A versatile scaffold for site-specific modification of cyclic tetrapeptides

A novel scaffold that can be used to prepare conformationally homogeneous cyclic tetrapeptides equipped with a β-amino acid residue is disclosed. It is shown that regioselective structural modification can be accomplished using thiols and azide nucleophiles, commonly associated with rich downstream chemistry. The method should find application in efforts to constrain privileged tripeptide sequences in rigid molecular scaffolds.

Synthesis of α-amino acids by reaction of aziridine-2-carboxylic acids with carbon nucleophiles

A variety of homochiral alpha-amino acids have been prepared in good yield via regioselective reaction of higher order cuprates with (2S)-N-para-toluenesulfonylaziridine-2-carboxylic acid 4. The reaction was much less regioselective and low yielding when higher order cuprates were reacted with the more hindered aziridine carboxylic acid 30, the principal products being protected beta-amino acids. Reaction of lithium trimethylsilylacetylide with the aziridine acid 30, however, gave a protected alpha-amino acid which was converted to the protected isoleucine ester 37.

Aziridine carboxylate from d-glucose: synthesis of polyhydroxylated piperidine, pyrrolidine alkaloids and study of their glycosidase inhibition

The D-glucose derived aziridine carboxylate 5 was obtained from (E)-ethyl-6-bromo-1,2-O-isopropylidene-3-O-benzyl-5-deoxy-alpha-D-xylo-5-eno-heptofuranuronate 4 through conjugate addition of benzylamine and in situ intramolecular nucleophilic expulsion of bromine. The regioselective aziridine ring-opening, using water as a nucleophile, resulted in the alpha-hydroxy-beta-aminoester 6, which was exploited in the synthesis of six and five membered azasugars 1b/1c and 2b/2c, respectively. The glycosidase inhibitory activity of the title compounds was evaluated.

Total synthesis and revision of stereochemistry of the marine metabolite trunkamide A

The isolation of the cytotoxic Lissoclinum sp. metabolite trunkamide A was reported in 1996. After completion of a total synthesis in 1999, it became clear that the structure of this marine natural product had to be revised. We now report the first preparation of actual trunkamide A in a total synthesis that serves as an unambiguous structural and stereochemical proof. Highlights of our synthetic strategy are a Lewis acid assisted aziridine opening that was used for the preparation of the novel reverse-prenylated serine and threonine side chains as well as an efficient oxazoline-thiazoline interconversion on the macrocyclic skeleton. In addition, several stereoisomers prepared by complementary synthetic protocols serve to illustrate the general scope of our methodology and confirm the configurational assignment.

Preparation and Use of Aziridino Alcohols as Promoters for the Enantioselective Addition of Dialkylzinc Reagents to N-(Diphenylphosphinoyl) Imines

A set of chiral aziridino alcohols 2-5 has been synthesized starting from either readily available amino acids (L-serine, L-threonine, and allo-L-threonine) or simple olefins (using Sharpless asymmetric aminohydroxylation and dihydroxylation reactions). Chiral ligands 2-5 have been tested as promoters for the enantioselective addition of dialkylzinc reagents to N-(diphenylphosphinoyl) imines 1. The influence of the substituents on the aziridine ring and the alcohol moiety on the selectivity has been studied, and in the best case, an enantiomeric excess of up to 94% could be obtained. Acidic hydrolysis of the initially formed N-protected amines 6 led to the corresponding free amines 7 without racemization. Although a stoichiometric amount of the ligand was used, about 90% of it could be recovered during the workup and reused without significant loss of chiral induction. The utility of the aziridino alcohols 2-5 as catalysts for the same reaction has also been evaluated and enantiomeric excesses of up to 76% were achieved using 0.25 equiv of the chiral ligand. A possible transition state for the addition reaction is also proposed.

Solution conformation of the actinomycin D related pentapeptide lactone using NMR and molecular modeling

A detailed description of the two observed solution conformations of the pentapeptide lactone fragment of actinomycin D is presented using the distance constraints obtained from two-dimensional nuclear Overhauser enhancement spectra in combination with minimum energy calculations. Low energy conformational states that are compatible with the experimental distances are found for each of the two conformers. For one conformer, an all trans peptide bond conformer, is found with no intramolecular hydrogen bonds. For the other conformer, the D-Val-Pro and Pro-Sar peptide bonds were cis; this solution conformation is the same as that found in both the crystal structure of the pentapeptide lactone as well as of the native actinomycin D itself. These results are discussed in terms of the combined influence of conformation and the effects of mutual intramolecular association of the pentapeptide lactone moieties in native actinomycin D on its cytotoxic activity.

Slow O,N-acyl shift in an actinomycin-related peptide lactone

The pentapeptide lactone Cbz-(Thr-D-Val-Pro-Sar-MeAla-) was synthesized in order to observe the behavior of the unprotected lactone resulting from its hydrogenolytic deprotection. Closely related peptide lactones have been reported as intermediates in total syntheses of actinomycin D and its analogues, despite the fact that unprotected and unprotonated O-peptides of serine and threonine are known to undergo rapid O,N-acyl shift. In the present study the peptide lactone was seen to undergo a slow O,N-acyl shift, in a matter of hours, to the known cyclic pentapeptide. This contrasted with the rapid rearrangement of a model O-peptide, O-hippuryl-L-threonine methyl ester. This slowness of an O,N-acyl shift in a cyclic system presumably results from higher energy barriers of conformational origin. It explains the suitability of unprotected peptide lactones for the syntheses of actinomycins and other peptide lactone antibiotics which have appeared in the literature.