Fragment-Based Discovery of Pyrazolopyridones as JAK1 Inhibitors with Excellent Subtype Selectivity.

Herein, we report the discovery of a series of JAK1-selective kinase inhibitors with high potency and excellent JAK family subtype selectivity. A fragment screening hit with a pyrazolopyridone core and a JAK1 bias was selected as the starting point for our fragment-based lead generation efforts. A two-stage strategy was chosen with the dual aims of improving potency and JAK1 selectivity: Optimization of the lipophilic ribose pocket-targeting substituent was followed by the introduction of a variety of P-loop-targeting functional groups.

Palladium-catalyzed thiocarbonylation of aryl, vinyl, and benzyl bromides.

A catalytic protocol for synthesis of thioesters from aryl, vinyl, and benzyl bromides as well as benzyl chlorides was developed using only stoichiometric amounts of carbon monoxide, produced from a solid CO precursor inside a two-chamber system. As a catalytic system, the combination of bis(benzonitrile) palladium(II) chloride and Xantphos furnished the highest yields of the desired compounds, along with the weak base, NaOAc, in anisole at 120 °C. The choice of catalytic system as well as solvent turned out to be important in order to ensure a high chemoselectivity in the reaction.

Pd-catalyzed thiocarbonylation with stoichiometric carbon monoxide: scope and applications.

A general protocol for the Pd-catalyzed thiocarbonylation of aryl iodides with stoichiometric carbon monoxide has been established employing a catalytic system composed of Pd(OAc)(2) and DPEphos with low catalyst loading (1 mol %). Both electron-rich and -deficient aryl iodides proved effective for these couplings with aryl and alkyl thiols. The choice of the metal ligands and the solvent system was crucial for the efficiency and chemoselectivity of these transformations.

Isotope-labeling of the fibril binding compound FSB via a Pd-catalyzed double alkoxycarbonylation.

We have synthesized two isotopically labeled variants of the β-amyloid binding compound FSB possessing (13)C-labels on the two terminal aryl carboxylic acid moieties. One of these was also fully deuterated on the olefinic spacers. The (13)C-isotope labeling was achieved applying a Pd-catalyzed methoxycarbonylation of the corresponding aryl chlorides with externally (ex situ) generated (13)C-labeled CO.