A click-and-release pyrrolysine analogue

What's the catch? A pyrrolysine analogue bearing a terminal alkyne and an ester functionality can be incorporated into recombinant proteins and render them amenable to capture by the click reaction and subsequent release through ester hydrolysis. The utility of this pyrrolysine-inspired technology is demonstrated for the identification of SUMOylation sites.

A pyrrolysine analogue for protein click chemistry

Ignoring the STOP sign: A pyrrolysine analogue bearing a terminal alkyne was site-specifically incorporated into recombinant calmodulin (CaM) through a UAG codon. The resulting protein was labeled with an azide-containing dye using a copper(I)-catalyzed click reaction. Subsequent application of an orthogonal cysteine tagging method yielded a CaM labeled with two distinct fluorophores that enabled its study by FRET spectroscopy.

Synthesis and Application of Quinazoline−Oxazoline-Containing (Quinazox) Ligands

A practical synthesis of potentially tridentate P,N,N-ligands containing two stereogenic elements incorporated into the axially chiral Quinazolinap and centrally chiral 2-oxazoline subunits is reported. The application of these novel hybrid ligands in Pd(0)-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation revealed the matched and mismatched diastereomer, dominant stereogenic element, as well as the effect of the oxazoline R substituent on the level of enantioselectivity (ee's up to 81%). [structure: see text]

Synthesis and Metalation of a Chiral, Pyridine-Strapped, Cyclic Bis(benzimidazole) Ligand

[reaction: see text] Synthesis of a chiral, strapped, cyclic bis(benzimidazole) ligand is reported. This compound forms a stable, Jahn-Teller-distorted, octahedral Cu(II) complex in which the elongated axis is positioned within the main macrocycle. The C(2)-symmetric bis(benzimidazole) core adopts a highly ruffled conformation with the ortho-substituted benzene rings located anti relative to the pyridine-bearing strap.

Ruffling-Induced Chirality: Synthesis, Metalation, and Optical Resolution of Highly Nonplanar, Cyclic, Benzimidazole-Based Ligands

Expedient five-step syntheses of a cyclic bis(benzimidazole)-based amide 5 and two sterically more hindered analogues 23-24 have been developed. These amides are chiral due to the inherent ruffling of the macrocyclic plane. Racemization of the optical antipodes of these compounds has been studied using dynamic chiral stationary phase HPLC. These studies reveal that, while the parent amide 5 racemizes rapidly, for the sterically more hindered amides 23-24, the rate of racemization is significantly reduced. Bis(benzimidazole)-based amides 5 and 23-24 form stable Ni(II) complexes 25-27, respectively. Like their parent ligands, complexes 25-27 are chiral due to their highly ruffled geometry. Studies of these complexes by chiral stationary phase HPLC reveal that metalation leads to a much lower rate of racemization. Incorporation of a strap can slow racemization even further. A series of strapped cyclic amides 54-57, along with their corresponding dimers 58-61, have been prepared. The rate of racemization for amides 54-57 is strongly dependent on the length of the strap. X-ray single-crystal structure analysis of the Ni(II) complex of strapped amide 54 reveals that the bis(benzimidazole) core retains its highly ruffled shape, with the two phenyl rings of the macrocycle located anti to the strap. Chiral separation of strapped ligands 54-57 and their corresponding Ni(II) complexes is shown to be facile by chiral stationary phase HPLC.

Intramolecular Aromatic Nucleophilic Substitution of the Benzimidazole-Activated Nitro Group

A wide range of 2-(2-nitrophenyl)-1H-benzimidazoles undergo high-yielding intramolecular S(N)Ar of nitrite with N-pendant alkoxides under mild conditions (DMF, rt). When this operationally simple process is carried out at elevated temperatures in the presence of excess NaH, the initially formed S(N)Ar products are converted to the corresponding N-vinyl-substituted 2-(2-hydroxyphenyl)-1H-benzimidazoles via base-catalyzed isomerization. [reaction: see text]

Energy barriers to rotation in axially chiral analogues of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine

The barriers to enantiomerization of a series of axially chiral biaryl analogues of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP) 1-10 were determined experimentally by means of dynamic HPLC measurements and racemization studies. The barriers to rotation in derivatives 1-6 (based on the bicyclic 5-azaindoline core) were lower than those in the corresponding derivatives 7-10 (based on the monocyclic DMAP core). Semiempirical (PM3), ab initio Hartree-Fock (HF/STO-3G), and density functional theory (DFT/B3LYP/6-31G*) calculations reveal that these differences in barriers to rotation are the result of differing degrees of hybridization of the non-pyridyl nitrogen in the enantiomerization transition states (TSs). The importance of heteroatom hybridization as a factor in determining nonsteric contributions to barriers to rotation in azabiaryls of this type is discussed.