Rachel M. Witek

SYNTHETIC ROUTES TOWARDS TETRAZOLIUM AND TRIAZOLIUM DINITROMETHYLIDES

Tetrazolium-5-dinitromethylide sodium salt has been prepared (91%) by cyclization of 1-amino-1-hydrazino-2,2-dinitroethene with nitrous acid in water. 5-Imino-1-(hydroxyiminonitromethyl) derivatives were obtained by nitration of 2-(5-amino-1,3-dimethyl-1H-1,2,4-triazol-4-ium-4-yl)- and 2-(5-amino-4-methyl-1H-tetrazolium-1-yl)acetate complex salts. Treatment of 4-methyl-1-(2-oxopropyl)-1-tetrazolium methylsulfate with nitric and sulfuric acid gave methyl (3-nitro-1,2,4-oxadiazol-5-yl)amine (27%) probably via dinitromethylide followed by cyclization and loss of nitrogen.

The 1,4-benzodiazepine-2,5-dione small molecule template results in melanocortin receptor agonists with nanomolar potencies.

The melanocortin system consists of five seven-transmembrane spanning G-protein coupled receptors (MC1-5) that are stimulated by endogenous agonists and antagonized by the only two known endogenous antagonists of GPCRs, agouti and agouti-related protein (AGRP). These receptors have been associated with many physiological functions, including the involvement of the MC4R in feeding behavior and energy homeostasis, making this system an attractive target for the treatment of obesity. Small-molecule mimetics of endogenous ligands may result in the development of compounds with properties more suitable for use as therapeutic agents. The research presented herein involves the synthesis and analysis of 12 melanocortin receptor agonists using the 1,4-benzodiazepine-2,5-dione template and is the first report of these derivatives as melanocortin receptor agonists. Structure-activity relationship studies using this privileged structure template has resulted in molecules with molecular weights around 400 that possess nanomolar agonist potency at the melanocortin receptors examined in this study.

Synthesis and Characterization of Blowing Agents and Hypergolics

Twelve energetic additives 7–18 were synthesized and evaluated for use as blowing agents. All blowing agent candidates were characterized by NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, and impact sensitivity testing. The X-ray crystal structure of pyrazolium nitrate was also determined. Hypergolic compounds imidazolidine 38a , hexahydropyrimidine 38b , and pyrrolidine derivatives 42 were obtained in improved 80–90% yields by the reduction of the corresponding carbonyl compounds with lithium aluminum hydride in ether under reflux for 12 h. Ignition delays (τexp, μs) were determined for compounds 38a,b and 42 .

Incorporation of a bioactive reverse-turn heterocycle into a peptide template using solid-phase synthesis to probe melanocortin receptor selectivity and ligand conformations by 2D 1H NMR

By use of a solid-phase synthetic approach, a bioactive reverse turn heterocycle was incorporated into a cyclic peptide template to probe melanocortin receptor potency and ligand structural conformations. The five melanocortin receptor isoforms (MC1R-MC5R) are G-protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that are regulated by endogenous agonists and antagonists. This pathway is involved in pigmentation, weight, and energy homeostasis. Herein, we report novel analogues of the chimeric AGRP-melanocortin peptide template integrated with a small molecule moiety to probe the structural and functional consequences of the core His-Phe-Arg-Trp peptide domain using a reverse-turn heterocycle. A series of six compounds are reported that result in inactive to full agonists with nanomolar potency. Biophysical structural analysis [2D (1)H NMR and computer-assisted molecular modeling (CAMM)] were performed on selected analogues, resulting in the identification that these peptide-small molecule hybrids possessed increased flexibility and fewer discrete conformational families compared to the reference peptide and result in a novel template for further structure-function studies.

Structure-activity relationships of peptides incorporating a bioactive reverse-turn heterocycle at the melanocortin receptors: identification of a 5800-fold mouse melanocortin-3 receptor (mMC3R) selective antagonist/partial agonist versus the mouse melanocortin-4 receptor (mMC4R).

The melanocortin-3 (MC3) and melanocortin-4 (MC4) receptors regulate energy homeostasis, food intake, and associated physiological conditions. The melanocortin-4 receptor (MC4R) has been studied extensively. Less is known about specific physiological roles of the melanocortin-3 receptor (MC3R). A major obstacle to this lack of knowledge is attributed to a limited number of identified MC3R selective ligands. We previously reported a spatial scanning approach of a 10-membered thioether-heterocycle ring incorporated into a chimeric peptide template that identified a lead nM MC4R ligand. Upon the basis of those results, 17 compounds were designed and synthesized that focused upon modification in the pharmacophore domain. Notable results include the identification of a 0.13 nM potent 5800-fold mMC3R selective antagonist/slight partial agonist versus a 760 nM mMC4R full agonist (ligand 11). Biophysical experiments (two-dimensional (1)H NMR and computer-assisted molecular modeling) of this ligand resulted in the identification of an inverse γ-turn secondary structure in the ligand pharmacophore domain.