Next-generation small molecule therapies for heart failure: 2015 and beyond.

Poor prognosis coupled with significant economic burden makes heart failure (HF) one of the largest issues currently facing the world population. Although a significant number of new therapies have emerged over the past 20 years to treat the underlying physiological risk factors, only two new medications specifically for HF have been approved since 2007. This perspective provides an overview of recently approved treatment options for HF and as well as an update on additional small molecule therapies currently in clinical development.

Direct, enantioselective α-alkylation of aldehydes using simple olefins.

Although the α-alkylation of ketones has already been established, the analogous reaction using aldehyde substrates has proven surprisingly elusive. Despite the structural similarities between the two classes of compounds, the sensitivity and unique reactivity of the aldehyde functionality has typically required activated substrates or specialized additives. Here, we show that the synergistic merger of three catalytic processes-photoredox, enamine and hydrogen-atom transfer (HAT) catalysis-enables an enantioselective α-aldehyde alkylation reaction that employs simple olefins as coupling partners. Chiral imidazolidinones or prolinols, in combination with a thiophenol, iridium photoredox catalyst and visible light, have been successfully used in a triple catalytic process that is temporally sequenced to deliver a new hydrogen and electron-borrowing mechanism. This multicatalytic process enables both intra- and intermolecular aldehyde α-methylene coupling with olefins to construct both cyclic and acyclic products, respectively. With respect to atom and step-economy ideals, this stereoselective process allows the production of high-value molecules from feedstock chemicals in one step while consuming only photons.

Preparation and biological evaluation of synthetic and polymer-encapsulated congeners of the antitumor agent pactamycin: insight into functional group effects and biological activity.

The synthesis and biological analysis of a number of novel congeners of the aminocyclopentitol pactamycin is described. Specific attention was paid to the preparation of derivatives at crucial synthetic branch points of the parent structure, and biological assays revealed a number of insights into the source of pactamycin's biological activity. Additionally, the encapsulation of pactamycin and select derivatives into the PRINT© nanoparticle technology was investigated as a proof-of-concept, and evidence of bioactivity modulation through nanoparticle delivery is demonstrated. This work has provided heretofore unrealized access to a large number of novel compounds for further evaluation.

Asymmetric synthesis of the aminocyclitol pactamycin, a universal translocation inhibitor.

An asymmetric total synthesis of the aminocyclopentitol pactamycin is described. The title compound is delivered in 15 steps from 2,4-pentanedione. Critical to this approach was the exploitation of a complex symmetry-breaking reduction strategy to assemble the C1, C2, and C7 relative stereochemistry within the first four steps of the synthesis. Multiple iterations of this reduction strategy are described, and a thorough analysis of stereochemical outcomes is detailed. In the final case, an asymmetric Mannich reaction was developed to install a protected amine directly at the C2 position. Symmetry-breaking reduction of this material gave way to a remarkable series of stereochemical outcomes leading to the title compound without recourse to nonstrategic downstream manipulations. This synthesis is immediately accommodating to the preparation of structural analogs.

Enantioselective synthesis of pactamycin, a complex antitumor antibiotic.

Medicinal application of many complex natural products is precluded by the impracticality of their chemical synthesis. Pactamycin, the most structurally intricate aminocyclopentitol antibiotic, displays potent antiproliferative properties across multiple phylogenetic domains, but it is highly cytotoxic. A limited number of analogs produced by genetic engineering technologies show reduced cytotoxicity against mammalian cells, renewing promise for therapeutic applications. For decades, an efficient synthesis of pactamycin amenable to analog derivatizations has eluded researchers. Here, we present a short asymmetric total synthesis of pactamycin. An enantioselective Mannich reaction and symmetry-breaking reduction sequence was designed to enable assembly of the entire carbon core skeleton in under five steps and control critical three-dimensional (stereochemical) functional group relationships. This modular route totals 15 steps and is immediately amenable for structural analog synthesis.

α-Amination of keto-nitrones via multihetero-Cope rearrangement employing an imidoyl chloride reagent.

α-Aminations of ketone-derived nitrones have been developed via [3,3]-rearrangement of the intermediates generated upon condensation with imidoyl chlorides. Careful reagent selection provides synthetically attractive amino protecting groups. The enediamide or α'-carbamoyl enamide products can be hydrolyzed to the desired carbonyl, or exposed to electrophiles for further α-functionalization.

Diastereocontrolled construction of pactamycin's complex ureido triol functional array.

An advanced intermediate in a projected synthesis of pactamycin has been prepared. Early installation of the C1-dimethylurea functionality allows for its participation in a diastereoselective, chelation-controlled addition of organometal nucleophiles to the C5 prochiral ketone. Four of the molecule's six stereocenters are set with a ketone functional handle provided for subsequent manipulation.

Silyl glyoxylates. Conception and realization of flexible conjunctive reagents for multicomponent coupling.

This Perspective describes the discovery and development of silyl glyoxylates, a new family of conjunctive reagents for use in multicomponent coupling reactions. The selection of the nucleophilic and electrophilic components determines whether the silyl glyoxylate reagent will function as a synthetic equivalent to the dipolar glycolic acid synthon, the glyoxylate anion synthon, or the α-keto ester homoenolate synthon. The ability to select for any of these reaction modes has translated to excellent structural diversity in the derived three- and four-component coupling adducts. Preliminary findings on the development of catalytic reactions using these reagents are detailed, as are the design and discovery of new reactions directed toward particular functional group arrays embedded within bioactive natural products.

Formal synthesis of leustroducsin B via Reformatsky/Claisen condensation of silyl glyoxylates.

A formal synthesis of leustroducsin B has been completed. The synthesis relies upon a recently developed Reformatsky/Claisen condensation of silyl glyoxylates and enantioenriched ß-lactones that establishes two of the molecule's three core stereocenters and permits further elaboration to an intermediate in Imanishi's synthesis via reliable chemistry (Prasad reduction, asymmetric pentenylation, Mitsunobu inversion).

Remote stereoinduction in the acylation of fully substituted enolates: tandem Reformatsky/quaternary Claisen condensations of silyl glyoxylates and ß-lactones.

Reformatsky reagents react sequentially with silyl glyoxylates and ß-lactones to give highly functionalized Claisen condensation products. A heretofore undocumented instance of stereochemical 1,4-induction results in efficient transmission of ß-lactone stereochemistry to the emerging fully substituted stereocenter. Second-stage transformations reveal that the five heteroatom-containing functionalities embedded within the products are entirely chemo-differentiated, a circumstance that permits rapid assembly of the leustroducsin B core substructure.