Belgin Canturk

Organotrifluoroborates and Monocoordinated Palladium Complexes as Catalysts—A Perfect Combination for Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling

Monocoordinated palladium catalysts derived from sterically hindered, electron-rich phosphines or N-heterocyclic carbenes have revolutionized the Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction. The emergence of organotrifluoroborates has provided important new perspectives for the organoboron component of these reactions. In combination, these two components prove to be extraordinarily powerful partners for cross-coupling reactions.

Scope of the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions of potassium heteroaryltrifluoroborates.

A wide variety of bench-stable potassium heteroaryltrifluoroborates were prepared, and general reaction conditions were developed for their cross-coupling to aryl and heteroaryl halides. The cross-coupled products were obtained in good to excellent yields. This method represents an efficient and facile installation of heterocyclic building blocks onto preexisting organic substructures.

Efficient Hydrolysis of Organotrifluoroborates via Silica Gel and Water

A general, mild, and efficient method for the hydrolysis of organotrifluoroborates to unveil boronic acids using silica gel and H(2)O was developed. This method proved to be tolerant of a broad range of aryl-, heteroaryl-, alkenyl-, and alkyltrifluoroborates as well as structurally diverse aminomethylated organotrifluoroborates. As anticipated, electron-rich substrates provided the corresponding boronic acids more readily than electron-poor substrates, owing to the resonance-stabilized difluoroborane intermediate. The method developed was expanded further for the conversion of organotrifluoroborates to the corresponding boronate esters.

Preparation of potassium alkoxymethyltrifluoroborates and their cross-coupling with aryl chlorides.

A wide variety of alkoxymethyltrifluoroborate substrates were prepared via SN2 displacement of potassium bromomethyltrifluoroborate with various alkoxides in excellent yields. These alkoxymethyltrifluoroborates were effectively cross-coupled with several aryl chlorides. This method provides a unique dissonant disconnect that allows greater flexibility in the design of new and improved synthetic pathways.

Discovery of Novel Dual Inhibitors of the Wild-Type and the Most Prevalent Drug-Resistant Mutant, S31N, of the M2 Proton Channel from Influenza A Virus

Anti-influenza drugs, amantadine and rimantadine, targeting the M2 channel from influenza A virus are no longer effective because of widespread drug resistance. S31N is the predominant and amantadine-resistant M2 mutant, present in almost all of the circulating influenza A strains as well as in the pandemic 2009 H1N1 and the highly pathogenic H5N1 flu strains. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop second-generation M2 inhibitors targeting the S31N mutant. However, the S31N mutant presents a huge challenge to drug discovery, and it has been considered undruggable for several decades. Using structural information, classical medicinal chemistry approaches, and M2-specific biological testing, we discovered benzyl-substituted amantadine derivatives with activity against both S31N and WT, among which 4-(adamantan-1-ylaminomethyl)-benzene-1,3-diol (44) is the most potent dual inhibitor. These inhibitors demonstrate that S31N is a druggable target and provide a new starting point to design novel M2 inhibitors that address the problem of drug-resistant influenza A infections.

Preparation of Potassium Azidoaryltrifluoroborates and Their Cross-Coupling with Aryl Halides

Potassium azidoaryltrifluoroborates have been prepared from the corresponding haloaryltrifluoroborates in 73-98% yields. Also, we successfully cross-coupled the azido-functionalized organotrifluoroborates and carried out a one-pot sequential cross-coupling/1,3-dipolar cycloaddition and a one-pot cross-coupling/azide reduction process.

Flipping in the Pore: Discovery of Dual Inhibitors That Bind in Different Orientations to the Wild-Type versus the Amantadine-Resistant S31N Mutant of the Influenza A Virus M2 Proton Channel.

Influenza virus infections lead to numerous deaths and millions of hospitalizations each year. One challenge facing anti-influenza drug development is the heterogeneity of the circulating influenza viruses, which comprise several strains with variable susceptibility to antiviral drugs. For example, the wild-type (WT) influenza A viruses, such as the seasonal H1N1, tend to be sensitive to antiviral drugs, amantadine and rimantadine, while the S31N mutant viruses, such as the pandemic 2009 H1N1 (H1N1pdm09) and seasonal H3N2, are resistant to this class of drugs. Thus, drugs targeting both WT and the S31N mutant are highly desired. We report our design of a novel class of dual inhibitors along with their ion channel blockage and antiviral activities. The potency of the most active compound 11 in inhibiting WT and the S31N mutant influenza viruses is comparable with that of amantadine in inhibiting WT influenza virus. Solution NMR studies and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of drug-M2 interactions supported our design hypothesis: namely, the dual inhibitor binds in the WT M2 channel with an aromatic group facing down toward the C-terminus, while the same drug binds in the S31N M2 channel with its aromatic group facing up toward the N-terminus. The flip-flop mode of drug binding correlates with the structure–activity relationship (SAR) and has paved the way for the next round of rational design of broad-spectrum antiviral drugs.

A Facile One-Pot Preparation of Potassium Hydroxyaryl- and (Hydroxyalkyl)aryltrifluoroborates

Potassium hydroxyaryl- and (hydroxyalkyl)aryltrifluoroborates have been prepared in a simple one-pot process from the corresponding hydroxy-substituted aryl halides in 51-98% yields through an in situ protection of the free hydroxyl group with t-BuLi. Also, we successfully performed a microwave-promoted Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction of these substrates with aryl- and alkenyl bromides in the presence of 0.5 mol % of Pd(OAc)2 catalyst without ligands.