Similarity-Based Virtual Screening to Find Antituberculosis Agents Based on Novel Scaffolds: Design, Syntheses and Pharmacological Assays.

A method to identify molecular scaffolds potentially active against the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (MTBC) is developed. A set of structurally heterogeneous agents against MTBC was used to obtain a mathematical model based on topological descriptors. This model was statistically validated through a Leave-n-Out test. It successfully discriminated between active or inactive compounds over 86% in database sets. It was also useful to select new potential antituberculosis compounds in external databases. The selection of new substituted pyrimidines, pyrimidones and triazolo[1,5-a]pyrimidines was particularly interesting because these structures could provide new scaffolds in this field. The seven selected candidates were synthesized and six of them showed activity in vitro.

Synthesis and catalytic applications of C3-symmetric tris(triazolyl)methanol ligands and derivatives.

Recently introduced tris(1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methanols and derivatives (TTM ligands) have become a valuable subclass of C3-symmetric tripodal ligands for transition metal-mediated reactions. TTM-based ligand architectures are modularly constructed through regioselective, one-pot triple [3+2] cycloaddition of azides and alkynes. Applications of homogeneous systems of this type and of heterogenised (polystyrene- and magnetic nanoparticle-supported) TTM ligands in synthesis and catalysis are compiled in this Feature Article.

A polystyrene-supported 9-amino(9-deoxy)epi quinine derivative for continuous flow asymmetric Michael reactions.

A polystyrene (PS)-supported 9-amino(9-deoxy)epi quinine derivative catalyzes Michael reactions affording excellent levels of conversion and enantioselectivity using different nucleophiles and structurally diverse enones. The highly recyclable, immobilized catalyst has been used to implement a single-pass, continuous flow process (residence time: 40 min) that can be operated for 21 hours without significant decrease in conversion and with improved enantioselectivity with respect to batch operation. The flow process has also been used for the sequential preparation of a small library of enantioenriched Michael adducts.

A fully recyclable heterogenized Cu catalyst for the general carbene transfer reaction in batch and flow.

A polystyrene-linked tris(triazolyl)methanecopper(i) cationic catalyst operates under heterogeneous conditions for the reaction of ethyl diazoacetate (EDA) with an array of substrates. Carbon-hydrogen as well as X-H (X = O, N) functionalization derived from the formal transfer of the carbene moiety (:CHCO2Et) from the copper center and subsequent insertion have been achieved, the reactions permitting repeated catalyst recycling and reuse. The addition of the same carbene unit to benzene leading to a cycloheptatriene derivative (Büchner reaction) or to phenylacetylene (cyclopropenation) took place at similar rates to the insertion processes and with the same catalyst recyclability. The use of this heterogenized cationic Cu catalyst in continuous flow has also been implemented. Key characteristics of the flow process are its high and constant turnover frequency (TOF) (residence times of 1 min still lead to full conversion in the reaction with ethanol after 48 h operation) and its suitability for the sequential performance of different types of carbene transfer reactions with a simple and affordable experimental setup.

Highly functionalized biaryls via Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling catalyzed by Pd@MOF under batch and continuous flow regimes.

A diverse set of more than 40 highly functionalized biaryls was synthesized successfully through the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction catalyzed by Pd nanoparticles supported in a functionalized mesoporous MOF (8 wt % Pd@MIL-101(Cr)-NH2 ). This could be achieved under some of the mildest conditions reported to date and a strong control over the leaching of metallic species could be maintained, despite the presence of diverse functional groups and/or several heteroatoms. Some of the targeted molecules are important intermediates in the synthesis of pharmaceuticals and we clearly exemplify the versatility of this catalytic system, which affords better yields than currently existing commercial procedures. Most importantly, Pd@MIL-101-NH2 was packed in a micro-flow reactor, which represents the first report of metallic nanoparticles supported on MOFs employed in flow chemistry for catalytic applications. A small library of 11 isolated compounds was created in a continuous experiment without replacing the catalyst, demonstrating the potential of the catalyst for large-scale applications.

A solid-supported organocatalyst for continuous-flow enantioselective aldol reactions.

Asymmetric aldol reactions catalyzed by a novel polystyrene-immobilized proline derivative occur in short reaction times with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivity. The catalyst can be recovered by simple filtration and shows very high reusability. The high activity depicted by the supported catalyst and its chemical and mechanical stability have allowed its application in packed-bed reactors for continuous flow processing. This system can produce enantio- and diastereomerically pure aldol adducts under continuous flow conditions with a residence time of 26 min. Furthermore, the reactor allowed processing of four different aldol products in sequence without any decrease in both catalytic activity and optical purity. The effective catalyst loading could be reduced to 1.6% (six-fold reduction of catalyst loading compared to the corresponding batch process).

Synthesis of the pyrrolo[2,3-c]carbazole core of the dictyodendrins.

The pyrrolo[2,3-c]carbazole , the common core of the marine alkaloids known as the dictyodendrins, has been synthesised. The sequence is based on a Suzuki cross-coupling reaction between the pyrrole fragment and the indole fragment , followed by tandem photochemical 6pi-electrocyclization/aromatisation.

The synthesis of azadirachtin: a potent insect antifeedant.

We describe in full the first synthesis of the potent insect antifeedant azadirachtin through a highly convergent approach. An O-alkylation reaction is used to unite decalin ketone and propargylic mesylate fragments, after which a Claisen rearrangement constructs the central C8-C14 bond in a stereoselective fashion. The allene which results from this sequence then enables a second critical carbon-carbon bond forming event whereby the [3.2.1] bicyclic system, present in the natural product, is generated via a 5-exo-radical cyclisation process. Finally, using knowledge gained through our early studies into the reactivity of the natural product, a series of carefully designed steps completes the synthesis of this challenging molecule.

Dehalogenation of 1,3-diiodotricyclo[3.3.0.0(3,7)]octane: generation of 1,3-dehydrotricyclo[3.3.0.0(3,7)]octane, a 2,5-methano-bridged [2.2.1]propellane.

Compounds isolated from the reaction of (+/-)-1,3-diiodotricyclo[3.3.0.0(3,7)]octane with molten sodium or tBuLi suggest the intermediate formation of (+/-)-1,3-dehydrotricyclo[3.3.0.0(3,7)]octane. Worthy of note is the formation of stereoisomeric bi(5-methylenebicyclo[2.2.1]hept-2-ylidene) derivatives, probably by coupling of two units of (+/-)-1,3-dehydrotricyclo[3.3.0.0(3,7)]octane of the same or different absolute configuration followed by fragmentation, processes that have been studied by theoretical calculations.

Alternative syntheses of the new D2d symmetric tetramethyl tricyclo- [3.3.0.0(3,7)]octane-1,3,5,7-tetracarboxylate.

Two alternative syntheses of the new D2d symmetric tetramethyl tricyclo[3.3.0.0(3,7)]octane-1,3,5,7-tetracarboxylate from the known dimethyl 3,7-dioxo-cis-bicyclo[3.3.0]octane-1,5-dicarboxylate and 1,5-(2,2'-biphenylene)-cis-bicyclo[3.3.0]octane-3,7-dione are described.