Michele Fiore

Photoinduced Thiol-Ene Coupling as a Click Ligation Tool for Thiodisaccharide Synthesis

The high efficiency and selectivity of the thiol-ene radical reaction has been validated by the photoinduced coupling of anomeric sugar thiols with sugar alkenes to give 1,6-linked S-disaccharides in good to excellent yields (76-92%) and high diastereoselectivities (up to 99%). The reaction appears to be well-qualified as an exemplar click process.

Single and dual glycoside clustering around calix(4)arene scaffolds via click thiol-ene coupling and azide-alkyne cycloaddition†

We present the first synthesis of calix[4]arene-based S-glycoclusters via photoinduced multiple thiol-ene coupling of tetra- and octa-allyl calix[4]arenes with peracetylated glucosyl thiol (67-88% yields). Moreover we describe the dual clustering at the upper and lower rim of a calix[4]arene with two different sugars (galactose and glucose) via sequential copper(i)-catalyzed azide-alkyne cycloaddition and photoinduced thiol-ene coupling.

Tetravalent glycocyclopeptide with nanomolar affinity to wheat germ agglutinin

A series of tetravalent glycocyclopeptides functionalized with GlcNAc was synthesized using copper(i)-catalysed alkyne-azide cycloaddition, oxime ligation and thiol-ene coupling. The binding ability of these compounds towards wheat germ agglutinin was studied by a competitive ELLA test and ITC experiments. While all compounds were able to inhibit WGA binding to GlcNAc-polymer coated surfaces at low concentrations, derivative 17 having an aliphatic spacer and thioether linkage was 4.9 × 10(6) times more potent on a per sugar basis than GlcNAc. This remarkably strong effect was confirmed by ITC experiments as these revealed an association constant of 9 nM for this compound, therefore presenting a gain of 200,000 times over GlcNAc. These results for compound 17 represent the highest binding properties reported for WGA.

Synthesis of heteroglycoclusters by using orthogonal chemoselective ligations

Summary Synthetic heteroglycoclusters are being subjected to increasing interest due to their potential to serve as selective ligands for carbohydrate-binding proteins. In this paper, we describe an expedient strategy to prepare cyclopeptides displaying well-defined distributions and combinations of carbohydrates. By using both oxime ligation and copper(I)-catalyzed alkyne–azide cycloaddition, two series of compounds bearing binary combinations of αMan, αFuc or βLac in an overall tetravalent presentation, and either 2:2 or 3:1 relative proportions, have been prepared.

Synthesis of multi-antigenic platforms as vaccine candidates against cancers

Cancer cells are characterized by the presence of diverse antigens on their surface. The combination of these structures in a single molecule represents an attractive strategy to obtain vaccine candidates with improved immunological properties. Herein we report the synthesis of a mixture of heterotopic platforms bearing the Tn and TF carbohydrate antigens and an immunostimulating poliovirus peptide.

Orthogonal dual thiol-chloroacetyl and thiol-ene couplings for the sequential one-pot assembly of heteroglycoclusters.

Summary We describe the first one-pot orthogonal strategy to prepare well-defined cyclopeptide-based heteroglycoclusters (hGCs) from glycosyl thiols. Both thiol–chloroactetyl coupling (TCC) and thiol–ene coupling (TEC) have been used to decorate cyclopeptides regioselectively with diverse combination of sugars. We demonstrate that the reaction sequence starting with TCC can be performed one-pot whereas the reverse sequence requires a purification step after the TEC reaction. The versatility of this orthogonal strategy has been demonstrated through the synthesis of diverse hGCs displaying alternating binary combinations of α-D-Man or β-D-GlcNAc, thus providing rapid access to attractive heteroglycosylated platforms for diverse biological applications.

Access to bifunctionalized biomolecular platforms using oxime ligation

This paper describes an efficient oxime ligation strategy to prepare multivalent conjugates wherein peptides alone or in combination with carbohydrate or oxime groups were coupled to a cyclopeptide scaffold. To demonstrate the versatility of this approach, two classes of conjugates have been prepared. In one class, we attached two or four peptide sequences to the cyclopeptide core together with free oxime groups, while the second class contains an additional substitution with four or two monosaccharides. The well-defined structure of these conjugates was confirmed by high-resolution mass spectrometry.

Aminooxylated Carbohydrates: Synthesis and Applications

Among other classes of biomolecules, carbohydrates and glycoconjugates are widely involved in numerous biological functions. In addition to addressing the related synthetic challenges, glycochemists have invested intense efforts in providing access to structures that can be used to study, activate, or inhibit these biological processes. Over the past few decades, aminooxylated carbohydrates have been found to be key building blocks for achieving these goals. This review provides the first in-depth overview covering several aspects related to the syntheses and applications of aminooxylated carbohydrates. After a brief introduction to oxime bonds and their relative stabilities compared to related C═N functions, synthetic aspects of oxime ligation and methodologies for introducing the aminooxy functionality onto both glycofuranosyls and glycopyranosyls are described. The subsequent section focuses on biological applications involving aminooxylated carbohydrates as components for the construcion of diverse architectures. Mimetics of natural structures represent useful tools for better understanding the features that drive carbohydrate-receptor interaction, their biological output and they also represent interesting structures with improved stability and tunable properties. In the next section, multivalent structures such as glycoclusters and glycodendrimers obtained through oxime ligation are described in terms of synthetic design and their biological applications such as immunomodulators. The second-to-last section discusses miscellaneous applications of oxime-based glycoconjugates, such as enantioselective catalysis and glycosylated oligonucleotides, and conclusions and perspectives are provided in the last section.

Multivalent Glycomimetics with Affinity and Selectivity toward Fucose-Binding Receptors from Emerging Pathogens

Bacterial and fungal pathogens involved in lung infection in cystic fibrosis patients utilize a particular family of glycan-binding proteins, characterized by the presentation of six fucose-binding sites on a ring-shaped scaffold. These lectins are attractive targets for anti-infectious compounds that could interfere in the recognition of host tissues by pathogens. The design of a cyclopeptide-based hexavalent structure allowed for the presentation of six fucose residues. The synthetic hexavalent compound displays liable geometry resulting in high-avidity binding by lectins from Aspergillus fumigatus and Burkholderia ambifaria. Replacing the fucose residue with a conformationally constrained fucomimetic does not alter the affinity and provides fine specificity with no binding to other fucose-specific lectins.

Role of a Preorganized Scaffold Presenting Four Residues of a GM-3 Lactone Mimetic on Melanoma Progression.

Two tetravalent architectures, the glycocalix 7 and the RAFT 9, presenting four residues of a GM-3 ganglioside lactone mimetic, target the host compartment of melanoma and significantly abrogate the effect induced by cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) contact + hypoxia in the motility and invasiveness of tumor cells. The data reported support the involvement of glycosphingolipids (GSLs) in hypoxia and show an interesting role played by compound 9 in targeting melanoma cells thereby interfering with melanoma progression. The unprecedented findings reported for the glycocluster 9 may contribute to the understanding of the critical and complex interactions between tumor cells and their local environment paving the way for new therapeutic agents.