Design, Synthesis, and Biological Activity of Unnatural Enediynes and Related Analogues Equipped with pH-Dependent or Phototriggering Devices

Synthesis of Chiral Endocyclic Allenes and Alkynes via Pd-Catalyzed Asymmetric Higher-Order Dipolar Cycloaddition

A Pd-catalyzed asymmetric higher-order dipolar cycloaddition between allenyl carbonates and azadienes is achieved by exploiting novel alkylidene-π-allyl-Pd dipoles. This research provides a modular platform for the synthesis of challenging chiral endocyclic allenes bearing a medium-sized heterocyclic motif and a centrally chiral stereocenter in good yields with high enantio- and diastereoselectivities (29 examples, up to 97% yield, 97:3 er and >19:1 dr). Experimental and computational studies elucidate the possible reaction mechanism and the observed stereochemical results. Based on the mechanistic understanding, a new π-propargyl-Pd dipole was designed to further extend the success of the higher order dipolar cycloaddition strategy to the synthesis of 10-membered endocyclic alkynes from propargyl carbonates and azadienes (13 examples, up to 98% yield and 94.5:5.5 er).

Regio- and stereocontrolled synthesis of borylated E-enynes, Z-enediynes and derivatives from alkenyl-1,2-bis-(boronates)

An efficient stereo-controlled synthesis of enyne and enediyne derivatives, via sequential Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reactions from easily prepared 1-alkene-1,2-diboronic esters and alkynyl bromides, is reported. The resulting enyne boronic esters were subjected to Borono-Mannich and Suzuki coupling reactions independently to obtain α,β-unsaturated aminoester and tri-substituted olefin derivatives, respectively. Additionally, divergent syntheses of triazole and cyclopropylboronate derivatives are also reported.

Functionalized 10-Membered Aza- and Oxaenediynes through the Nicholas Reaction

The scope and limitations of the Nicholas-type cyclization for the synthesis of 10-membered benzothiophene-fused heterocyclic enediynes with different functionalities were investigated. Although the Nicholas cyclization through oxygen could be carried out in the presence of an ester group, the final oxaenediyne was unstable under storage. Among the N-type Nicholas reactions, cyclization via an arenesulfonamide functional group followed by mild Co-deprotection was found to be the most promising, yielding 10-membered azaendiynes in high overall yields. By contrast, the Nicholas cyclization through the acylated nitrogen atom did not give the desired 10-membered cycle. It resulted in the formation of a pyrroline ring, whereas cyclization via an alkylated amino group resulted in a poor yield of the target 10-membered enediyne. The acylated 4-aminobenzenesulfonamide nucleophilic group was found to be the most convenient for the synthesis of functionalized 10-membered enediynes bearing a clickable function, such as a terminal triple bond. All the synthesized cyclic enediynes exhibited moderate activity against lung carcinoma NCI-H460 cells and had a minimal effect on lung epithelial-like WI-26 VA4 cells and are therefore promising compounds in the search for novel antitumor agents that can be converted into conjugates with tumor-targeting ligands.

A carrier-free nanoparticle with dual NIR/acid responsiveness by co-assembly of enediyne and IR820 for combined PTT/chemotherapy

Combined photothermal therapy/chemotherapy by co-delivery of a photosensitizer (PS) and a chemotherapeutic drug has demonstrated great potential for cancer treatment. The intrinsic drawbacks of traditional drug delivery systems (DDSs), such as tedious synthetic procedures, side effects originated from the carrier materials, low loading efficiency, and uncontrolled drug release, however, have impaired their further advancement. On the other hand, enediyne antibiotics are highly cytotoxic toward cancer cells through the generation of lethal carbon radicals via thermal-induced cyclization, endowing them with great potential to achieve enhanced synergistic anticancer performance by incorporation with the photothermal effect of PS. To this end, a carrier-free and NIR/acid dual-responsive DDS was constructed for combined photothermal therapy/chemotherapy. The facile co-assembly of maleimide-based enediyne and PS IR820 was achieved in aqueous solution to give nanoparticles (EICN) with a hydrodynamic diameter of 90 nm and high stability. In vitro study confirmed the acid/NIR dual-responsive degradation and drug release, free radical generation and DNA-cleaving ability of EICN, which was accomplished by the corporation of enediyne and IR820 moieties. Further tests on HeLa cells verified the excellent synergistic anticancer performance of EICN including the improved cellular uptake, NIR-enhanced drug release, DNA damage and histone deacetylase inhibitor capacity. Overall, this carrier-free DDS with dual acid/NIR-responsivity would potentially provide new insights for the development of combined photothermal/chemotherapy.

p-Pyridinyl oxime carbamates: synthesis, DNA binding, DNA photocleaving activity and theoretical photodegradation studies

A number of p-pyridinyl oxime carbamate derivatives were prepared upon the reaction of the corresponding oximes with isocyanates. These novel compounds reacted photochemically in the presence of supercoiled plasmid DNA. Structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies revealed that the substituent on the imine group was not affecting the extend of the DNA damage, whereas the substituent of the carbamate group was critical, with the halogenated derivatives to be able to cause extensive single and double stranded DNA cleavages, acting as "synthetic nucleases", independently of oxygen and pH. Calf thymus-DNA affinity studies showed a good-to-excellent affinity of selected both active and non-active derivatives. Preliminary theoretical studies were performed, in an effort to explain the reasons why some derivatives cause photocleavage and some others not, which were experimentally verified using triplet state activators and quenchers. These theoretical studies seem to allow the prediction of the activity of derivatives able to pass intersystem crossing to their triplet energy state and thus create radicals able to damage DNA. With this study, it is shown that oxime carbamate derivatives have the potential to act as novel effective photobase generating DNA-photocleavers, and are proposed as new leads for "on demand" biotechnological applications in drug discovery and medicine.

Synthesis and Properties of 2,3-Diethynyl-1,3-Butadienes

The first general preparative access to compounds of the 2,3-diethynyl-1,3-butadiene (DEBD) class is reported. The synthesis involves a one-pot, twofold Sonogashira-type, Pd⁰ -catalyzed coupling of two terminal alkynes and a carbonate derivative of a 2-butyne-1,4-diol. The synthesis is broad in scope and members of this structural family are kinetically stable enough to be handled using standard laboratory techniques at ambient temperature. They decompose primarily through heat-promoted cyclodimerizations, which are impeded by alkyl substitution and accelerated by aryl or alkenyl substitution. An iterative sequence of these unprecedented Sonogashira-type couplings generates a new type of expanded dendralene. A suitably substituted DEBD carrying two terminal alkyne groups undergoes Glaser-Eglinton cyclo-oligomerization to produce a new class of expanded radialenes, which are chiral due to restricted rotation about their 1,3-butadiene units. The structural features giving rise to atropisomerism in these compounds are distinct from those reported previously.

Facilitating Myers–Saito cyclization through acid-triggered tautomerization for the development of maleimide-based antitumor agents

Enyne-allene compounds undergo Myers–Saito cyclization at physiological temperature to generate diradical intermediates that are capable of inducing DNA damage and cell death.

Unlocking Acyclic π-Bond Rich Structure Space with Tetraethynylethylene-Tetravinylethylene Hybrids

Literature reports describe tetraethynylethylene (TEE) as unstable but tetravinylethylene (TVE) as stable. The stabilities of these two known compounds are reinvestigated, along with those of five unprecedented TEE-TVE hybrid compounds. The five new C₁₀ hydrocarbons possess a core, tetrasubstituted C═C bond carrying all possible combinations of vinyl and ethynyl groups. A unified strategy is described for their synthesis, whereupon cross-conjugated ketones are dibromo-olefinated then cross-coupled. Due to an incorrect but nonetheless widely held belief that acyclic π-bond rich hydrocarbons are inherently unstable, a standardized set of robustness tests is introduced. Whereas only TVE survives storage in neat form, all seven hydrocarbons are remarkably robust in dilute solution, generally surviving exposure to moderate heat, light, air, and acid. The first X-ray crystal structure of TEE is reported. Subgroups of hybrids based upon conformational preferences are identified through electronic absorption spectra and associated computational studies. These new acyclic π-bond rich systems have extensive, untapped potential for the production of stable, conjugated carbon-rich materials.

Self-delivery nanoparticles of an amphiphilic irinotecan-enediyne conjugate for cancer combination chemotherapy

An amphiphilic small molecular drug self-delivery system was designed by linking a hydrophilic topoisomerase I inhibitor irinotecan (Ir) with a lipophilic cytotoxic enediyne (EDY) antibiotic through an ester bond. The maleimide-based EDY with a pendant carboxyl group was synthesized in four steps from commercially available reagents. The EDY compound possesses the ability to generate radical intermediates at physiological temperature as demonstrated by electron spin resonance analysis and further causes DNA-cleavage and tumor cell suppression. The self-delivery system prepared by the combination of two anticancer drugs, EDY and Ir, formed nanoparticles' self-assembly with a size of around 60 nm in aqueous solution, enabling the drugs to accumulate in tumor tissues through the enhanced permeability and retention effect. With high drug loading capacity (100%), the Ir-EDY nanoparticles entered tumor cells through endocytosis and possessed strong synergistic effects, inducing tumor cell death through the cell apoptosis pathway efficiently.

Enediynes bearing polyfluoroaryl sulfoxide as new antiproliferative agents with dual targeting of microtubules and DNA

A novel series of enediynes possessing pentafluorophenylsulfoxide have been developed. The innovative compounds possess antiproliferative activity against a broad panel of human cancer cells originating from breast, blood, lung, kidney, colon, prostate, pancreas or skin with IC₅₀ ranging from 0.6 to 3.4 μM. The antiproliferative activity of enediynes in darkness is associated to their ability to compromise microtubule network. In addition, exposure to UV leads to double-stranded DNA cleavage caused by the newly synthesized molecules reducing further their IC₅₀ in nanomolar range against human tumor cells, including chemo-resistant pancreatic cancer cells. Taken together, the examined data demonstrate that enediynes possessing pentafluorosulfoxide are promising molecules in the cancer therapy.

An aqueous medium-controlled stereospecific oxidative iodination of alkynes: efficient access to (E)-diiodoalkene derivatives

A new and versatile approach for the stereospecific iodination of alkynes has been developed in aqueous media. Scale-up reactions (up to 5 g) established the proficiency of this protocol and highlight the feasibility of large scale reactions.

Effect of Extended Benzannelation Orientation on Bergman and Related Cyclizations of Isomeric Quinoxalenediynes

A combined computational and experimental study was conducted to examine the effect of extended benzannelation orientation on C¹-C⁵ and C¹-C⁶ cyclization of acyclic quinoxalenediynes. Calculations (mPW1PW91/cc-pVTZ//mPW1PW91/6-31G(d,p)) on terminal and phenylethynyl-substituted 5,6-diethynylquinoxaline and 6,7-diethynylquinoxaline showed C¹-C⁶ Bergman cyclization as the favored thermodynamic reaction pathway, with larger C¹-C⁶ preference for the angular quinoxalenediynes due to gain of a new aromatic sextet. Kinetic studies, as a function of 1,4-cyclohexadiene concentration, revealed retro-Bergman ring opening predominates over hydrogen atom abstraction (k_-1 > k₂) for 6,7-diethynylquinoxaline while 5,6-diethynylquinoxaline undergoes irreversible Bergman cyclization indicative of a large retro-Bergman ring opening barrier (k₂ > k_-1). The effect of extended linear versus angular benzannelation on reaction pathway shows in the contrasting photocyclizations of phenylethynyl derivatives. While angular 5,6-diethynylquinoxalines gave exclusive C¹-C⁶ photocyclization, linear 6,7-diethynylquinoxaline afforded C¹-C⁵ fulvene products. Computed singlet-triplet gaps and biradical stabilization energies indicated weak interaction between the nitrogen lone pair and proximal radical center in angular 5,6-diethynylquinoxalines. The overall data indicates extended angular benzannelation effectively renders Bergman cyclization irreversible due to favorable aromatic stabilization energy, while extended linear benzannelation results in increased retro-Bergman ring opening, allowing C¹-C⁵ cyclization to become a competitive reaction channel.

N-Heterocyclic Carbene Boranes are Hydrogen Donors in Masamune-Bergman Reactions of Benzo[3,4]cyclodec-3-ene-1,5-diynes

Thermal reactions of benzo[3,4]cyclodec-3-ene-1,5-diyne with N-heterocyclic carbene boranes (NHC-boranes) provided mixtures of 9-borylated 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroanthracenes along with 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroanthracene. These products indicate that NHC-boranes serve as hydrogen donors to a p-benzyne intermediate formed by the Masamune-Bergman reaction. Experimental results support a radical mechanism in nonpolar solvents, but suggest that ionic mechanisms compete in the production of 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroanthracene when the reaction is performed in a polar solvent.

Construction of Polyarylenes with Various Structural Features via Bergman Cyclization Polymerization

Synthetic polymer chemistry is a fundamental part of polymer science, and highly efficient polymerization reactions are essential for the synthesis of high-performance polymers. Development of new synthetic methods for emerging polymer science is of great importance in this regard. Bergman cyclization is a chemical process in which highly reactive aryl diradicals form from enediyne precursors, having a strong impact in a number of fields including pharmaceutics, synthetic chemistry, and materials science. Diradical intermediates stemming from enediynes can cause DNA cleavage under physiological conditions, leading to the strong cytotoxicity of many naturally occurring enediyne antibiotics. Meanwhile, diradical intermediates can quickly couple with each other to construct polyarylenes, providing a novel method to synthesize these conjugated polymers with the advantages of facile and catalyst-free operation, high efficiency, and tailored structure. Moreover, conjugated polymers generated by Bergman cyclization exhibit many remarkable properties, such as excellent thermal stability and good solubility and processability, enabling their further processing into carbon-rich materials. This review presents a brief overview of the trajectory of Bergman cyclization in polymer science, followed by an introduction to research advances, mainly from our group, in developing polymerization methods based on Bergman cyclization, taking advantages of its catalyst-free, byproduct-free, in situ polymerization mechanism to synthesize new polymeric materials with various structures and morphologies. These synthetic strategies include fabrication of rod-like polymers with polyester, dendrimer, and chiral imide side chains, functionalization of carbon nanomaterials by surface-grafting conjugated polymers, formation of nanoparticles by intramolecular collapse of single polymer chains, and construction of carbon nanomembranes on the external and internal surface of inorganic nanomaterials. These polymers with novel structural features have been used in a variety of fields, such as energy transformation, energy storage, catalyst support, and fluorescent detection. Finally, the outlook for future developments of Bergman cyclization in polymer science is presented.

Green synthesis of carbon quantum dots embedded onto titanium dioxide nanowires for enhancing photocurrent

The green synthesis of nanowired photocatalyst composed of carbon quantum dots-titanium hybrid-semiconductors, CQDs/TiO₂, are reported. Where graphite-based CQDs with a size less than 5 nm are directly synthesized in pure water electrolyte by a one-step electrochemistry approach and subsequently electrodeposited onto as-prepared TiO₂ nanowires through a voltage-driven reduction process. Electron paramagnetic resonance studies show that the CQDs can generate singlet oxygen and/or oxygen radicals to decompose the kinetic H₂O₂ intermediate species upon UV light illumination. With the effect of peroxidase-like CQDs, photocurrent density of CQDs/TiO₂ is remarkably enhanced by a 6.4 factor when compared with that of as-prepared TiO₂.

Substrate-driven selective mono- and bis-couplings of ortho-(OTf/I/Br) substituted gem-dibromovinylarenes

A one-pot approach with the substrate-driven selective and competitive reactivity of ortho-trifloxy, iodo or bromo functionalized gem-dibromovinylarenes was studied under Pd-catalyzed conditions.

Enediyne-based protein capture agents: demonstration of an enediyne moiety acting as a photoaffinity label

Two enediyne based protein-capture compounds 1 and 2 were synthesized.

Pyridine and p-Nitrophenyl Oxime Esters with Possible Photochemotherapeutic Activity: Synthesis, DNA Photocleavage and DNA Binding Studies

Compared to standard treatments for various diseases, photochemotherapy and photo-dynamic therapy are less invasive approaches, in which DNA photocleavers represent promising tools for novel “on demand” chemotherapeutics. A series of p-nitrobenzoyl and p-pyridoyl ester conjugated aldoximes, amidoximes and ethanone oximes were subjected to UV irradiation at 312 nm with supercoiled circular plasmid DNA. The compounds which possessed appropriate properties were additionally subjected to UVA irradiation at 365 nm. The ability of most of the compounds to photocleave DNA was high at 312 nm, whereas higher concentrations were required at 365 nm as a result of their lower UV absorption. The affinity of selected compounds to calf-thymus (CT) DNA was studied by UV spectroscopy, viscosity experiments and competitive studies with ethidium bromide (EB) revealing that all compounds interacted with CT DNA. The fluorescence emission spectra of the pre-treated EB-DNA exhibited a moderate to significant quenching in the presence of the compounds indicating the binding of the compounds to CT DNA via intercalation as concluded also by DNA-viscosity experiments. For the oxime esters the DNA photocleavage and affinity studies aimed to clarify the role of the oxime nature (aldoxime, ketoxime, amidoxime) and the role of the pyridine and p-nitrophenyl moieties both as oxime substituents and ester conjugates.

Mitochondrial selectivity and remarkable photocytotoxicity of a ferrocenyl neodymium(iii) complex of terpyridine and curcumin in cancer cells

A mixed-ligand neodymium(iii) complex of ferrocene appended terpyridine and curcumin targets the mitochondria and shows remarkable visible-light induced cytotoxicity in HeLa and MCF-7 cancer cells while being much less toxic in dark and to MCF-10A normal cells.

(Hetero)aromatics from dienynes, enediynes and enyne–allenes

Recent advances in the synthesis of (hetero)aromatics starting from polyenes, such as dienynes, enediynes and enyne–allenes, are discussed.

The Missing C1-C5 Cycloaromatization Reaction: Triplet State Antiaromaticity Relief and Self-Terminating Photorelease of Formaldehyde for Synthesis of Fulvenes from Enynes

The last missing example of the four archetypical cycloaromatizations of enediynes and enynes was discovered by combining a twisted alkene excited state with a new self-terminating path for intramolecular conversion of diradicals into closed-shell products. Photoexcitation of aromatic enynes to a twisted alkene triplet state creates a unique stereoelectronic situation, which is facilitated by the relief of excited state antiaromaticity of the benzene ring. This enables the usually unfavorable 5-endo-trig cyclization and merges it with 5-exo-dig closure. The 1,4-diradical product of the C1-C5 cyclization undergoes internal H atom transfer that is coupled with the fragmentation of an exocyclic C-C bond. This sequence provides efficient access to benzofulvenes from enynes and expands the utility of self-terminating aromatizing enyne cascades to photochemical reactions. The key feature of this self-terminating reaction is that, despite the involvement of radical species in the key cyclization step, no external radical sources or quenchers are needed to provide the products. In these cascades, both radical centers are formed transiently and converted to the closed-shell products via intramolecular H-transfer and C-C bond fragmentation. Furthermore, incorporating C-C bond cleavage into the photochemical self-terminating cyclizations of enynes opens a new way for the use of alkenes as alkyne equivalents in organic synthesis.