A Robust and Scalable Process for the Synthesis of Substantially Pure Clarithromycin 9-(E)-Oxime with an Established Control of the (Z)-Isomer Impurity.

Controlling the isomeric impurity in a key raw material is always critical to achieve the corresponding pure isomer-free targeted active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) in downstream processing. Clarithromycin 9-(E)-oxime is the key raw material for the synthesis of the 9a-lactam macrolide, which is an interesting scaffold for the synthesis of several bioactive macrolides. Here demonstrated is a scalable process for the preparation of substantially pure clarithromycin 9-(E)-oxime, with less than 1.2% of the (Z)-isomer. The process does not involve a separate time-consuming purification by a crystallization operation to purge the undesired (Z)-oxime isomer. Further, the pure clarithromycin 9-(E)-oxime obtained was subjected to the Beckmann rearrangement, thereby converting it into the pure 9a-lactam scaffold. Additionally, a few other impurities were identified and controlled at each stage. The fine-tuned process was successfully up scaled to a multikilogram scale, enabling the large-scale manufacturing of potential APIs derived from this scaffold.

Productive Syntheses of Privileged Scaffolds Inspired by the Recognition of a Diels-Alder Pattern Common to Three Classes of Natural Products.

Identification of a common Diels-Alder pattern in three classes of bioactive natural products led us to study the synthesis and cycloaddition of a new class of cyclic dienes readily available from ß,γ-unsaturated lactams. A practical and readily scalable route to the parent p-methoxybenzyl-protected 6- and 7-membered ß,γ-unsaturated lactams was developed. These were readily transformed into the corresponding O-silylated dienes, which were reacted with dimethyl and diethyl fumarate to yield stereoselectively highly functionalized bicyclic adducts. These exhibited unexpected and versatile transformations upon acid hydrolysis depending on the nature of the dienophile substituents and the acid catalyst. All reactions have been performed on multigram quantities. These transformations provide a convenient, economical, and easily scalable pathway for the rapid construction of functionally and stereochemically dense privileged scaffolds for the construction of libraries of natural products-inspired molecules of pharmacological relevance.

Development of a new microwave-assisted cleavable backbone amide linker (BAL): a comparative study.

A thorough comparative study to demonstrate the properties of a new microwave labile backbone amide linker is presented. A cyclic pentapeptide, cyclo(Trp-Gln-Gly-beta-Ala-Phe), was used as a model and synthesized following 16 different conditions. The new backbone amide linker is stable towards acid and base at r.t., and can be cleaved at elevated temperature in trifluoroacetic acid under microwave irradiation, avoiding the use of aggressive reagents like HF. The new linker is compatible with Boc- as well as Fmoc-strategy and allows the cleavage of acid labile side chain protective groups at r.t., prior to cleavage of the cyclic pentapeptide from the resin.

A new colorimetric test for solid-phase amines and thiols.

A new, efficient, sensitive, and reliable color test for the visual detection of resin-bound primary and secondary amines is described. The reaction between amines and 1-methyl-2-(4'-nitrophenyl)-imidazo[1,2- a]pyrimidinium perchlorate (DESC) provides the "on-bead generated" colored stable intermediate azadiene. The developed protocols allow detection of resin-bound primary amines in the presence of secondary amines. The test can also be used for the detection of resin bound thiols.

Transition metal-catalyzed orthogonal solid-phase decoration of the 2(1H)-pyrazinone scaffold using a sulfur linker.

A new transition metal-catalyzed orthogonal solid-phase protocol for the synthesis of highly substituted 2(1H)-pyrazinones was developed, on the basis of Chan-Lam arylation and Liebeskind-Srogl cross-coupling reactions. This strategy opens the way for the generation of small libraries of 2(1H)-pyrazinone analogues for biological screening.

Copper(II)-mediated cross-coupling of arylboronic acids and 2(1H)-pyrazinones facilitated by microwave irradiation with simultaneous cooling.

[reaction: see text] Optimized conditions for the decoration of the 2(1H)-pyrazinone scaffold were developed by applying the Chan-Lam protocol. It was demonstrated that this Cu(II)-mediated cross-coupling reaction resulted in significantly improved yields and rates when performed under microwave irradiation with simultaneous cooling at 0 degrees C, applying a mixture of bases Et(3)N/pyridine.