Reductive Alkylation of Tertiary Lactams via Addition of Organocopper (RCu) Reagents to Thioiminium Ions

Novel Benzylated (Pyrrolidin-2-one)/(Imidazolidin-2-one) Derivatives as Potential Anti-Alzheimer's Agents: Synthesis and Pharmacological Investigations

A series of N-benzylated (pyrrolidin-2-one)/(imidazolidin-2-one) derivatives were synthesized and evaluated for anti-Alzheimer's activity. The analogs were designed and synthesized on the basis of lead compound donepezil, which is currently prescribed as a major drug for the management of mild to severe Alzheimer's disease. Considering the structure activity relationship (SAR) of the lead compound, we first replaced the 5,6-dimethoxy-1-indanone moiety with N-benzylated (pyrrolidin-2-one)/(imidazolidin-2-one) (head) without depriving the key functionality interactions like carbonyl and dimethoxyphenyl and second substituted the spacer linkage (tail) in donepezil. The newly synthesized compounds were characterized by structural conformity and purity using various techniques. The compounds were then subjected to in vivo (behavioral studies) and in vitro (biochemical assays) evaluation using appropriate animal models against the standard drug. Compounds 3-(4-(4-fluorobenzoyl)-piperidin-1-yl)-1-(4-methoxybenzyl)-pyrrolidin-2-one (10b) and 1-(3,4-dimethoxybenzyl)-3-((1-(2-(trifluoromethyl)-benzyl)-piperidin-4-yl)-methyl)-imidazolidin-2-one (18c) displayed an excellent anti-Alzheimer's profile, while the rest of the compounds showed satisfactory results in comparison to donepezil.

Conformational preference of bicyclic β-amino acid dipeptides

Bridged bicyclic amino acids have high potential applicability as self-organized, conformationally constrained synthetic building blocks that do not require assistance from hydrogen bond formation. We systematically investigated the intrinsic conformational propensities of dipeptides of bridged bicyclic β-amino acids by means of accelerated molecular dynamics simulation and density functional theory (DFT) calculations in methanol, chloroform, and water. While the main-chain conformation, represented by φ and θ values, is fixed by the nature of the bicyclic ring structure, rotation of the C-terminal carbonyl group (ψ) is also restricted, converging to one or two minima. In endo-type dipeptides, in which the two N- and C-terminal amides are spatially close to each other, the C-terminal amide plane is placed horizontally. In exo-type dipeptides, in which the two amides are on opposite sides of the ring plane, the C-terminal carbonyl group can take two types of positions: either parallel/antiparallel with the N-terminal carbonyl or beneath the bicyclic ring, forcing the amide NHMe moiety to lie outside of the ring. We also examined the cis-trans preference of model bicyclic amides. Although the parent amides exhibit cis-trans equilibrium without any preference, addition of a methyl group on one of the bridgehead positions tips the equilibrium towards trans.

Amide activation: an emerging tool for chemoselective synthesis

It is textbook knowledge that carboxamides benefit from increased stabilisation of the electrophilic carbonyl carbon when compared to other carbonyl and carboxyl derivatives. This results in a considerably reduced reactivity towards nucleophiles. Accordingly, a perception has been developed of amides as significantly less useful functional handles than their ester and acid chloride counterparts. However, a significant body of research on the selective activation of amides to achieve powerful transformations under mild conditions has emerged over the past decades. This review article aims at placing electrophilic amide activation in both a historical context and in that of natural product synthesis, highlighting the synthetic applications and the potential of this approach.