Regioselective formation of imidazol-2-yllithium, imidazol-4-yllithium, and imidazol-5-yllithium species

Synthesis of antimitotic analogs of the microtubule stabilizing sponge alkaloid ceratamine A

Antimitotic analogs of the microtubule stabilizing sponge alkaloid ceratamine A (1) have been synthesized starting from tribromoimidazole. A key step in the synthesis is the formation of the azepine ring via an intramolecular Buchwald coupling between a vinyl bromide and a N-methyl amide. This represents the first synthesis of a fully unsaturated imidazo[4,5,d]azepine. NMR data obtained for the synthetic ceratamine analogs has provided support for the structure assigned to the natural product.

Inhibitors of Tumor Progression Loci-2 (Tpl2) Kinase and Tumor Necrosis Factor α (TNF-α) Production: Selectivity and in Vivo Antiinflammatory Activity of Novel 8-Substituted-4-anilino-6-aminoquinoline-3-carbonitriles

Tumor progression loci-2 (Tpl2) (Cot/MAP3K8) is a serine/threonine kinase in the MAP3K family directly upstream of MEK. Recent studies using Tpl2 knockout mice have indicated an important role for Tpl2 in the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induced production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) and other proinflammatory cytokines involved in diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis. Initial 4-anilino-6-aminoquinoline-3-carbonitrile leads showed poor selectivity for Tpl2 over epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) kinase. Using molecular modeling and crystallographic data of the EGFR kinase domain with and without an EGFR kinase-specific 4-anilinoquinazoline inhibitor (erlotinib, Tarceva), we hypothesized that we could diminish the inhibition of EGFR kinase by substitution at the C-8 position of our 4-anilino-6-aminoquinoline-3-carbonitrile leads. The 8-substituted-4-anilino-6-aminoquinoline-3-carbonitriles were prepared from the appropriate 2-substituted 4-nitroanilines. Modifications to the C-6 and C-8 positions led to the identification of compounds with increased inhibition of TNF-alpha release from LPS-stimulated rat and human blood, and these analogues were also highly selective for Tpl2 kinase over EGFR kinase. Further structure-activity based modifications led to the identification of 8-bromo-4-(3-chloro-4-fluorophenylamino)-6-[(1-methyl-1H-imidazol-4-yl)methylamino]quinoline-3-carbonitrile, which demonstrated in vitro as well as in vivo efficacy in inhibition of LPS-induced TNF-alpha production.

Application of a 6pi-1-azatriene electrocyclization strategy to the total synthesis of the marine sponge metabolite ageladine A and biological evaluation of synthetic analogues

A 12-step synthesis of the angiogenesis inhibitory marine metabolite ageladine A is reported. The key steps include a 6pi-1-azatriene electrocyclization for formation of the pyridine ring and a Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of N-Boc-pyrrole-2-boronic acid with a chloroimidazopyridine. In addition, an assessment of the biological activity of a variety of synthetic analogues of ageladine A prepared during this synthesis is described.

Total synthesis of ageladine A, an angiogenesis inhibitor from the marine sponge Agelas nakamurai

[reaction: see text] A 12-step total synthesis of the tricyclic heteroaromatic marine metabolite ageladine A has been achieved using a 6pi-azaelectrocyclization and a Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of N-Boc-pyrrole-2-boronic acid with a chloropyridine as key steps.

Direct preparation of copper organometallics bearing an aldehyde function via an iodine-copper exchange

The iodine-copper exchange reaction allows the direct preparation of various aryl, heteroaryl and alkenyl cuprates bearing a formyl group, thus allowing a direct synthesis of polyfunctional aldehydes without the need of protecting groups or an additional oxidation step.

The 2×3 Toolbox of Organometallic Methods for Regiochemically Exhaustive Functionalization

This review describes a concept aimed at rational and maximal structure proliferation. To this end, simple aromatic or heterocyclic starting materials, often bulk chemicals, are converted into all regionisomerically possible polar organometallic intermediates (mostly lithiated species), which then may be combined with any of the countless electrophiles to provide attractive new building blocks, particularly functionalized derivatives. The practical implementation relies on a set ("toolbox") of sophisticated recipes developed by mechanistically guided modification of the two most prominent exchange methods used for the generation of polar organometallic compounds: hydrogen-metal and halogen-metal interconversion. These mutant methods ("old methods in a new outfit") amplify the existing options for organic synthesis by ensuring maximum regioflexibility. At the same time they offer new insight into factors that govern organometallic reactivity and provide hints on how to alter or finetune this reactivity judiciously.

An efficient route to 5-iodo-1-methylimidazole: synthesis of xestomanzamine A

An efficient and practical route to C-5 functionalized N-methylated imidazoles is reported. 5-Iodo-1-methylimidazole was synthesized in four steps from imidazole, with complete regiospecificity, in 73% overall yield. The synthesis of xestomanzamine A, a marine natural product isolated in 1995 from an Okinawan sponge of Xestospongia sp., has been achieved using 5-iodo-1-methylimidazole in a modified Grignard reaction with a β-carboline ester moiety, in an overall yield of 59% based upon imidazole and 53% based upon tryptamine.Key words: xestomanzamine A, 5-iodo-1-methylimidazole, methyl β-carboline-1-carboxylate.

A general route to 4-imidazolyl-containing multidentate ligands for biomimetic studies

[formula: see text] 4-iodo-1-tritylimidazole undergoes magnesium-iodine exchange with a Grignard reagent to give selectively the 4-magnesioimidazole derivative, which reacts with esters to form a variety of poly-4-imidazolyl carbinol compounds in 40-79% yields. A wide range of bi-, tri-, and pentadentate ligands featuring 4-substituted imidazole units have been efficiently synthesized.