Site-selective derivatization and remodeling of erythromycin A by using simple peptide-based chiral catalysts

Pursuit of Noncovalent Interactions for Strategic Site-Selective Catalysis

Selective reactions on structures of high complexity can move beyond the mind's eye and proof-of-principle. Enhanced understanding of noncovalent interactions and their interdependence, revealed through analysis of multiple parameters, should accelerate the discovery of efficient reactions in highly complex molecular environments.

Site-Selectivity Control in Organic Reactions: A Quest To Differentiate Reactivity among the Same Kind of Functional Groups

On our path to the perfection of organic synthesis lies the challenge of controlling site selectivity, which is the differentiation of reactivity among the same kind of functional groups. Overcoming this challenge would significantly enhance synthetic efficiency and minimize waste production, which in turn calls for the development of new catalysts, reagents, tactics, and innovative strategies.

Catalyst-Controlled Site-Selective Bond Activation

One ultimate goal of synthetic chemistry is to install or manipulate any functional group at any position of a molecule. This Account discusses the potential and possible approaches to use catalysis to enable a reaction to occur at one of many C-H bonds or at one of several nearly identical functional groups.

Harnessing non-covalent interactions to exert control over regioselectivity and site-selectivity in catalytic reactions

Asymmetric catalysis has been revolutionised by the realisation that attractive non-covalent interactions such as hydrogen bonds and ion pairs can act as powerful controllers of enantioselectivity when incorporated into appropriate small molecule chiral scaffolds. Given these tremendous advances it is surprising that there are still a relatively limited number of examples of non-covalent interactions being harnessed for control of regioselectivity or site-selectivity in catalysis, two other fundamental selectivity aspects facing the synthetic chemist. This perspective examines the progress that has been made in this area thus far using non-covalent interactions in conjunction with transition metal catalysis as well as in the context of purely organic catalysts. We hope this will highlight the great potential in this approach for designing selective catalytic reactions.

Diversity of Secondary Structure in Catalytic Peptides with β-Turn-Biased Sequences

X-ray crystallography has been applied to the structural analysis of a series of tetrapeptides that were previously assessed for catalytic activity in an atroposelective bromination reaction. Common to the series is a central Pro-Xaa sequence, where Pro is either l- or d-proline, which was chosen to favor nucleation of canonical β-turn secondary structures. Crystallographic analysis of 35 different peptide sequences revealed a range of conformational states. The observed differences appear not only in cases where the Pro-Xaa loop-region is altered, but also when seemingly subtle alterations to the flanking residues are introduced. In many instances, distinct conformers of the same sequence were observed, either as symmetry-independent molecules within the same unit cell or as polymorphs. Computational studies using DFT provided additional insight into the analysis of solid-state structural features. Select X-ray crystal structures were compared to the corresponding solution structures derived from measured proton chemical shifts, 3J-values, and 1H-1H-NOESY contacts. These findings imply that the conformational space available to simple peptide-based catalysts is more diverse than precedent might suggest. The direct observation of multiple ground state conformations for peptides of this family, as well as the dynamic processes associated with conformational equilibria, underscore not only the challenge of designing peptide-based catalysts, but also the difficulty in predicting their accessible transition states. These findings implicate the advantages of low-barrier interconversions between conformations of peptide-based catalysts for multistep, enantioselective reactions.

A catalytic enantioselective approach to tetrol bearing vicinal all-carbon quaternary stereogenic centers

The first highly enantioselective catalytic protocol for selective manipulation of tetrol benzylidene acetals through chiral phosphoric acid mediated oxidative desymmetrization is reported.

Enhanced site-selectivity in acylation reactions with substrate-optimized catalysts on solid supports

A concept for site-selective acylation is presented, using substrate-optimized DMAP–peptide conjugates on a solid support.

Late Stage Azidation of Complex Molecules

Selective functionalization of complex scaffolds is a promising approach to alter the pharmacological profiles of natural products and their derivatives. We report the site-selective azidation of benzylic and aliphatic C-H bonds in complex molecules catalyzed by the combination of Fe(OAc)₂ and a PyBox ligand. The same system also catalyzes the trifluoromethyl azidation of olefins to form derivatives of natural products containing both fluorine atoms and azides. In general, both reactions tolerate a wide range of functional groups and occur with predictable regioselectivity. Azides obtained by functionalization of C-H and C=C bonds were converted to the corresponding amines, amides, and triazoles, thus providing a wide variety of nitrogen-containing complex molecules.

Enantioselective synthesis of an ophiobolin sesterterpene via a programmed radical cascade

Cyclase enzymes weave simple polyprenyl chains into the elaborate polycyclic ring systems of terpenes, a sequence that is often difficult to emulate under abiotic conditions. Here we report a disparate synthetic approach to complex terpenes whereby simple prenyl-derived chains are cyclized using radical, rather than cationic, reaction pathways. This strategy allowed us to efficiently forge the intricate 5-8-5 fused ring systems found in numerous complex natural product classes and also enabled a nine-step total synthesis of (-)-6-epi-ophiobolin N, a member of the large family of cytotoxic ophiobolin sesterterpenes. A small-molecule thiol catalyst was found to override the inherent diastereoselectivity observed during a reductive radical cascade cyclization process. This work lays the foundation for efficient synthesis of terpenoid ring systems of interest in medicinal research, particularly those that have been historically challenging to access.

Exploring Cooperative Effects in Oxidative NHC Catalysis: Regioselective Acylation of Carbohydrates

The utility of oxidative NHC catalysis for both the regioselective and chemoselective functionalization of carbohydrates is explored. Chiral NHCs allow for the highly regioselective oxidative esterification of various carbohydrates using aldehydes as acylation precursors. The transformation was also shown to be amenable to both cis/trans diol isomers, free amino groups, and selective for specific sugar epimers in competition experiments. Efficiency and regioselectivity of the acylation can be improved upon using two different NHC catalysts that act cooperatively. The potential of the method is documented by the regioselective acylation of an amino-linked neodisaccharide.

Site-Selective Acylations with Tailor-Made Catalysts

The acylation of alcohols catalyzed by N,N-dimethylamino pyridine (DMAP) is, despite its widespread use, sometimes confronted with substrate-specific problems: For example, target compounds with multiple hydroxy groups may show insufficient selectivity for one hydroxyl, and the resulting product mixtures are hardly separable. Here we describe a concept that aims at tailor-made catalysts for the site-specific acylation. To this end, we introduce a catalyst library where each entry is constructed by connecting a variable and readily tuned peptide scaffold with a catalytically active unit based on DMAP. For selected examples, we demonstrate how library screening leads to the identification of optimized catalysts, and the substrates of interest can be converted with a markedly enhanced site-selectivity compared with only DMAP. Furthermore, substrate-optimized catalysts of this type can be used to selectively convert "their" substrate in the presence of structurally similar compounds, an important requisite for reactions with mixtures of substances.

Aqueous Glycosylation of Unprotected Sucrose Employing Glycosyl Fluorides in the Presence of Calcium Ion and Trimethylamine

We report a synthetic glycosylation reaction between sucrosyl acceptors and glycosyl fluoride donors to yield the derived trisaccharides. This reaction proceeds at room temperature in an aqueous solvent mixture. Calcium salts and a tertiary amine base promote the reaction with high site-selectivity for either the 3'-position or 1'-position of the fructofuranoside unit. Because nonenzymatic aqueous oligosaccharide syntheses are underdeveloped, mechanistic studies were carried out in order to identify the origin of the selectivity, which we hypothesized was related to the structure of the hydroxyl group array in sucrose. The solution conformation of various monodeoxysucrose analogs revealed the co-operative nature of the hydroxyl groups in mediating both this aqueous glycosyl bond-forming reaction and the site-selectivity at the same time.

Π-Clamp-mediated cysteine conjugation

Site-selective functionalization of complex molecules is one of the most significant challenges in chemistry. Typically, protecting groups or catalysts must be used to enable the selective modification of one site among many that are similarly reactive, and general strategies that selectively tune the local chemical environment around a target site are rare. Here, we show a four-amino-acid sequence (Phe-Cys-Pro-Phe), which we call the 'π-clamp', that tunes the reactivity of its cysteine thiol for site-selective conjugation with perfluoroaromatic reagents. We use the π-clamp to selectively modify one cysteine site in proteins containing multiple endogenous cysteine residues. These examples include antibodies and cysteine-based enzymes that would be difficult to modify selectively using standard cysteine-based methods. Antibodies modified using the π-clamp retained binding affinity to their targets, enabling the synthesis of site-specific antibody-drug conjugates for selective killing of HER2-positive breast cancer cells. The π-clamp is an unexpected approach to mediate site-selective chemistry and provides new avenues to modify biomolecules for research and therapeutics.

Asymmetric Iridium-Catalyzed C-C Coupling of Chiral Diols via Site-Selective Redox-Triggered Carbonyl Addition

Cyclometalated π-allyliridium C,O-benzoate complexes modified by axially chiral chelating phosphine ligands display a pronounced kinetic preference for primary alcohol dehydrogenation, enabling highly site-selective redox-triggered carbonyl additions of chiral primary-secondary 1,3-diols with exceptional levels of catalyst-directed diastereoselectivity. Unlike conventional methods for carbonyl allylation, the present redox-triggered alcohol C-H functionalizations bypass the use of protecting groups, premetalated reagents, and discrete alcohol-to-aldehyde redox reactions.

Mini-ISES identifies promising carbafructopyranose-based salens for asymmetric catalysis: Tuning ligand shape via the anomeric effect

This study introduces new methods of screening for and tuning chiral space and in so doing identifies a promising set of chiral ligands for asymmetric synthesis. The carbafructopyranosyl-1,2-diamine(s) and salens constructed therefrom are particularly compelling. It is shown that by removing the native anomeric effect in this ligand family, one can tune chiral ligand shape and improve chiral bias. This concept is demonstrated by a combination of (i) x-ray crystallographic structure determination, (ii) assessment of catalytic performance, and (iii) consideration of the anomeric effect and its underlying dipolar basis. The title ligands were identified by a new mini version of the in situ enzymatic screening (ISES) procedure through which catalyst-ligand combinations are screened in parallel, and information on relative rate and enantioselectivity is obtained in real time, without the need to quench reactions or draw aliquots. Mini-ISES brings the technique into the nanomole regime (200 to 350 nmol catalyst/20 μml organic volume) commensurate with emerging trends in reaction development/process chemistry. The best-performing β-d-carbafructopyranosyl-1,2-diamine-derived salen ligand discovered here outperforms the best known organometallic and enzymatic catalysts for the hydrolytic kinetic resolution of 3-phenylpropylene oxide, one of several substrates examined for which the ligand is "matched." This ligand scaffold defines a new swath of chiral space, and anomeric effect tunability defines a new concept in shaping that chiral space. Both this ligand set and the anomeric shape-tuning concept are expected to find broad application, given the value of chiral 1,2-diamines and salens constructed from these in asymmetric catalysis.

Diastereo- and Enantioselective Iridium Catalyzed Coupling of Vinyl Aziridines with Alcohols: Site-Selective Modification of Unprotected Diols and Synthesis of Substituted Piperidines

The chiral cyclometalated π-allyliridium ortho-C,O-benzoate complex (R)-Ir-VIb derived from [Ir(cod)Cl]2, allyl acetate, 4-cyano-3-nitro-benzoic acid, and (R)-MeO-BIPHEP catalyzes the coupling of N-(p-nitrophenylsulfonyl) protected vinyl aziridine 3a with primary alcohols 1a-1l to furnish branched products of C-C bond formation 4a-4l with good levels of anti-diastereo- and enantioselectivity. In the presence of 2-propanol, but under otherwise identical conditions, vinyl aziridine 3a and aldehydes 2a-2l engage in reductive coupling to furnish an equivalent set of adducts 4a-4l with roughly equivalent levels of anti-diastereo- and enantioselectivity. Using enantiomeric iridium catalysts, vinyl aziridine 3a reacts with unprotected chiral 1,3-diols 1m-1o in a site-selective manner to deliver the diastereomeric products of C-allylation syn-4m, -4n, -4o and anti-4m, -4n, -4o, respectively, with good isolated yields and excellent levels of catalyst-directed diastereoselectivity. These adducts were directly converted to the diastereomeric 2,4,5-trisubstituted piperidines syn-5m, -5n, -5o and anti-5m, -5n, -5o.

Opportunities for synthetic biology in antibiotics: expanding glycopeptide chemical diversity

Synthetic biology offers a new path for the exploitation and improvement of natural products to address the growing crisis in antibiotic resistance. All antibiotics in clinical use are facing eventual obsolesce as a result of the evolution and dissemination of resistance mechanisms, yet there are few new drug leads forthcoming from the pharmaceutical sector. Natural products of microbial origin have proven over the past 70 years to be the wellspring of antimicrobial drugs. Harnessing synthetic biology thinking and strategies can provide new molecules and expand chemical diversity of known antibiotic scaffolds to provide much needed new drug leads. The glycopeptide antibiotics offer paradigmatic scaffolds suitable for such an approach. We review these strategies here using the glycopeptides as an example and demonstrate how synthetic biology can expand antibiotic chemical diversity to help address the growing resistance crisis.

Structure diversification of vancomycin through peptide-catalyzed, site-selective lipidation: a catalysis-based approach to combat glycopeptide-resistant pathogens

The emergence of antibiotic-resistant infections highlights the need for novel antibiotic leads, perhaps with a broader spectrum of activity. Herein, we disclose a semisynthetic, catalytic approach for structure diversification of vancomycin. We have identified three unique peptide catalysts that exhibit site-selectivity for the lipidation of the aliphatic hydroxyls on vancomycin, generating three new derivatives 9a, 9b, and 9c. Incorporation of lipid chains into the vancomycin scaffold provides promising improvement of its bioactivity against vancomycin-resistant enterococci (Van A and Van B phenotypes of VRE). The MICs for 9a, 9b, and 9c against MRSA and VRE (Van B phenotype) range from 0.12 to 0.25 μg/mL. We have also performed a structure-activity relationship (SAR) study to investigate the effect of lipid chain length at the newly accessible G4-OH derivatization site.

Catalyst-controlled divergence in cycloisomerisation reactions of N-propargyl-N-vinyl sulfonamides: gold-catalysed synthesis of 2-sulfonylmethyl pyrroles and dihydropyridines

Gold-catalysed, divergent synthesis of 2-sulfonylmethyl pyrroles and dihydropyridines from readily available N-propargyl-N-vinyl sulfonamides is reported.

Macrocycles: lessons from the distant past, recent developments, and future directions

A noticeable increase in molecular complexity of drug targets has created an unmet need in the therapeutic agents that are larger than traditional small molecules. Macrocycles, which are cyclic compounds comprising 12 atoms or more, are now recognized as molecules that "are up to the task" to interrogate extended protein interfaces. However, because macrocycles (particularly the ones based on peptides) are equipped with large polar surface areas, achieving cellular permeability and bioavailability is anything but straightforward. While one might consider this to be the Achilles' heel of this class of compounds, the synthetic community continues to develop creative approaches toward the synthesis of macrocycles and their site-selective modification. This perspective provides an overview of both mechanistic and structural issues that bear on macrocycles as a unique class of molecules. The reader is offered a historical foray into some of the classic studies that have resulted in the current renaissance of macrocycles. In addition, an attempt is made to overview the more recent developments that give hope that macrocycles might indeed turn into a useful therapeutic modality.

Catalyst-directed diastereo- and site-selectivity in successive nucleophilic and electrophilic allylations of chiral 1,3-diols: protecting-group-free synthesis of substituted pyrans

The iridium-catalyzed, protecting group-free synthesis of 4-hydroxy-2,6-cis- or trans-pyrans through successive nucleophilic and electrophilic allylations of chiral 1,3-diols occurs with complete levels of catalyst-directed diastereoselectivity in the absence of protecting groups, premetallated reagents, or discrete alcohol-to-aldehyde redox reactions.

X-ray crystal structure of teicoplanin A₂-2 bound to a catalytic peptide sequence via the carrier protein strategy

We report the X-ray crystal structure of a site-selective peptide catalyst moiety and teicoplanin A₂-2 complex. The expressed protein ligation technique was used to couple T4 lysozyme (T4L) and a synthetic peptide catalyst responsible for the selective phosphorylation of the N-acetylglucosamine sugar in a teicoplanin A₂-2 derivative. The T4L-Pmh-dPro-Aib-dAla-dAla construct was crystallized in the presence of teicoplanin A₂-2. The resulting 2.3 Å resolution protein–peptide–teicoplanin complex crystal structure revealed that the nucleophilic nitrogen of N-methylimidazole in the Pmh residue is in closer proximity (7.6 Å) to the N-acetylglucosamine than the two other sugar rings present in teicoplanin (9.3 and 20.3 Å, respectively). This molecular arrangement is consistent with the observed selectivity afforded by the peptide-based catalyst when it is applied to a site-selective phosphorylation reaction involving a teicoplanin A₂-2 derivative.

Peptide-catalyzed consecutive 1,6- and 1,4-additions of thiols to α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated aldehydes

Regio- and enantioselective addition of thiols to α,β,γ,δ-unsaturated aldehydes was performed with a resin-supported peptide catalyst. It was shown that a 1,4-adduct was generated mainly at the initial stage of the reaction, and this was eventually converted to a thermodynamically stable 1,6- and 1,4-diadduct through retro-addition/addition reactions.

Experimental lineage and functional analysis of a remotely directed peptide epoxidation catalyst

We describe mechanistic investigations of a catalyst (1) that leads to selective epoxidation of farnesol at the 6,7-position, remote from the hydroxyl directing group. The experimental lineage of peptide 1 and a number of resin-bound peptide analogues were examined to reveal the importance of four N-terminal residues. We examined the selectivity of truncated analogues to find that a trimer is sufficient to furnish the remote selectivity. Both 1D and 2D ¹H NMR studies were used to determine possible catalyst conformations, culminating in proposed models showing possible interactions of farnesol with a protected Thr side chain and backbone NH. The models were used to rationalize the selectivity of a modified catalyst (17) for the 6,7-position relative to an ether moiety in two related substrates.

Recognition and site-selective transformation of monosaccharides by using copper(II) catalysis

We demonstrate copper(II)-catalyzed acylation and tosylation of monosaccharides. Various carbohydrate derivatives, including glucopyranosides and ribofuranosides, are obtained in high yields and regioselectivities. Using this versatile strategy, the site of acylation can be switched by choice of ligand. Preliminary mechanistic studies support nucleophilic addition of a copper-sugar complex to the acyl chloride to be turnover limiting.

Chemo- and site-selective derivatizations of natural products enabling biological studies

Bioactive natural products and derivatives remain an enduring starting point for the discovery of new cellular targets for disease intervention and lead compounds for the development of new therapeutic agents. The former goal is accomplished through the synthesis of bioactive cellular probes from natural products, enabling insights into the mechanism of action of these natural products by classical affinity chromatography or more recent proteome profiling methods. However, the direct and selective modification of native natural products for these purposes remains a challenge due to the structural complexity and the wide functional group diversity found in these natural substances. The lack of selective synthetic methods available to directly manipulate unprotected complex small molecules, in particular to perform structure-activity relationship studies and prepare appropriate cellular probes, has recently begun to be addressed, benefitting from the broader emerging area of chemoselective synthetic methodology. Thus, new reagents, catalysts and reaction processes are enabling both chemo- and site-selective modifications of complex, native natural products. In this review, we describe selected recent examples of these functionalization strategies in this emerging area.

Fluorescent analog of OSW-1 and its cellular localization

OSW-1 is a steroidal saponin, which has emerged as an attractive anticancer agent with highly cancer cell selective activity. A fluorescent analog was prepared from the natural product to analyze its cellular uptake and localization. We found that the fluorescent analog is rapidly internalized into cells and is primarily distributed in endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus.

Peptide-catalyzed kinetic resolution of planar-chiral metallocenes

Kinetic resolution of racemic planar-chiral metallocenes was performed by a resin-supported peptide catalyst, in which low-molecular-weight organocatalysts were not effective.

Benzoyl methyl phosphate as an efficient reagent for the selective monobenzoylation of N-Bz-FTY720

A novel and efficient method for the selective monobenzoylation of N-Bz-FTY720 with benzoyl methyl phosphate (BMP) promoted by Zn(OAc)₂ and Cs₂CO₃ was developed. Benzoyl methyl phosphate plays an important role as a biomimetic acylating agent for the monobenzoylation of 1,3-diols.

Short peptide tag for covalent protein labeling based on coiled coils

To label proteins covalently, one faces a trade-off between labeling a protein specifically and using a small tag. Often one must compromise one parameter for the other or use additional components, such as an enzyme, to satisfy both requirements. Here, we report a new reaction that covalently labels proteins by using engineered coiled-coil peptides. Harnessing the concept of "proximity-induced reactivity", the 21-amino-acid three-heptad peptides CCE/CCK were modified with a nucleophilic cysteine and an α-chloroacetyl group at selected positions. When pairs of coiled coils associated, an irreversible covalent bond spontaneously formed between the peptides. The specificity of the cross-linking reaction was characterized, the probes were improved by making them bivalent, and the system was used to label a protein in vitro and receptors on the surface of mammalian cells.

Chiral copper(II) complex-catalyzed reactions of partially protected carbohydrates

Catalyst-controlled regioselective functionalization of partially protected saccharide molecules is a highly important yet under-developed area of carbohydrate chemistry. Such reactions allow for the reduction of protecting group manipulation steps required in syntheses involving sugars. Herein, an approach to these processes using enantiopure copper-bis(oxazoline) catalysts to control couplings of electrophiles to various partially protected sugars is reported. In a number of cases, divergent regioselectivity was observed as a function of the enantiomer of catalyst that is used.

Catalyst-controlled aliphatic C-H oxidations with a predictive model for site-selectivity

Selective aliphatic C-H bond oxidations may have a profound impact on synthesis because these bonds exist across all classes of organic molecules. Central to this goal are catalysts with broad substrate scope (small-molecule-like) that predictably enhance or overturn the substrate's inherent reactivity preference for oxidation (enzyme-like). We report a simple small-molecule, non-heme iron catalyst that achieves predictable catalyst-controlled site-selectivity in preparative yields over a range of topologically diverse substrates. A catalyst reactivity model quantitatively correlates the innate physical properties of the substrate to the site-selectivities observed as a function of the catalyst.