Large-Scale Synthesis of Piperazine-2,6-dione and Its Use in the Synthesis of Dexrazoxane Analogues

Rigid Scaffolds: Synthesis of 2,6-Bridged Piperazines with Functional Groups in all three Bridges

The activity of pharmacologically active compounds can be increased by presenting a drug in a defined conformation, which fits exactly into the binding pocket of its target. Herein, the piperazine scaffold was conformationally restricted by substituted C2- or C3-bridges across the 2- and 6-position. At first, a three-step, one-pot procedure was developed to obtain reproducibly piperazine-2,6-diones with various substituents at the N-atoms in high yields. Three strategies for bridging of piperazine-2,6-diones were pursued: 1. The bicyclic mixed ketals 8-benzyl-6-ethoxy-3-(4-methoxybenzyl)-6-(trimethylsilyloxy)-3,8-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-2,4-diones were prepared by Dieckmann analogous cyclization of 2-(3,5-dioxopiperazin-2-yl)acetates. 2. Stepwise allylation, hydroboration and oxidation of piperazine-2,6-diones led to 3-(3,5-dioxopiperazin-2-yl)propionaldehydes. Whereas reaction of such an aldehyde with base provided the bicyclic alcohol 9-benzyl-6-hydroxy-3-(4-methoxybenzyl)-3,9-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-2,4-dione in only 10 % yield, the corresponding sulfinylimines reacted with base to give N-(2,4-dioxo-3,9-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonan-6-yl)-2-methylpropane-2-sulfinamides in >66 % yield. 3. Transformation of a piperazine-2,6-dione with 1,4-dibromobut-2-ene and 3-halo-2-halomethylprop-1-enes provided 3,8-diazabicyclo[3.2.1]octane-2,4-dione and 3,9-diazabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane-2,4-dione with a vinyl group at the C2- or a methylene group at the C3-bridge, respectively. Since bridging via sulfinylimines and the one-pot bridging with 3-bromo-2-bromomethylprop-1-ene gave promising yields, these strategies will be exploited for the synthesis of novel receptor ligands bearing various substituents in a defined orientation at the carbon bridge.

Investigation of novel dexrazoxane analogue JR-311 shows significant cardioprotective effects through topoisomerase IIbeta but not its iron chelating metabolite

Novel dexrazoxane derivative JR-311 was prepared to investigate structure-activity relationships and mechanism(s) of protection against anthracycline cardiotoxicity. Its cardioprotective, antiproliferative, iron (Fe) chelation and inhibitory and/or depletory activities on topoisomerase IIbeta (TOP2B) were examined and compared with dexrazoxane. While in standard assay, JR-311 failed in both cardioprotection and depletion of TOP2B, its repeated administration to cell culture media led to depletion of TOP2B and significant protection of isolated rat neonatal ventricular cardiomyocytes from daunorubicin-induced damage. This effect was explained by a focused analytical investigation that revealed rapid JR-311 decomposition, resulting in negligible intracellular concentrations of the parent compound but high exposure of cells to the decomposition products, including Fe-chelating JR-H2. Although chemical instability is an obstacle for the development of JR-311, this study identified a novel dexrazoxane analogue with preserved pharmacodynamic properties, contributed to the investigation of structure-activity relationships and suggested that the cardioprotection of bis-dioxopiperazines is likely attributed to TOP2B activity of the parent compound rather than Fe chelation of their hydrolytic metabolites/degradation products. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of early stability testing during future development of novel dexrazoxane analogues.