Bifunctional aryloxyphosphoramidate prodrugs of 2'-C-Me-uridine: synthesis and anti-HCV activity

In an attempt to identify novel nucleoside phosphoramidate analogues for improving the anti-HCV activity of 2'-C-Me-uridine, we have synthesized for the first time a series of l-glutamic acid, l-serine, l-threonine and l-tyrosine containing aryloxyphosphoramidate prodrugs of 2'-C-Me-uridine. Evaluation of their activity against HCV revealed that they displayed very potent anti-HCV activity, with EC₅₀ values that are in the same range as of Sofosbuvir.

Facile synthesis of the NNRTI microbicide MC-1220 and synthesis of its phosphoramidate prodrugs

A facile and novel synthetic route to MC-1220 was achieved by condensation of 4,6-dichloro-N,N-5-trimethylpyrimidin-2-amine (1) with the sodium salt of 2,6-difluorophenylacetonitrile, followed by methylation and strong acidic hydrolysis. The prodrugs of MC-1220 were synthesized by reaction of chlorophosphoramidate derivatives (7a-e) or α-acetobromoglucose with the sodium salt of MC-1220. The stability and anti-HIV-1 activity of phosphoramidate prodrugs turned out to be comparable to those of the parent drug MC-1220.

Liquid chromatographic separation of phosphoramidate diastereomers on a polysaccharide-type chiral stationary phase

To improve the therapeutic potential of anti-HIV nucleoside analogues (d4T, AZT, 3TC and ddl), the delivery of the corresponding monophosphate from neutral, membrane-permeable prodrugs has been realised by the synthesis of lipophilic phosphoramidate triester prodrugs, such as the simple phenyl-L-alaninephosphate derivatives. However, the present non-stereoselective synthesis results in a mixture of 1:1 diastereomers, which differ from the configuration of the phosphorus atom asymmetric center. Since each diastereomer may have different biological activity and pharmacokinetic profile, analytical methods have to be developed for their separation. This work aims at showing the ability of a polysaccharide-type chiral stationary phase to resolve such diastereomers in reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography. The influence of operating parameters has been studied to optimise the separation; a thermodynamic approach has also been investigated to gain an insight in the retention mechanism of the prodrugs. Preliminary validation study (linearity, accuracy, repeatability) has yielded good results; in addition, the feasibility of HPLC-electrospray-mass spectrometry (HPLC-ESI-MS) coupling has been demonstrated and it is expected that this will lead to lower detection limits.

Synthesis and evaluation of novel amidate prodrugs of PMEA and PMPA

Some novel amidate prodrugs of PMEA and PMPA have been synthesised and tested in vitro for their biological activity. Compound 5 in particular showed greatly enhanced antiviral potency compared with the parent nucleotide analogue. In vitro enzymatic studies and structure-activity relationships indicate that the degradation mechanism of such prodrugs may be the same as that described for the phosphoramidate triesters of nucleotide analogues.

Practical synthesis, separation, and stereochemical assignment of the PMPA pro-drug GS-7340

The practical synthesis of a mixed phenoxy-amidate derivative of PMPA with high oral bioavailability and favorable pharmacokinetics is described. The non-stereoselective synthetic route produces a 1:1 mixture of two diastereomers at phosphorous. Simulated moving bed chromatography using Chiralpak AS enabled kilo-scale isolation of the more potent diastereomer (GS-7340). The GS-7340 phosphorous chiral center was found to be (S) by X-ray crystallography.

Pronucleotides: toward the in vivo delivery of antiviral and anticancer nucleotides

To overcome the many hurdles preventing the use of antiviral and anticancer nucleosides as therapeutics, the development of a prodrug methodology (i.e., pronucleotide) for the in vivo delivery of nucleotides has been proposed as a solution. The ideal pronucleotide should be non-toxic, stable in plasma and blood, capable of being i. v. and/or orally dosed, and intracellularly convertible to the corresponding nucleotide. Although this goal has yet to be achieved, many clever and imaginative pronucleotide approaches have been developed, which are likely to be important pharmacological tools. This review will discuss the major advances and future directions of the emerging field of antiviral and anticancer pronucleotide design and development.

Phosphoramidate derivatives of stavudine as inhibitors of HIV: unnatural amino acids may substitute for alanine

Some novel phosphoramidate derivatives of the nucleoside analogue stavudine have been prepared as membrane-soluble prodrugs of the bioactive free phosphate forms. Phenyl phosphates linked via nitrogen to methyl esterified amino acid analogues were studied, where the amino acid was an unnatural alpha-alkyl (or aryl) glycine or an alpha,alpha-dialkyl glycine. All compounds were characterized by a range of spectroscopic, spectrometric and analytical methods and were subjected to in vitro evaluation of their anti-human immunodeficiency virus efficacy. It is notable that certain unnatural amino acid derivatives could substitute for alanine with only a relatively small loss of activity and, moreover, that this activity did not fall-off with increasing alkyl chain length for the C2-C4 mono-alkyl series. These data are further probed by the application of our recently reported 31P-NMR-based carboxyl esterase assay, with informative results.

Synthesis and anti-HIV activity of some novel chain-extended phosphoramidate derivatives of d4T (stavudine): esterase hydrolysis as a rapid predictive test for antiviral potency

Novel chain-extended nucleoside phosphoramidates of the anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) drug d4T (stavudine) have been prepared as possible membrane-permeable prodrugs of the bio-active free 5'-monophosphates. Phosphorochloridate chemistry gave the target compounds in moderate to high yields, and all materials were fully characterized by spectroscopic and analytical methods. The compounds are related to the previously reported phenyl methoxyalaninyl derivative of d4T, which was shown to be a potent and selective inhibitor of HIV. In this study the amino acid nitrogen and ester moieties were separated by methylene spacers of between two and six carbon atoms. In vitro evaluation of these compounds indicated an almost complete lack of anti-HIV activity, the compounds being several orders of magnitude less potent than the corresponding alpha-amino acid derivatives. The reasons for the virtual lack of anti-HIV activity appear to involve poor enzyme-mediated hydrolysis.

Phosphoramidate derivatives of d4T as inhibitors of HIV: the effect of amino acid variation

Phosphoramidate derivatives of the nucleoside analogue, 2',3'-dideoxy-2',3'-didehydro thymidine (d4T) have been prepared as potential membrane-soluble pro-drugs of the big-active free phosphate forms. In particular phenyl phosphates, linked via nitrogen to methyl-esterified amino acids, were studied. All compounds were fully characterised by a range of methods (high-field multinuclear NMR, mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC)) and were subjected to in vitro evaluation of their anti-HIV efficacy. The nature of the amino acid appeared to be extremely important for the eventual antiviral action. Of the amino acids studied, L-alanine was the most efficacious, whilst L-proline and glycine were particularly poor. However, an unnatural amino acid moiety, dimethylglycine, could substitute for alanine with little or no loss of activity.