Design, synthesis and characterisation of a novel type II B-RAF paradox breaker inhibitor.

The mutation V600E in B-Raf leads to mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathway activation, uncontrolled cell proliferation, and tumorigenesis. ATP competitive type I B-Raf inhibitors, such as vemurafenib (1) and PLX4720 (4) efficiently block the MAPK pathways in B-Raf mutant cells, however these inhibitors induce conformational changes in the wild type B-Raf (wtB-Raf) kinase domain leading to heterodimerization with C-Raf, causing paradoxical hyperactivation of the MAPK pathway. This unwanted activation may be avoided by another class of inhibitors (type II) which bind the kinase in the DFG-out conformation, such as AZ628 (3) preventing heterodimerization. Here we present a new B-Raf kinase domain inhibitor, based on a phenyl(1H-pyrrolo [2,3-b]pyridin-3-yl)methanone template, that represents a hybrid between 4 and 3. This novel inhibitor borrows the hinge binding region from 4 and the back pocket binding moiety from 3. We determined its binding mode, performed activity/selectivity studies, and molecular dynamics simulations in order to study the conformational effects induced by this inhibitor on wt and V600E mutant B-Raf kinase. We discovered that the inhibitor was active and selective for B-Raf, binds in a DFG-out/αC-helix-in conformation, and did not induce the aforementioned paradoxical hyperactivation in the MAPK pathway. We propose that this merging approach can be used to design a novel class of B-Raf inhibitors for translational studies.

Ketone Synthesis by a Nickel-Catalyzed Dehydrogenative Cross-Coupling of Primary Alcohols.

An intermolecular coupling of primary alcohols and organotriflates has been developed to provide ketones by the action of a Ni(0) catalyst. This oxidative transformation is proposed to occur by the union of three distinct catalytic cycles. Two competitive oxidation processes generate aldehyde in situ via hydrogen transfer oxidation or (pseudo)dehalogenation pathways. As aldehyde forms, a Ni-catalyzed carbonyl-Heck process enables formation of the key carbon-carbon bond. The utility of this rare alcohol to ketone transformation is demonstrated through the synthesis of diverse complex and bioactive molecules.

Mechanisms of low temperature capture and regeneration of CO2 using diamino protic ionic liquids.

Carbon dioxide (CO2) chemical absorption and regeneration was investigated in two diamino carboxylate protic ionic liquids (PILs), dimethylethylenediamine formate (DMEDAH formate) and dimethylpropylenediamine acetate (DMPDAH acetate), using novel calorimetric techniques. The PILs under study have previously been shown to possess a CO2 absorption capacity similar to the industrial standard, 30% aqueous MEA, while requiring much lower temperatures to release the captured CO2. We show that this is in part due to the fact that the PILs exhibit enthalpies of CO2 desorption as low as 40 kJ mol(-1), significantly lower than the 85 kJ mol(-1) required for 30% aqueous MEA. Computational and spectroscopic analyses were used to probe the mechanism of CO2 capture, which was found to proceed via the formation of carbamate moieties on the primary amine of both DMEDAH and DMPDAH. Evidence was also found that weakly acidic counter-ions such as formate and acetate provide, unexpectedly, an additional proton acceptor site in the traditional carbamate mechanism, revealing opportunities to increase CO2 uptake capacity in the future through careful design of the anion and cation used in the PIL capture agent.