A Call for a Change in Policy Regarding the Necessity for SDE Tests to Validate the Veracity of the Outcome of Enantioselective Syntheses, the Inherent Chiral State of Natural Products, and Other Cases Involving Enantioenriched Samples

Altering the mobile phase composition to enhance self-disproportionation of enantiomers in achiral chromatography

The influence of mobile phase composition on the efficiency of enantiomer separation by achiral chromatography (ACh) was investigated. The separation was induced by the phenomenon of self-disproportionation of enantiomers (SDE) triggered by their homo and hetero-chiral interactions in an achiral environment. Typically, SDE occurs in apolar mobile phases of weak elution strength, which causes the separation time to extend and the process productivity to deteriorate. To mitigate that effect, we altered the content of a strong solvent (modifier) in the mobile phase by use of a solvent gradient in which the target enantiomer was separated in the presence of the weak solvent, whereas the unresolved mixture of enantiomers was eluted by increasing the modifier content in the mobile phase. This enabled accelerating the solute elution while preserving the separation selectivity. The approach was examined for the separation of nonracemic mixtures of two structurally different compounds that exhibited the SDE effect in ACh, i.e., metalaxyl (MX) and methyl p-tolyl sulfoxide (MTSO). The target compound of the separation was the more abundant enantiomer in the enantiomeric mixture. The process realization was preceded by the determination of the effect of the modifier content on the separation yield for enantiomeric mixtures of MX and MTSO of different enantiomeric excess (ee). In the case of MX, yield of the pure target enantiomer varied from 2 %, for the maximum concentration of the modifier, to 45 % for the minimum modifier concentration and the largest ee used in the experiments. In the case of MTSO, the yield varied from minimum 40 % to maximum 66 %. To predict the process, we employed a dynamic model, in which underlying thermodynamic dependencies were implemented.

Catalytic Asymmetric α-Functionalization of α-Branched Aldehydes

Aldehydes constitute a main class of organic compounds widely applied in synthesis. As such, catalyst-controlled enantioselective α-functionalization of aldehydes has attracted great interest over the years. In this context, α-branched aldehydes are especially challenging substrates because of reactivity and selectivity issues. Firstly, the transient trisubstituted enamines and enolates resulting upon treatment with an aminocatalyst or a base, respectively, would exhibit attenuated reactivity; secondly, mixtures of E- and Z-configured enamines/enolates may be formed; and third, effective face-discrimination on such trisubstituted sp2 carbon intermediates by the incoming electrophilic reagent is not trivial. Despite these issues, in the last 15 years, several catalytic approaches for the α-functionalization of prostereogenic α-branched aldehydes that proceed in useful yields and diastereo- and enantioselectivity have been uncovered. Developments include both organocatalytic and metal-catalyzed approaches as well as dual catalysis strategies for forging new carbon–carbon and carbon–heteroatom (C-O, N, S, F, Cl, Br, …) bond formation at Cα of the starting aldehyde. In this review, some key early contributions to the field are presented, but focus is on the most recent methods, mainly covering the literature from year 2014 onward.

Regioselective synthesis of enantiopure 1,2- and 1,3-dispirooxindoles along with a DFT study

In the present study, a library of important enantiopure dispirooxindole [indolizidine, pyrrolizidine, and pyrrolidine] derivatives with three or four contiguous and two quaternary stereogenic centers using different amino acids (pipecolic acid, sarcosine, proline and hydroxyproline) were synthesized in high yields (up to 96%) through a regio- and diastereoselective (up to 99 : 1) multicomponent 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition strategy. Based on the results, the alteration of amino acids led to a change in the regioselectivity and unusual regioisomers (pyrrolizidine versus indolizidine/pyrrolidine) were obtained to construct a novel enantiopure 1,3-dispirooxindole skeleton. The stereochemical outcome of the cycloaddition was determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and the self-disproportionation of enantiomers (SDE) test confirmed the enantiomeric purity of the desired products. The mechanism and differences in the regioselectivity of the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reactions between the stable azomethane ylides obtained from ninhydrin, pipecolinic acid, and proline with (E)-2-oxoindolin-3-ylideneacetyl sultam were theoretically studied through DFT calculations at the M06-2X/6-31G(d,p) level in methanol.

Experimental Determination of a Chiral Ternary Solubility Diagram and Its Interpretation in Gas Antisolvent Fractionation

Although crystallization has been widely applied for the enantiomeric enrichment of non-racemates both in research and in industrial applications, the physical-chemical background of chiral crystallizations is not as frequently discussed. A guide for the experimental determination of such phase equilibrium information is lacking. In the current paper, the experimental investigation of chiral melting phase equilibria, chiral solubility phase diagrams and their application in atmospheric and supercritical carbon dioxide-assisted enantiomeric enrichment is described and compared. Benzylammonium mandelate is a racemic compound; it shows eutectic behavior when molten. A similar eutonic composition was observed in its methanol phase diagram at 1 °C. The influence of the ternary solubility plot could be unequivocally discovered in atmospheric recrystallization experiments, which proved that the crystalline solid phase and the liquid phase were in an equilibrium. The interpretation of the results obtained at 20 MPa and 40 °C, using the methanol-carbon dioxide mixture as a pseudo-component, was more challenging. Although the eutonic composition was found to be the limiting enantiomeric excess value in this purification process as well, the high-pressure gas antisolvent fractionation results were only clearly thermodynamically controlled in certain concentration ranges.

The Latest FDA-Approved Pharmaceuticals Containing Fragments of Tailor-Made Amino Acids and Fluorine

Nowadays, the selective introduction of fluorine into bioactive compounds is a mature strategy in the design of drugs allowing to increase efficiency, biological half-life and bio-absorption. On the other hand, amino acids (AAs) represent one of the most ubiquitious classes of naturally occurring organic compounds, which are found in over 40% of newly marked small-molecule pharmaceutical drugs and medical formulations. The primary goal of this work is to underscore two major trends in the design of modern pharmaceuticals. The first is dealing with the unique structural characteristics provided by the structure of amino acids featuring an abundance of functionality and the presence of a stereogenic center, all of which bodes well for the successful development of targeted bioactivity. The second is related to fine-tuning the desired activity and pharmacokinetics by selective introduction of fluorine. Historically, both trends were developed separately as innovative and prolific approaches in modern drug design. However, in recent decades, these approaches are clearly converging leading to an ever-increasing number of newly approved pharmaceuticals containing both structural features of amino acids and fluorine.

Asymmetric Michael Addition in Synthesis of β-Substituted GABA Derivatives

γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA) represents one of the most prolific structural units widely used in the design of modern pharmaceuticals. For example, β-substituted GABA derivatives are found in numerous neurological drugs, such as baclofen, phenibut, tolibut, pregabalin, phenylpiracetam, brivaracetam, and rolipram, to mention just a few. In this review, we critically discuss the literature data reported on the preparation of substituted GABA derivatives using the Michael addition reaction as a key synthetic transformation. Special attention is paid to asymmetric methods featuring synthetically useful stereochemical outcomes and operational simplicity.

New pharmaceuticals approved by FDA in 2020: Small-molecule drugs derived from amino acids and related compounds

Amino acids (AAs) play an important role in the modern health industry as key synthetic precursors for pharmaceuticals, biomaterials, biosensors, and drug delivery systems. Currently, over 30% of small-molecule drugs contain residues of tailor-made AAs or derived from them amino-alcohols and di-amines. In this review article, we profile 12 AA-derived new pharmaceuticals approved by the FDA in 2020. These newly introduced drugs include Tazverik (epithelioid sarcoma), Gemtesa (overactive bladder), Zeposia (multiple sclerosis), Byfavo (induction and maintenance of procedural sedation), Cu 64 dotatate, and Gallium 68 PSMA-11 (both PET imaging), Rimegepant (acute migraine), Zepzelca (lung cancer), Remdesivir (COVID-19), Amisulpride (nausea and vomiting), Setmelanotide (obesity), and Lonafarnib (progeria syndrome). For each compound, we describe the spectrum of biological activity, medicinal chemistry discovery, and synthetic preparation.

Application of Polyamines and Amino Acid Derivatives Based on 2-Azabicycloalkane Backbone in Enantioselective Aldol Reaction

Carbon–carbon bond forming reactions, such as aldol reaction and condensation, belong to extremely desired transformations as manifested by >25,000 entries in SciFinder. Their stereoselective variant requires the use of an appropriate catalyst with a strictly defined structure. Hence, chiral 2-azabicycloalkane-based catalysts were designed, synthesized and tested in a stereoselective aldol reaction between cyclic/acyclic ketone and p-nitrobenzaldehyde both in organic and aqueous media. Among catalysts containing a chiral bicyclic backbone, amide based on 2-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octane and pyrrolidine units showed the best catalytic activity and afforded aldol product in excellent chemical yields (up to 95%) and good diastereo- and enantioselectivity (dr 22:78, ee up to 63%).