Diverse Catalytic Reactions for the Stereoselective Synthesis of Cyclic Dinucleotide MK-1454.

As practitioners of organic chemistry strive to deliver efficient syntheses of the most complex natural products and drug candidates, further innovations in synthetic strategies are required to facilitate their efficient construction. These aspirational breakthroughs often go hand-in-hand with considerable reductions in cost and environmental impact. Enzyme-catalyzed reactions have become an impressive and necessary tool that offers benefits such as increased selectivity and waste limitation.

Engineered Ribosyl-1-Kinase Enables Concise Synthesis of Molnupiravir, an Antiviral for COVID-19.

Molnupiravir (MK-4482) is an investigational antiviral agent that is under development for the treatment of COVID-19. Given the potential high demand and urgency for this compound, it was critical to develop a short and sustainable synthesis from simple raw materials that would minimize the time needed to manufacture and supply molnupiravir. The route reported here is enabled through the invention of a novel biocatalytic cascade featuring an engineered ribosyl-1-kinase and uridine phosphorylase.

Efficient synthesis of antiviral agent uprifosbuvir enabled by new synthetic methods.

An efficient route to the HCV antiviral agent uprifosbuvir was developed in 5 steps from readily available uridine in 50% overall yield. This concise synthesis was achieved by development of several synthetic methods: (1) complexation-driven selective acyl migration/oxidation; (2) BSA-mediated cyclization to anhydrouridine; (3) hydrochlorination using FeCl/TMDSO; (4) dynamic stereoselective phosphoramidation using a chiral nucleophilic catalyst. The new route improves the yield of uprifosbuvir 50-fold over the previous manufacturing process and expands the tool set available for synthesis of antiviral nucleotides.

Organocatalytic Conversion of Nucleosides to Furanoid Glycals.

A class of organocatalysts that are highly active for the conversion of 2'-deoxynucleosides to furanoid glycals have been discovered. These phosphorimides, (PhPS)NH and (PhPSe)NH, were shown to effectively mediate persilylation of 2'-deoxynucleosides allowing the elimination of the nucleobase giving the corresponding glycal. These mild conditions were demonstrated in the syntheses of glycals with various substitution patterns while minimizing the formation of undesired byproducts and expanding the scope of this methodology.

A multifunctional catalyst that stereoselectively assembles prodrugs.

The catalytic stereoselective synthesis of compounds with chiral phosphorus centers remains an unsolved problem. State-of-the-art methods rely on resolution or stoichiometric chiral auxiliaries. Phosphoramidate prodrugs are a critical component of pronucleotide (ProTide) therapies used in the treatment of viral disease and cancer.

Gasometric titration for dimethylaluminum chloride analysis.

A gasometric titration method was developed to quantitate active alkylaluminum content in dimethylaluminum chloride solution to perform the stoichiometry calculation for the reaction charge. The procedure was reproducible with good precision, and the results showed good correlation with ICP-MS method. The gasometric titration is a simple, inexpensive alternative to analysis via ICP-MS which provides more selective analysis of methylaluminum species without the need for inertion.

Bismuth Acetate as a Catalyst for the Sequential Protodeboronation of Di- and Triborylated Indoles.

Bismuth(III) acetate is a safe, inexpensive, and selective facilitator of sequential protodeboronations, which when used in conjunction with Ir-catalyzed borylations allows access to a diversity of borylated indoles. The versatility of combining Ir-catalyzed borylations with Bi(III)-catalyzed protodeboronation is demonstrated by selectively converting 6-fluoroindole into products with Bpin groups at the 4-, 5-, 7-, 2,7-, 4,7-, 3,5-, and 2,4,7-positions and the late-stage functionalization of sumatriptan.

A Synthesis of a Spirocyclic Macrocyclic Protease Inhibitor for the Treatment of Hepatitis C.

The development of a convergent and highly stereoselective synthesis of an HCV NS3/4a protease inhibitor possessing a unique spirocyclic and macrocyclic architecture is described. A late-stage spirocyclization strategy both enabled rapid structure-activity relationship studies in the drug discovery phase and simultaneously served as the basis for the large scale drug candidate preparation for clinical use. Also reported is the discovery of a novel InCl3-catalyzed carbonyl reduction with household aluminum foil or zinc powder as the terminal reductant.

Enantioselective Synthesis of α-Methyl-β-cyclopropyldihydrocinnamates.

α- and β-substitution of dihydrocinnamates has been shown to increase the biological activity of various drug candidates. Recently, we identified enantio- and diastereopure α-methyl-β-cyclopropyldihydrocinnamates to be important pharmacophores in one of our drug discovery programs and endeavored to devise an asymmetric hydrogenation strategy to improve access to this valuable framework. We used high throughput experimentation to define stereoconvergent Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling conditions affording (Z)-α-methyl-β-cyclopropylcinnamates and subsequent ruthenium-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation conditions affording the desired products in excellent enantio- and diastereoselectivities.

Asymmetric synthesis of cyclic indole aminals via 1,3-stereoinduction.

A general and efficient asymmetric synthesis of cyclic indoline aminals was developed with a high level of 1,3-stereoinduction through a dynamic crystallization-driven condensation. Dehydrogenation of the indoline aminals with potassium permanganate produced the corresponding cyclic indole aminals in high yields and excellent enantioselectivities. This general methodology was successfully applied to the synthesis of a wide variety of chiral cyclic indoline aminals and indole aminals with aromatic and aliphatic functional groups.

Silyl phosphorus and nitrogen donor chelates for homogeneous ortho borylation catalysis.

Ir catalysts supported by bidentate silyl ligands that contain P- or N-donors are shown to effect ortho borylations for a range of substituted aromatics. The substrate scope is broad, and the modular ligand synthesis allows for flexible catalyst design.

Enantioselective synthesis of an HCV NS5a antagonist.

A concise, enantioselective synthesis of the HCV NS5a inhibitor MK-8742 (1) is reported. The features of the synthesis include a highly enantioselective transfer hydrogenation of an NH imine and a dynamic diastereoselective transformation. The synthesis of this complex target requires simple starting materials and nine linear steps for completion.

A traceless directing group for C-H borylation.

Not a trace: Borylation of the nitrogen in nitrogen heterocycles or anilines provides a traceless directing group for subsequent catalytic C-H borylation. Selectivities that previously required Boc protection can be achieved; furthermore, the NBpin directing group can be installed and removed in-situ, and product yields are substantially higher. Boc=tert-butoxycarbonyl, pin=pinacolato.

High-throughput optimization of Ir-catalyzed C-H borylation: a tutorial for practical applications.

With the aid of high-throughput screening, the efficiency of Ir-catalyzed C-H borylations has been assessed as functions of precatalyst, boron reagent, ligand, order of addition, temperature, solvent, and substrate. This study not only validated some accepted practices but also uncovered unconventional conditions that were key to substrate performance. We anticipate that insights drawn from these findings will be used to design reaction conditions for substrates whose borylations are difficult to impossible using standard catalytic conditions.

C-O cross-coupling of activated aryl and heteroaryl halides with aliphatic alcohols.

A robust and general catalyst system facilitates the alkoxylation of activated heteroaryl halides with primary, secondary, and select tertiary alcohols without the need for an excess of either coupling partner. This catalyst system displays broad functional-group tolerance and excellent regioselectivity, and is insensitive to the order of reagent addition.

A soluble copper(I) source and stable salts of volatile ligands for copper-catalyzed C-X couplings.

A stable adduct of CuI with Bu(4)NI, soluble in organic solvents, has been identified as an effective catalyst for copper-catalyzed C-N and C-O couplings. In addition, stable nonhygroscopic salts of some high performance ligands (diamine MsOH salts/CuX and copper(II) diketonates) were shown to be of similar and sometimes greater reactivity compared to the literature reagents for these couplings. Furthermore, these more robust conditions result in more reproducible results.

Synthesis of a beta-amino acid pharmacophore via a beta-lactam intermediate.

A stereoselective synthesis of (R)-beta-amino acid 1 via a beta-lactam intermediate is discussed.

Enantioselective hydrogenation of alpha-aryloxy alpha,beta-unsaturated acids. Asymmetric synthesis of alpha-aryloxycarboxylic acids.

[reaction: see text] A facile preparation of chiral alpha-aryloxy carboxylic acids via asymmetric hydrogenation of the corresponding unsaturated acids has been discovered. A number of catalysts have been identified that give high product enantioselectivity, and the scope of the reaction has been examined with respect to substitution on the aromatic ring and olefin.

Stereocontrolled preparation of a nonpeptidal (-)-spirobicyclic NK-1 receptor antagonist.

The synthesis of a spirobicyclic NK-1 receptor (Substance-P) antagonist 1 antipode is described. Retrosynthetic analysis reveals an allylic halide A bearing the cyclopropoxy-substituted aryl group and a 2-phenyl-3-piperidone B. The stereochemistry in the spirobicyclic system bearing three chiral centers is initially set via a highly diastereoselective zinc-mediated coupling of the allylic bromide 23 to the optically active ketopiperidine 3.