1,2,4-Triazoles. VIII. s-Triazolo[2,3-a]pyrazine Derivatives1a

Short and efficient total synthesis of luotonin A and 22-hydroxyacuminatine using a common cascade strategy

Total syntheses of 22-hydroxyacuminatine and luotonin A were achieved in direct fashion and high overall yields (16% in eight steps and 47% in five steps, respectively). A mild cascade methodology was successfully applied in both syntheses as a common strategy. The new approach presents the advantages of short routes, high overall yields, use of stable intermediates, and ease of operations.

Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Isoquinoline-1,3,4-trione Derivatives as Potent Caspase-3 Inhibitors

A series of isoquinoline-1,3,4-trione derivatives were identified as novel and potent inhibitors of caspase-3 through structural modification of the original compound from high-throughput screening. Various analogues (2, 6, 9, 13, and 14) were synthesized and identified as caspase inhibitors, and the introduction of a 6-N-acyl group (compound 13) greatly improved their activity. Some of them showed low nanomolar potency against caspase-3 in vitro (for example, for 6k, IC50 = 40 nM) and significant protection against apoptosis in a model cell system. Additionally, compound 13f demonstrated a dose-dependent decrease in infarct volume in the transient MCA occlusion stroke model. The present small-molecule caspase-3 inhibitor with novel structures different from structures of known caspase inhibitors revealed a new direction for therapeutic strategies directed against diseases involving abnormally up-regulated apoptosis.

Synthesis of Highly Substituted Aniline and o-Phenylenediamine Derivatives Containing Various Substitution Patterns

The Diels-Alder reactions of a variety of 2H-pyran-2-ones 1 with alkynes 2 yielding highly substituted aniline and o-phenylenediamine derivatives 4 with novel (and in some cases known but very rare and useful) structural patterns are presented. The effect of substituents of both reactants on the reaction rates was investigated. The reactions were carried out under thermal conditions, as well as at high pressures.

Fused-Ring Thiadiazines: Preparation and Crystallographic Characterization of 3-Phenyl Derivative of Benzo-, Pyridio[2,3-e]-, Pyrazino[2,3-e]-, and Tetrafluorobenzo-[1,2,4]thiadiazines

Four bicyclic 4H-[1,2,4]thiadiazines 1a-d were prepared in 74-88% yields in two steps from the corresponding amidines 2. Three of them, 1a, 1b, and 1d, were obtained by thermal elimination of propene from the intermediate S-propylsulfilimines 12. The pyrazino derivative 1c was formed upon thermolysis of sulfoxide 14c obtained from 2c. The E(i) mechanism was investigated using DFT methods. The elimination in the sulfilimine appears to be more favorable by about 2 kcal/mol than in the analogous sulfoxide. Crystal and molecular structures of three out of the four thiadiazines were established by single-crystal X-ray analysis. All thiadiazines were found as the 4H tautomers with the heterocyclic ring puckered along the S(1)...N(4) line. The benzo derivative 1a forms a unidimensional N(4)-H...N(2) chain, the pyrazino derivative 1c forms dimeric pairs with two synergistic hydrogen bonds, and the crystal structure of 1d is characterized by strong C(6)F(4)...C(6)H(5) quadrupolar interactions.