the design of efficient racemization methods as an important means of developing milder DKR protocols. In the final part of the Perspective, a brief overview of the research that has been devoted toward improving enzymes as biocatalysts is presented.

#Nitrosocarbonyls 1: antiviral activity of N-(4-hydroxycyclohex-2-en-1-yl)quinoline-2-carboxamide against the influenza A virus H1N1

Influenza virus flu A H1N1 still remains a target for its inhibition with small molecules. Fleeting nitrosocarbonyl intermediates are at work in a short-cut synthesis of carbocyclic nucleoside analogues. The strategy of the synthetic approaches is presented along with the in vitro antiviral tests. The nucleoside derivatives were tested for their inhibitory activity against a variety of viruses. Promising antiviral activities were found for specific compounds in the case of flu A H1N1.

Design and synthesis of 3,5-disubstituted boron-containing 1,2,4-oxadiazoles as potential combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) analogs

We have designed and synthesized a small library of 3,5-disubstituted-1,2,4-oxadiazole containing combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) analogs. Our objective is to increase the efficacy of the CA-4 as an anti-tubulin and antimitotic agent by substituting the cis-alkene bond with one of its bioisosteres, the 1,2,4-oxadiazole ring. We also modified the substituents attached to both of the phenyl rings (ring A and B in Fig. 1) of CA-4 for the purpose of diversifying our analogs based on SAR. These compounds were synthesized via a coupling reaction between an amidoxime and a carboxylic acid in DMF solvent, with HOBt as a base, and utilizing EDCI as a coupling reagent. Using this protocol, we synthesized a small library of 10 compounds with moderate to good yields. A detailed biological study is currently undergoing in our laboratory to evaluate the activity of these compounds.

Design and synthesis of boron containing potential pan-RAR inverse agonists

We designed and successfully synthesized the compounds 5 and 8 as potential pan-RAR (retinoic acid receptor) agonists. These two compounds were designed based on an existing pan-RAR agonist (BMS493). We synthesized compound 5, in which the carboxylic acid group in BMS 493 was replaced by boronic ester; and compound 8, in which the double bond of BMS 493 was changed to an oxadiazole (as bioisosteres of double bond) ring. The two target molecules 5 and 8 were synthesized from the commercially available 7-bromo-4,4-dimethyl-3,4-dihydronaphthalen-1(2H)-one 1. Compound 1 was derivatized to intermediate 5,5-dimethyl-8-(phenylethynyl)-5,6-dihydronaphthalene-2 carbaldehyde 4 by using alkylation, dehydration, and metal exchange reactions. The intermediate 4 was further converted to 5 by using a Wittig reaction and to 8 by amide coupling and dehydration to give overall 18% and 33% yields, respectively, after 8 steps in each case.

Design and Synthesis of 3,5-Disubstituted 1,2,4-Oxadiazole Containing Retinoids from a Retinoic Acid Receptor Agonist

We previously synthesized novel retinoid libraries, and after screening for bioactivity found one compound BT10 that functions as a specific agonist for retinoic acid receptors. This lead compound was further derivatized using SAR and LRD to obtain 3,5-disubstituted-1,2,4-oxadiazole-containing retinoids. The new oxadiazole (amide bioisosters)-containing retinoids (compounds 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) were synthesized in 42-65% yield by reacting with (E)-4-((3-ethyl,2-4,4,4-trimethylcyclohex-2-enylidene)methyl)benzoic acid and phenyl substituted amidoxime in DMF using CDI as the coupling reagent. The biological activities of the synthesized compounds are currently being evaluated.