Development of an asymmetric formal synthesis of (-)-quinagolide via enzymatic resolution and stereoselective iminium ion reduction.

The stereoselective reduction of a diastereoisomeric mixture of benzo[g]octahydroquinolinium ion was examined in detail. A diastereoselective borohydride reduction in combination with an efficient deacylative enzymatic resolution of its ß-aminoester precursor are the key steps for a stereoselective installation of the three chiral centres present in the (3S,4aS,10aR)-eutomer of the medicinal drug quinagolide. The obtained data paves the way for an easy and practical attainment of chiral 3-substituted octahydrobenzo[g]quinolines that are privileged structures in medicinal chemistry.

Synthesis, structure-activity relationships, and characterization of novel nonsteroidal and selective androgen receptor modulators.

Herein we describe the discovery of ACP-105 (1), a novel and potent nonsteroidal selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) with partial agonist activity relative to the natural androgen testosterone. Compound 1 was developed from a series of compounds found in a HTS screen using the receptor selection and amplification technology (R-SAT). In vivo, 1 improved anabolic parameters in a 2-week chronic study in castrated male rats. In addition to compound 1, a number of potent antiandrogens were discovered from the same series of compounds whereof one compound, 13, had antagonist activity at the AR T877A mutant involved in prostate cancer.

Enzyme fingerprints of activity, and stereo- and enantioselectivity from fluorogenic and chromogenic substrate arrays.

A series of stereochemically and structurally diverse fluorogenic and chromogenic substrates for hydrolytic enzymes has been synthesized and used to characterize enzyme activity profiles of esterases, lipases, proteases, peptidases, phosphatases, and epoxide hydrolases. The substrates used are particularly resilient to nonspecific reactions due to their mechanism of activation. The activities recorded with the individual substrates are therefore remarkably reproducible, and enable us to use the overall pattern of activity as a specific fingerprint for the enzyme sample. Fingerprints of activity, and enantio- and stereoselectivity are displayed as arrays of color-scale squares that are easily analyzed visually. Such fingerprints might be useful for quality control, enzyme discovery, and possibly for addressing the issue of functional convergence in enzymes.