Derivatisation of parthenolide to address chemoresistant chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Parthenolide is a natural product that exhibits anti-leukaemic activity, however, its clinical use is limited by its poor bioavailability. It may be extracted from feverfew and protocols for growing, extracting and derivatising it are reported. A novel parthenolide derivative with good bioavailability and pharmacological properties was identified through a screening cascade based on in vitro anti-leukaemic activity and calculated "drug-likeness" properties, in vitro and in vivo pharmacokinetics studies and hERG liability testing. In vitro studies showed the most promising derivative to have comparable anti-leukaemic activity to DMAPT, a previously described parthenolide derivative. The newly identified compound was shown to have pro-oxidant activity and in silico molecular docking studies indicate a prodrug mode of action. A synthesis scheme is presented for the production of amine 7 used in the generation of 5f.

Development of chiral metal amides as highly reactive catalysts for asymmetric [3 + 2] cycloadditions.

Highly efficient catalytic asymmetric [3 + 2] cycloadditions using a chiral copper amide are reported. Compared with the chiral CuOTf/Et3N system, the CuHMDS system showed higher reactivity, and the desired reactions proceeded in high yields and high selectivities with catalyst loadings as low as 0.01 mol %.

Catalytic asymmetric endo-selective [3+2] cycloaddition reactions of Schiff bases of α-aminophosphonates with olefins using chiral metal amides.

Catalytic asymmetric endo-selective [3+2] cycloaddition reactions of Schiff bases of α-aminophosphonates with olefins are described. While the efficient asymmetric synthesis of several phosphonate analogues of proline derivatives is important in bioorganic chemistry, a direct catalytic method to prepare optically active endo [3+2] cycloadducts of α-aminophosphonates with olefins has never been developed. We found for the first time that catalyst systems prepared from Group 11 metal amides with the (R)-FeSulphos ligand were effective for the asymmetric endo-selective [3+2] cycloaddition to afford the desired proline phosphonate analogues in high yields with high endo- and high enantioselectivities.

Phase-transfer-catalysed asymmetric synthesis of tetrasubstituted allenes.

Allenes are molecules based on three carbons connected by two cumulated carbon-carbon double bonds. Given their axially chiral nature and unique reactivity, substituted allenes have a variety of applications in organic chemistry as key synthetic intermediates and directly as part of biologically active compounds. Although the demands for these motivated many endeavours to make axially chiral, substituted allenes by exercising asymmetric catalysis, the catalytic asymmetric synthesis of fully substituted ones (tetrasubstituted allenes) remained largely an unsolved issue. The fundamental obstacle to solving this conundrum is the lack of a simple synthetic transformation that provides tetrasubstituted allenes in the action of catalysis. We report herein a strategy to overcome this issue by the use of a phase-transfer-catalysed asymmetric functionalization of 1-alkylallene-1,3-dicarboxylates with N-arylsulfonyl imines and benzylic and allylic bromides.