A covalent inhibitor targeting the papain-like protease from SARS-CoV-2 inhibits viral replication.

Covalent inhibitors of the papain-like protease (PLpro) from SARS-CoV-2 have great potential as antivirals, but their non-specific reactivity with thiols has limited their development. In this report, we performed an 8000 molecule electrophile screen against PLpro and identified an α-chloro amide fragment, termed compound 1, which inhibited SARS-CoV-2 replication in cells, and also had low non-specific reactivity with thiols. Compound 1 covalently reacts with the active site cysteine of PLpro, and had an IC50 of 18 µM for PLpro inhibition. Compound 1 also had low non-specific reactivity with thiols and reacted with glutathione 1-2 orders of magnitude slower than other commonly used electrophilic warheads. Finally, compound 1 had low toxicity in cells and mice and has a molecular weight of only 247 daltons and consequently has great potential for further optimization. Collectively, these results demonstrate that compound 1 is a promising lead fragment for future PLpro drug discovery campaigns.

A self-immolative linker that releases thiols detects penicillin amidase and nitroreductase with high sensitivity via absorption spectroscopy.

This article reports the synthesis and characterization of a novel self-immolative linker, based on thiocarbonates, which releases a free thiol upon activation via enzymes. We demonstrate that thiocarbonate self-immolative linkers can be used to detect the enzymes penicillin G amidase (PGA) and nitroreductase (NTR) with high sensitivity using absorption spectroscopy. Paired with modern thiol amplification technology, the detection of PGA and NTR were achieved at concentrations of 160 nM and 52 nM respectively. In addition, the PGA probe was shown to be compatible with both biological thiols and enzymes present in cell lysates.

Superacid-promoted synthesis of quinoline derivatives.

A series of vinylogous imines have been prepared from anilines and cinnamaldehydes. These substrates react in superacidic media to provide quinolines and related compounds. A mechanism for the conversion is proposed which involves the cyclization of dicationic superelectrophilic intermediates. Aromatization of the quinoline ring is thought to occur by superacid-promoted elimination of benzene.

Michael Addition with an Olefinic Pyridine: Organometallic Nucleophiles and Carbon Electrophiles.

The conjugate addition reactions of trans-1,2-di(2-pyridyl)ethylene have been studied. This substrate reacts with organolithium nucleophiles, and the resulting anionic intermediates may be trapped by proton or various carbonyl-based electrophiles. It is suggested that the dipyridyl structure stabilizes the intermediate carbanion, allowing the Michael adduct to be captured by an added electrophile.

Synthesis of Menthol Glycinates and Their Potential as Cooling Agents.

A convenient method of synthesis has been developed for a new class of potential cooling agents, menthol glycinates. These compounds are prepared in two synthetic steps, starting from bromoacetyl bromide and (-)-menthol. The resulting brominated menthol ester readily undergoes substitution reactions with NH3 and 1° or 2° amines to provide menthol glycinates. For most of the prepared compounds, the two-step synthetic procedure requires no aqueous phase extractions.

Functionalized fluorenes via dicationic electrophiles.

Dicationic fluorenyl cations are shown to react with nitriles to provide amide-functionalized fluorenes. A similar reaction with alcohols gives ether derivatives. The chemistry is initiated by the reactions of N-heterocyclic ketones in a superacidic solution. This leads to cyclizations involving 2-biphenyl groups and formation of the reactive fluorenyl cations.