Facile entry to an efficient and practical enantioselective synthesis of a polycyclic cholesteryl ester transfer protein inhibitor.

An efficient enantioselective synthesis of the chiral polycyclic cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) inhibitor 1 has been developed. The synthesis was rendered practical for large scale via the development of a modified Hantzsch-type reaction to prepare the sterically hindered pyridine ring, enantioselective hydrogenation of hindered ketone 6 utilizing novel BIBOP-amino-pyridine derived Ru complex, efficient ICl promoted lactone formation, and a BF3 mediated hydrogenation process for diastereoselective lactol reduction. This efficient route was successfully scaled to produce multikilogram quantities of challenging CETP drug candidate 1.

Electronic Insight into an Antithrombotic Agent by High-Resolution X-Ray Crystallography.

Five instead of 200 days measurement time are sufficient (thanks to area detection rather than conventional scintillation detection) to obtain the accurate charge density distribution of an antithrombotic agent with more than 50 atoms by a high-resolution X-ray diffraction experiment. The preferred sites of intermolecular interactions were identified from various topological properties, such as the reactive surface (zero Laplacian function, see picture) and the electrostatic potential.