Murugan Muthukrishnan

A New Enantioselective Synthesis of the Anticonvulsant Drug Pregabalin (Lyrica) Based on a Hydrolytic Kinetic Resolution Method

A practical and efficient enantioselective synthesis of the anticonvulsant drug pregabalin is described for the first time using Jacobsens hydrolytic kinetic resolution of a terminal epoxide as a key step and a source of chirality.

A new and efficient enantioselective synthesis of both enantiomers of the calcium channel blocker bepridil

A concise and efficient enantioselective synthesis of both enantiomers of bepridil, a calcium channel blocker, is reported. Jacobsens hydrolytic kinetic resolution method was utilized to resolve racemic 2-(isobutoxymethyl)oxirane. The incorporation of the succinimide moiety by the Mitsunobu reaction, which was investigated in detail, occurred without any loss of enantioselectivity. Using this strategy, both enantiomers of the target molecule were obtained in good yield and with high enantiopurity (ee > 99%).

Identification of potent chromone embedded [1,2,3]-triazoles as novel anti-tubercular agents

A series of 20 novel chromone embedded [1,2,3]-triazoles derivatives were synthesized via an easy and convenient synthetic procedure starting from 2-hydroxy acetophenone. The in vitro anti-mycobacterial evaluation studies carried out in this work reveal that seven compounds exhibit significant inhibition against Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv strain with MIC in the range of 1.56–12.5 µg ml−1. Noticeably, compound 6s was the most potent compound in vitro with a MIC value of 1.56 µg ml−1. Molecular docking and chemoinformatics studies revealed that compound 6s displayed drug-like properties against the enoyl-acyl carrier protein reductase of M. tuberculosis further establishing its potential as a potent inhibitor.

Accessing α-Arylated Nitriles via BF3·OEt2 Catalyzed Cyanation of para-Quinone Methides Using tert-Butyl Isocyanide as a Cyanide Source

BF3·OEt2 catalyzed 1,6-conjugate addition of tert-butyl isocyanide to para-quinone methides and fuchsones for the synthesis of α-diaryl and α-triaryl nitriles has been reported. This protocol allows α-diaryl- and α-triaryl nitriles to be accessed in good to excellent yields and with a broad substrate scope, which could be further functionalized to give a versatile set of products. This is the first example wherein tert-butyl isocyanide has been used as a cyanide source for the 1,6-conjugate addition.