A simplified synthetic route to polyaza macrocycles

Aromatic and heteroaromatic azacrown compounds: advantages and disadvantages of rigid macrocyclic ligands

Current approaches to the synthesis of aromatic and heteroaromatic azamacrocycles and their derivatives are summarized and systematized. The relationship between the structure of azacrown compounds and their complexation behaviour towards metal cations is analyzed. The diversity of practical applications of azamacrocyclic derivatives in medicine, biology and analytical and organic chemistry, as well as for the design of molecular devices is demonstrated.

The bibliography includes 307 references.

Synthesis and Characterization of Phthalocyanines Containing Four 11-Membered Triaza Macrocycles

New metallophthalocyanines (M = Cu, Zn, Ni or Co) substituted in peripheral positions with four 11-membered triaza macrocycles are prepared from 1,4,7-tris( p-tolylsulfonyl)-1,4,7-triazaheptane and 1,2-dibromo-4,5-bis(bromomethyl)benzene or the corresponding anhydrous metal salt [CuCN, Zn(02CMe)2, NiCl2 or CoCI2].

Tsuji-Trost Cyclization of Disulfonamides: Synthesis of 12-Membered, 11-Membered, and Pyridine-Fused Macrocyclic Triamines

Macrocyclic triamine disulfonamides can be synthesized by double Tsuji-Trost N-allylation reaction of open-chain disulfonamides with 2-alkylidene-1,3-propanediyl bis(carbonates). The previously used Atkins-Richman macrocyclization method generally gives lower yields and requires more tedious purification of the product. Solvent, palladium source, ligand, and concentration have all been varied to optimize the yields of two key 12-membered ring bioactive compounds, CADA and VGD020. The new approach tolerates a wide range of functional groups and gives highest yields for symmetrical compounds in which the acidities of the two sulfonamide groups are matched, although the yields of unsymmetrical compounds are still generally good. The method has also been extended to the synthesis of 11-membered rings, pyridine-fused macrocycles, and products bearing an ester or aryl substituent on the exocyclic double bond.

Microwave-Assisted Desulfonylation of Polysulfonamides toward Polypropylenimine

Linear polyethylenimine (L-PEI) has been the gold standard for gene delivery and is typically prepared by hydrolysis from poly(2-oxazoline)s. Recently, also the anionic polymerization of activated aziridines was reported as a potential pathway toward linear and well-defined polyamines. However, only sulfonamide-activated aziridines so far undergo the living anionic polymerization and their desulfonylation was only reported scarcely. This is mainly due to the relatively high stability of the sulfonamides and the drastic change in solubility during the desulfonylation. Herein, we investigated the desulfonylation of such poly(aziridine)s prepared from tosylated or mesylated propyleneimine to afford linear polypropylenimine (L-PPI) as an alternative to L-PEI. Different desulfonylation strategies for tosylated (Ts) and mesylated (Ms) PPI were studied. The reductive cleavage of the sulfonamide with sodium bis(2-methoxy ethoxy) aluminum hydride yielded 80% of deprotected amine groups. Quantitative conversion to L-PPI was obtained, when the tosylated PPI was hydrolyzed under acidic conditions with pTsOH under microwave (MW) irradiation. The same treatment removed 90% of the mesyl groups from the mesylated PPI analog. The MW-assisted acidic hydrolysis represents a fast, inexpensive and easy approach in comparison to other methods, where complex reaction conditions and tedious purifications are major drawbacks, however some chain scission may occur. The high purity of the obtained products, in combination with the versatility of the activated aziridine chemistry, demonstrate many advantages of our strategy, especially for future biomedical implementations.

Copper(ii)-benzimidazole complexes as efficient fluorescent probes forl-cysteine in water

Copper(ii)-benzimidazole complexes could detectl-cysteine over other natural amino acids at pH 7.34 by a ‘turn-on’ fluorescence mechanismviathe reduction of Cu(ii) to Cu(i) followed by displacement with excellent selectivity.

Intramolecular alpha-glucosaminidation: synthesis of mycothiol

A protected cyclitol aglycon was tethered to an (N-arylsulfonyl)glucosamine donor by a methylene linker; the exclusively alpha-selective intramolecular glycosylation reaction was then initiated by electrophilic activation of the thioglycoside donor portion. Further transformations of the glycosylation product to give the M. tuberculosis detoxifier mycothiol and its oxidized congener, the disulfide mycothione, are detailed.

An asymmetric formal synthesis of fasicularin

An asymmetric formal synthesis of fasicularin (1) is described. This natural product, isolated from the extracts of the marine invertebrate Nephteis fasicularis, has shown modest cytotoxicity towards Vero cells. Fasicularin is among only two members of the cylindricine family of natural products, along with lepadiformine (2), to possess a trans A-B ring junction. Key steps of this approach to 1 involve a siloxy-epoxide semipinacol rearrangement of 5 to 6, a B-alkyl Suzuki-Miyaura coupling reaction by using enol trifluoromethanesulfonate 19 and a substrate-directed hydrogenation reaction of 24. This formal synthesis also highlights the difficulty in the incorporation of the thiocyanate functionality present in 1.

Syntheses, conformations, and basicities of bicyclic triamines

The multistep syntheses of several bicyclic triamines are described, all of which have an imbedded 1,5,9-triazacyclododecane ring. In 1,5,9-triazabicyclo[7.3.3]pentadecanes 12, 13, 15, and 16, two nitrogens are bridged by three carbons. The monoprotonated forms of these triamines are highly stabilized by a hydrogen-bonded network involving the bridge and both bridgehead nitrogens, producing a difference of more than 8 pK(a) units in acidities of their monoprotonated and diprotonated forms. The one- and zero-carbon bridges in 1,5,9-triazabicyclo[9.1.1]tridecane (23) and 7-methyl-1,5,9-triazabicyclo[5.5.0]dodecane (39) do not enhance the stabilities of their monoprotonated forms. X-ray crystal structures and computational studies of 12.HI and 16.HI reveal similar, but somewhat weaker, hydrogen-bonded networks, relative to 15.HI. The activation free energies for conformational inversion of 13.HI (14.4 +/- 0.2 kcal/mol), 16.HI (15.0 +/- 0.1 kcal/mol) and 16 (8.8 +/- 0.3 kcal/mol) were measured by variable-temperature (1)H and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. These experimental barriers give an estimate of 6.2 kcal/mol for the strength of the bifurcated hydrogen bond between the bridge nitrogen and cavity proton in 16.HI. Computational studies support the hypothesis that N-inversion occurs in an open conformation, leading to an estimate of 10.32 kcal/mol for the enthalpy of the bifurcated hydrogen bond in 16.HI in the gas phase.

A new approach to (-)-swainsonine by ruthenium-catalyzed ring rearrangement

A new enantioselective synthesis of the idolizidine alkaloid (-)-swainsonine 1 in 40% overall yield starting from the known oxazolidinone 6 is described. Throughout the synthesis, the high efficiency of metal-catalyzed reactions is illustrated. The key step is a new ruthenium-catalyzed metathesis rearrangement reaction. In this ring-closing/ring-opening tandem process, stereocenters are transferred from a ring to the olefinic side chain of the formed heterocycle. The metathesis precursor was obtained by palladium-catalyzed desymmetrization of cyclopentenediol. The synthesis was completed by functionalization of the terminal double bond, cyclization of the second ring, and diastereoselective dihydroxylation.

A new, facile synthesis of 1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane: cyclen

This report outlines a new and efficient synthesis of cyclen (1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane, 1) utilizing bis-imidazoline, 6 (1,1'-ethylenedi-2-imidazoline), with 1,2-dibromoethane. General conditions were developed, allowing for the simple, three-step synthesis of 1 at the multigram scale with an isolated overall yield approaching 65%. The cyclization of 6 produced by the condensation of triethylene tetraamine (TETA) with N,N-dimethylformamide dimethyl acetal, gave the twelve-membered, imidazolinium, cyclized intermediate bromide salt, 7 (2,3,4,5,6,7,8,8c-octahydro-1H-4a,6a,8a-triaza-2a-azoniacyclopent[fg]acenaphthylene), which hydrolyzed to 1 with the use of hot, aqueous caustic. Hydrolysis of 7 under milder conditions formed the 1,4,7,10-tetraazabicyclo[8.2.1]tridecan-13-one (20). Mechanistically, the formation of 7 may be rationalized as involving a diaminocarbene that undergoes an intramolecular carbon-hydrogen insertion.

Palladium(0)-catalyzed coupling of organozinc iodide reagents with bromopyridines: synthesis of selectively protected pyridine-containing azamacrocycles

The synthesis of azamacrocycles in which the ring nitrogens are regioselectively functionalized is described. An organozinc palladium(0)-catalyzed coupling with an appropriately functionalized bromopyridine generated a key intermediate, which was transformed in two steps to a desired precursor and subjected to an intramolecular N-alkylation to effect a macrocyclization affording selectively protected azamacrocycles 1-3.

Synthesis and characterization of various unsubstituted and mono-N-substituted tetraazamacrocycles

Syntheses of tetraazamacrocycles have been carried out by using p-toluenesulfonyl chloride as protective group. The [14(ane) N4] and [15(ane) N4] were also obtained by the template synthesis. Mono-N-functionalization of tetraazamacrocycles was accomplished by reaction of a fivefold excess of the free macrocycles with 1 equivalent of a suitable alkylating or arylating reagent. The key point of the synthesis lies in the use of an excess of the macrocycle over the substituting reactants to reduce the formation of polysubstituted derivatives, and in the easy separation of the excess of unreacted macrocycle. All the products were characterized on the basis of spectral studies (1H and l3C NMR, including 2D NMR and NOE difference studies) and mass spectrometry. Keywords: tetraazamacrocycles, improved synthesis, protective group, N-tosylation, template synthesis, NOE difference spectroscopy.