Studies towards the synthesis of medermycin via Dötz benzannulation.

The C-arylglycosides are available in enantiomerically pure form via the Dötz benzannulation reaction between Fischer alkenyl chromium carbene complexes and alkynes; it also could be converted to a precursor of medermycin by O-carbamate directed ipso bromination and nitrile substitution in good overall yields.

Rapid and recurrent neutrophil mobilization regulated by T134, a CXCR4 peptide antagonist.

The CXCR4/stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) axis plays important roles in development, leukocyte trafficking, HIV infection, and tumorigenesis. Its critical function in bone marrow stem cell and hematopoietic progenitor cell retention, homing and release has been well-characterized by genetic and pharmacological analyses. However, its role in neutrophil retention and release is still poorly understood.

Assembly of 4-aminoquinolines via palladium catalysis: a mild and convenient alternative to SNAr methodology.

4-aminoquinolines, classically prepared via SNAr chemistry from an amine and 4-haloquinoline, are important scaffolds in medicinal chemistry. Interest in these compounds prompted us to explore palladium catalysis as an alternative to the existing methods for their preparation. Initial results followed by an iterative screening paradigm confirmed Pd(OAc)2/DPEphos/K3PO4 as a mild and convenient alternative for the formation of the C-N bond in 4-aminoquinolines.

Discovery of non-covalent dipeptidyl peptidase IV inhibitors which induce a conformational change in the active site.

A series of non-covalent inhibitors of the serine protease dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV) were found to adopt a U-shaped binding conformation in X-ray co-crystallization studies. Remarkably, Tyr547 undergoes a 70 degrees side-chain rotation to accommodate the inhibitor and allows access to a previously unexposed area of the protein backbone for hydrogen bonding.

Synthesis of (S,S)-isodityrosine by Dötz benzannulation.

[reaction: see text] A synthesis of (S,S)-isodityrosine 1, a naturally occurring, key structural subunit of numerous biologically active macromolecules, is described. A formal [3 + 2 + 1] cycloaddition (Dötz benzannulation) approach was utilized to simultaneously construct an aromatic ring and the diaryl ether linkage in one step. This key step was extended to the synthesis of (S,S)-isodityrosine in two separate convergent synthetic routes.