Total Synthesis of ( + )-Swainsonine, (–)- Swainsonine, ( + )-8--

A tactical combination of either ( S)- or ( R)-proline catalyzed aldol reaction followed by intramolecular reductive amination enabled the synthesis of a chiral pyrrolidine derivative with 3 contiguous stereocenters in only 2 synthetic steps, starting from achiral precursors. This product, obtainable in both enantiomeric forms, was further exploited as a common intermediate in total syntheses of the biologically active iminosugars: ( + )-swainsonine, (–)-swainsonine, ( + )-8- epi-swainsonine, and ( + )-dideoxy-imino-lyxitol.

Targeting cancer via Golgi α-mannosidase II inhibition: How far have we come in developing effective inhibitors?

Dysregulation of glycosylation pathways has been well documented in several types of cancer, where it often participates in cancer development and progression, especially cancer metastasis. Hence, inhibition of glycosidases such as mannosidases can disrupt the biosynthesis of glycans on cell surface glycoproteins and modify their role in carcinogenesis and metastasis. Several reviews have delineated the role of N-glycosylation in cancer, but the data regarding effective inhibitors remains sparse. Golgi α-mannosidase has been an attractive therapeutic target for preventing the formation of ß1,6-branched complex type N-glycans. However, due to its high structural similarity to the broadly specific lysosomal α-mannosidase, undesired co-inhibition occurs and this leads to serious side effects that complicates its potential role as a therapeutic agent. Even though extensive efforts have been geared towards the discovery of effective inhibitors, no breakthrough has been achieved thus far which could allow for their use in clinical settings. Improving the specificity of current inhibitors towards Golgi α-mannosidase is requisite in progressing this class of compounds in cancer chemotherapy. In this review, we highlight a few potent and selective inhibitors discovered up to the present to guide researchers for rational design of further effective inhibitors to overcome the issue of specificity.

4-Nitro-benzyl 3,4-bis-(acet-yloxy)-2-(4-meth-oxy-phen-yl)pyrrolidine-1-carboxyl-ate: crystal structure, Hirshfeld surface analysis and computational chemistry

The title compound, C23H24N2O9, is a tetra-substituted pyrrolidine derivative with a twisted conformation, with the twist evident in the C-C bond bearing the adjacent acet-yloxy substituents. These are flanked on one side by a C-bound 4-meth-oxy-phen-yl group and on the other by a methyl-ene group. The almost sp 2-N atom [sum of angles = 357°] bears a 4-nitro-benzyl-oxycarbonyl substituent. In the crystal, ring-methyl-ene-C-H⋯O(acet-yloxy-carbon-yl) and methyl-ene-C-H⋯O(carbon-yl) inter-actions lead to supra-molecular layers lying parallel to (01); the layers stack without directional inter-actions between them. The analysis of the calculated Hirshfeld surfaces indicates the combined importance of H⋯H (42.3%), H⋯O/O⋯H (37.3%) and H⋯C/C⋯H (14.9%) surface contacts. Further, the inter-action energies, largely dominated by the dispersive term, point to the stabilizing influence of H⋯H and O⋯O contacts in the inter-layer region.

Synthesis and glycosidase inhibition of N-substituted derivatives of 1,4-dideoxy-1,4-imino-d-mannitol (DIM)

Four series of N-substituted DIMs have been synthesized and assayed against glycosidases to provide continuous and reliable inhibitory spectra.

Two decades of recent advances of Ugi reactions: synthetic and pharmaceutical applications

Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) are powerful synthetic tools in which more than two starting materials couple with each other to form multi-functionalized compounds in a one-pot process, the so-called “tandem”, “domino” or “cascade” reaction, or utilizing an additional step without changing the solvent, the so-called a sequential-addition procedure, to limit the number of synthetic steps, while increasing the complexity and the molecular diversity, which are highly step-economical reactions. The Ugi reaction, one of the most common multicomponent reactions, has recently fascinated chemists with the high diversity brought by its four- or three-component-based isonitrile. The Ugi reaction has been introduced in organic synthesis as a novel, efficient and useful tool for the preparation of libraries of multifunctional peptides, natural products, and heterocyclic compounds with stereochemistry control. In this review, we highlight the recent advances of the Ugi reaction in the last two decades from 2000–2019, mainly in the synthesis of linear or cyclic peptides, heterocyclic compounds with versatile ring sizes, and natural products, as well as the enantioselective Ugi reactions. Meanwhile, the applications of these compounds in pharmaceutical trials are also discussed.

We highlight the recent advances of the Ugi reaction in the last two decades from 2000–2019, mainly in the synthesis of linear or cyclic peptides, heterocyclic compounds with versatile ring sizes, and natural products, as well as the enantioselective Ugi reactions.

Stereoselective synthesis of sugar mimetics from simple monosaccharides

A number of bicyclic imino- and carba-sugars (examples are presented in the Scheme) can be obtained from simple monosaccharides (hexoses or pentoses) by various methods.