Pyrimethamine Derivatives: Insight into Binding Mechanism and Improved Enhancement of Mutant ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase Activity.

In order to identify structural features of pyrimethamine (5-(4-chlorophenyl)-6-ethylpyrimidine-2,4-diamine) that contribute to its inhibitory activity (IC50 value) and chaperoning efficacy toward ß-N-acetylhexosaminidase, derivatives of the compound were synthesized that differ at the positions bearing the amino, ethyl, and chloro groups. Whereas the amino groups proved to be critical to its inhibitory activity, a variety of substitutions at the chloro position only increased its IC50 by 2-3-fold. Replacing the ethyl group at the 6-position with butyl or methyl groups increased IC50 more than 10-fold. Surprisingly, despite its higher IC50, a derivative lacking the chlorine atom in the para-position was found to enhance enzyme activity in live patient cells a further 25% at concentrations >100 µM, while showing less toxicity. These findings demonstrate the importance of the phenyl group in modulating the chaperoning efficacy and toxicity profile of the derivatives.

Novel Quinoline-Based P2-P4 Macrocyclic Derivatives As Pan-Genotypic HCV NS3/4a Protease Inhibitors.

We have previously reported the discovery of our P2-P4 macrocyclic HCV NS3/4a protease inhibitor MK-5172, which in combination with the NS5a inhibitor MK-8742 recently received a breakthrough therapy designation from the US FDA for treatment of chronic HCV infection. Our goal for the next generation NS3/4a inhibitor was to achieve pan-genotypic activity while retaining the pharmacokinetic profile of MK-5172. One of the areas for follow-up investigation involved replacement of the quinoxaline moiety in MK-5172 with a quinoline and studying the effect of substitution at 4-position of the quinoline. The rationale for this effort was based on molecular modeling, which indicated that such modifications would improve interactions with the S2 subsite, in particular with D79. We wish to report herein the discovery of highly potent inhibitors with pan-genotypic activity and an improved profile over MK-5172, especially against gt-3a and A156 mutants.

Total synthesis and complete structural assignment of thiocillin I.

The total synthesis of the thiopeptide antibiotic, thiocillin I, is described. This work unequivocally defines the full structure (constitution and configuration) of the natural product as 1.

An improved synthesis of pyridine-thiazole cores of thiopeptide antibiotics.

The oxidation of 2-methylthiazoles to 2-formylthiazoles simplifies the implementation of the Bagley variant of the Bohlmann-Rahtz reaction as a key step in a concise new route to pyridine cores of thiopeptide antibiotics.

Oxidation of oximes to nitrile oxides with hypervalent iodine reagents.

Iodobenzene diacetate in MeOH containing a catalytic amount of TFA efficiently oxidizes aldoximes to nitrile oxides. The latter may be trapped in situ with olefins in a bimolecular or an intramolecular mode. The new method enables the execution of tandem oxidative dearomatization of phenols/intramolecular nitrile oxide cycloaddition sequences leading to useful synthetic intermediates.