An efficient and versatile synthesis of all structural types of acylpolyamine spider toxins

General synthesis of β-alanine-containing spider polyamine toxins and discovery of nephila polyamine toxins 1 and 8 as highly potent inhibitors of ionotropic glutamate receptors

Certain spiders contain large pools of polyamine toxins, which are putative pharmacological tools awaiting further discovery. Here we present a general synthesis strategy for this class of toxins and prepare five structurally varied polyamine toxins. Electrophysiological testing at three ionotropic glutamate receptor subtypes reveals that two of these, Nephila polyamine toxins 1 (NPTX-1) and 8 (NPTX-8), comprise intriguing pharmacological activities by having subnanomolar IC(50) values at kainate receptors.

A concise entry into nonsymmetrical alkyl polyamines

The synthesis of nonsymmetrical polyamines (PAs) has, up to now, been problematic due to lengthy synthetic procedures, lack of regioselectivity, and very poor atom economy. An innovative synthetic protocol for nonsymmetrical PAs using a modified Ugi reaction ( N-split Ugi) which simplifies the synthesis of these tricky compounds is described. We believe that this new synthesis may open the door for the generation of new and pharmacologically active PAs.