Lutz F. Tietze

MULTICOMPONENT DOMINO REACTIONS FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF BIOLOGICALLY ACTIVE NATURAL PRODUCTS AND DRUGS

A main issue in modern synthetic organic chemistry, which deals with the preparation of natural products, pharmaceuticals, diagnostics, agrochemicals, and other important materials, is the improvement of efficiency, the avoidance of toxic reagents, the reduction of waste, and the responsible treatment of our resources. One of the ways to fulfill these goals is the development and use of domino processes, which consist of several bond‐forming reactions and which allow the highly efficient synthesis of complex molecules starting from simple substrates. Herein, the combination of several catalytic bond‐forming transformations is clearly most appropriate. The synthesis of the enantiopure alkaloid (−)‐hirsutine 22, which has a strong inhibitorial effect on influenza A viruses, was accomplished using a biomimetic domino Knoevenagel‐hetero‐Diels Alder‐solvolysis‐hydrogenation process. In a similar way the alkaloids (+)‐dihydrocorynantheine 23 and (−)‐dihydroantirhine 24 as well as heterosteroids 62, D‐homosteroids 65 and 68, and azasteroids 25 are prepared. In addition, novel steroid alkaloids 26 are accessible by a combination of the formation of an iminium salt, a hydride shift, and an alkylation. The anti‐leukemic pentacyclic (−)‐cephalotaxine 27 is obtained by a combination of two Pd‐catalyzed reactions.

Domino reactions in the synthesis of heterocyclic natural products and analogs

Domino reactions are defined as processes of two or more bond-forming reactions under identical conditions, in which the subsequent transformation takes place at the functionalities obtained in the former transformation. They allow the efficient synthesis of complex molecules from simple substrates in an ecologically and economically favorable way. A very powerful domino process is the domino Knoevenagel–hetero-Diels–Alder reaction, in which an aldehyde or an beta-ketoester is condensed with a 1,3-dicarbonyl compound or a heteroanalog to give a 1-oxa-1,3-butadiene, which can undergo an inter- or intramolecular hetero-Diels–Alder reaction with dienophiles such as enol ethers or alkenes. The products are dihydropyrans, which can be transformed in a variety of ways. Thus, an extension of the process is the synthesis of highly substituted pyrrolidines, piperidines, and azepanes using aminoaldehydes. The process has also been employed for the enantioselective total synthesis of a variety of alkaloids, such as indol- and ipecacuanha alkaloids. In another domino process, erythrina and homoerythrina alkaloids have been prepared from simple phenylethylamines and ketoesters.

Domino reactions for library synthesis of small molecules in combinatorial chemistry.

Domino reactions are highly efficient processes that allow the synthesis of complex molecules starting from simple substrates, in a straightforward fashion. The transformations are extremely useful for the design of small-molecule libraries by combinatorial chemistry if multicomponent domino reactions are employed. The reactions can be performed in solution, as well as on solid support, and give access to highly diverse molecules; in addition, their use in automated synthesis is possible.

Synthesis and Photochemical Investigations of Tetrasubstituted Alkenes as Molecular Switches—The Effect of Substituents

Molecular switches based on helical tetrasubstituted alkenes, substituted with either electron-withdrawing (CF(3), F, CN; 2a-c, 3a,c) or -donating substituents (Me, OMe; 2d,e), have been synthesized from acyclic precursors 4 and 5 in a domino carbopalladation/Stille reaction. This palladium-catalyzed process allowed the rapid assembly of two C-C bonds, two six-membered rings, and the tetrasubstituted double bond in a completely diastereoselective fashion. The electronic effects of the substituents on the overall switching process were investigated by alternating irradiation of two different wavelength regions. Although the substituents had only a small influence on the absorption maxima, drastic differences in the switching behavior were observed.

Highly efficient synthesis of linear pyrrole oligomers by twofold Heck reactions.

The twofold Heck reaction of the vinylpyrroles 3a and 3b with the iodobenzenes 4a-c led to the linear pyrrole oligomers 5, 6, and 7. The synthesis of both symmetrical and unsymmetrical oligomers, such as 10a and 10b, was also accomplished by a Heck reaction of 8 and 9 and by a Heck reaction of 3a and 11 followed by a Wittig reaction and a second Heck reaction with 8. The pentacyclic oligomers 14 and 19 were prepared by a twofold Heck reaction of 13 with 4 and by a twofold Heck reaction of 15 with 16 followed by a Wittig reaction and a twofold Heck reaction with 8.

Highly Efficient, Enantioselective Total Synthesis of the Active Anti-Influenza A Virus Indole Alkaloid Hirsutine and Related Compounds by Domino Reactions

A very short reaction sequence consisting of a domino Knoevenagel/hetero-Diels–Alder reaction with subsequent solvolysis and hydrogenation, provides the indole alkaloid hirsutine, which greatly inhibits the growth of influenza A viruses, and related compounds in enantiomerically pure form (see reaction scheme). The facial differentiation of the cycloaddition can be reversed by simple variation of the substituents on the indole nitrogen atom (H/tBuOCO). Cbz=benzyloxycarbonyl.

Synthesis of chiroptical molecular switches by pd-catalyzed domino reactions.

New photochromic switches based on helical alkenes can quickly and efficiently be accessed by Pd-catalyzed domino reactions using a modular approach; this allows a wide variability in product formation with the advantages of a convergent synthetic route. The alkenes have been synthesized in excellent enantioselectivity and their switching properties assessed by stimulation with nanosecond laser pulses at two different wavelengths in over 1000 switching cycles.

Prodrugs for targeted tumor therapies: recent developments in ADEPT, GDEPT and PMT.

The treatment of cancer with common anti-proliferative agents generally suffers from an insufficient differentiation between normal and malignant cells which results in extensive side effects. To enhance the efficacy and reduce the normal tissue toxicity of anticancer drugs, numerous selective tumor therapies have emerged including the highly promising approaches ADEPT (Antibody-Directed Enzyme Prodrug Therapy), GDEPT (Gene-Directed Enzyme Prodrug Therapy) and PMT (Prodrug Monotherapy). These allow a selective release of cytotoxic agents from non-toxic prodrugs at the tumor site either by targeted antibody-enzyme conjugates, enzyme encoding genes or by exploiting physiological and metabolic aberrations in cancerous tissue. Herein, recent developments in the design and biological evaluation of prodrugs for use in ADEPT, GDEPT and PMT are reviewed. As a highlight, a series of novel glycosidic prodrugs based on the natural antibiotics CC-1065 and the duocarmycins will be discussed which show a therapeutic window of up to one million. Notably, the corresponding drugs have tremendously high cytotoxicities with IC(50) values of down to 110 fM.

Transcriptional Activation and Production of Tryptophan-Derived Secondary Metabolites in Arabidopsis Roots Contributes to the Defense against the Fungal Vascular Pathogen Verticillium longisporum

The soil-borne fungal pathogen Verticillium longisporum causes vascular disease on Brassicaceae host plants such as oilseed rape. The fungus colonizes the root xylem and moves upwards to the foliage where disease symptoms become visible. Using Arabidopsis as a model for early gene induction, we performed root transcriptome analyses in response to hyphal growth immediately after spore germination and during penetration of the root cortex, respectively. Infected roots showed a rapid reprogramming of gene expression such as activation of transcription factors, stress-, and defense-related genes. Here, we focused on the highly coordinated gene induction resulting in the production of tryptophan-derived secondary metabolites. Previous studies in leaves showed that enzymes encoded by CYP81F2 and PEN2 (PENETRATION2) execute the formation of antifungal indole glucosinolate (IGS) metabolites. In Verticillium-infected roots, we found transcriptional activation of CYP81F2 and the PEN2 homolog PEL1 (PEN2-LIKE1), but no increase in antifungal IGS breakdown products. In contrast, indole-3-carboxylic acid (I3CA) and the phytoalexin camalexin accumulated in infected roots but only camalexin inhibited Verticillium growth in vitro. Whereas genetic disruption of the individual metabolic pathways leading to either camalexin or CYP81F2-dependent IGS metabolites did not alter Verticillium-induced disease symptoms, a cyp79b2 cyp79b3 mutant impaired in both branches resulted in significantly enhanced susceptibility. Hence, our data provide an insight into root-specific early defenses and suggest tryptophan-derived metabolites as active antifungal compounds against a vascular pathogen.

Solid-phase synthesis of polymer-bound β-ketoesters and their application in the synthesis of structurally diverse pyrazolones

Abstract An efficient solid-phase synthesis of different polymer-bound β-ketoesters 7 is described using readily available acid chlorides 1 and haloalkanes 6 as building blocks. The corresponding pyrazolones 9 and 10 were obtained by mild acid catalyzed reaction with phenylhydrazine or by treatment with hydrazine under cyclisation and cleavage from the resin in high purity and good yield.