A short de novo synthesis of nucleoside analogs

Diversity-oriented synthesis of glycomimetics

Glycomimetics are structural mimics of naturally occurring carbohydrates and represent important therapeutic leads in several disease treatments. However, the structural and stereochemical complexity inherent to glycomimetics often challenges medicinal chemistry efforts and is incompatible with diversity-oriented synthesis approaches. Here, we describe a one-pot proline-catalyzed aldehyde α-functionalization/aldol reaction that produces an array of stereochemically well-defined glycomimetic building blocks containing fluoro, chloro, bromo, trifluoromethylthio and azodicarboxylate functional groups. Using density functional theory calculations, we demonstrate both steric and electrostatic interactions play key diastereodiscriminating roles in the dynamic kinetic resolution. The utility of this simple process for generating large and diverse libraries of glycomimetics is demonstrated in the rapid production of iminosugars, nucleoside analogues, carbasugars and carbohydrates from common intermediates.

Efficient synthesis of antiviral agent uprifosbuvir enabled by new synthetic methods

An efficient route to the HCV antiviral agent uprifosbuvir was developed in 5 steps from readily available uridine in 50% overall yield. This concise synthesis was achieved by development of several synthetic methods: (1) complexation-driven selective acyl migration/oxidation; (2) BSA-mediated cyclization to anhydrouridine; (3) hydrochlorination using FeCl₃/TMDSO; (4) dynamic stereoselective phosphoramidation using a chiral nucleophilic catalyst. The new route improves the yield of uprifosbuvir 50-fold over the previous manufacturing process and expands the tool set available for synthesis of antiviral nucleotides.

An efficient route to the HCV antiviral agent uprifosbuvir was developed in 5 steps from readily available uridine in 50% overall yield.

An orthogonal and reactivity-based one-pot glycosylation strategy for both glycan and nucleoside synthesis: access to TMG-chitotriomycin, lipochitooligosaccharides and capuramycin

Both glycans (O-glycosides) and nucleosides (N-glycosides) play important roles in numerous biological processes. Chemical synthesis is a reliable and effective means to solve the attainability issues of these essential biomolecules. However, due to the stereo- and regiochemical issues during glycan assembly, together with problems including the poor solubility and nucleophilicity of nucleobases in nucleoside synthesis, the development of one-pot glycosylation strategies toward efficient synthesis of both glycans and nucleosides remains poor and challenging. Here, we report the first orthogonal and reactivity-based one-pot glycosylation strategy suitable for both glycan and nucleoside synthesis on the basis of glycosyl ortho-(1-phenylvinyl)benzoates. This one-pot glycosylation strategy not only inherits the advantages including no aglycon transfers, no undesired interference of departing species, and no unpleasant odors associated with the previously developed orthogonal one-pot glycosylation strategy based on glycosyl ortho-alkynylbenzoates, but also highly expands the scope (glycans and nucleosides) and increases the number of leaving groups that could be employed for the multistep one-pot synthesis (up to the formation of four different glycosidic bonds). In particular, the current one-pot glycosylation strategy is successfully applied to the total synthesis of a promising tuberculosis drug lead capuramycin and the divergent and formal synthesis of TMG-chitotriomycin with potent and specific inhibition activities toward β-N-acetylglucosaminidases and important endosymbiotic lipochitooligosaccharides including the Nod factor and the Myc factor, which represents one of the most efficient and straightforward synthetic routes toward these biologically salient molecules.

Recent progress in non-native nucleic acid modifications

While Nature harnesses RNA and DNA to store, read and write genetic information, the inherent programmability, synthetic accessibility and wide functionality of these nucleic acids make them attractive tools for use in a vast array of applications.

Reverse C-glycosidase reaction provides C-nucleotide building blocks of xenobiotic nucleic acids

C-Analogues of the canonical N-nucleosides have considerable importance in medicinal chemistry and are promising building blocks of xenobiotic nucleic acids (XNA) in synthetic biology. Although well established for synthesis of N-nucleosides, biocatalytic methods are lacking in C-nucleoside synthetic chemistry. Here, we identify pseudouridine monophosphate C-glycosidase for selective 5-β-C-glycosylation of uracil and derivatives thereof from pentose 5-phosphate (D-ribose, 2-deoxy-D-ribose, D-arabinose, D-xylose) substrates. Substrate requirements of the enzymatic reaction are consistent with a Mannich-like addition between the pyrimidine nucleobase and the iminium intermediate of enzyme (Lys166) and open-chain pentose 5-phosphate. β-Elimination of the lysine and stereoselective ring closure give the product. We demonstrate phosphorylation-glycosylation cascade reactions for efficient, one-pot synthesis of C-nucleoside phosphates (yield: 33 - 94%) from unprotected sugar and nucleobase. We show incorporation of the enzymatically synthesized C-nucleotide triphosphates into nucleic acids by RNA polymerase. Collectively, these findings implement biocatalytic methodology for C-nucleotide synthesis which can facilitate XNA engineering for synthetic biology applications.

Synthesis and Conformational Analysis of Fluorinated Uridine Analogues Provide Insight into a Neighbouring-Group Participation Mechanism

Fluorinated nucleoside analogues have attracted much attention as anticancer and antiviral agents and as probes for enzymatic function. However, the lack of direct synthetic methods, especially for 2′,3′-dideoxy-2′,3′-difluoro nucleosides, hamper their practical utility. In order to design more efficient synthetic methods, a better understanding of the conformation and mechanism of formation of these molecules is important. Herein, we report the synthesis and conformational analysis of a 2′,3′-dideoxy-2′,3′-difluoro and a 2′-deoxy-2′-fluoro uridine derivative and provide an insight into the reaction mechanism. We suggest that the transformation most likely diverges from the S_N1 or S_N2 pathway, but instead operates via a neighbouring-group participation mechanism.