Synthetic Studies toward the Total Synthesis of Scabrolide A.

Herein, we report a concise route to the [5-5-6]-fused tricyclic core of scabrolide A and our efforts toward the construction of the fourth cycloheptane ring of the molecule via a 7- radical cyclization. The tricyclic cyclohexenone core was assembled by a ring-closing metathesis (RCM) reaction followed by oxidation and concomitant isomerization of the double bond. These promising results have potential implications in the synthesis of similar tricyclic cores of many other congeners within this family of furanobutenolide-derived polycyclic cembranoids and norcembranoids.

CpTiCl-Promoted Radical Cyclization to Six- and Seven-Membered Carbocycles: Synthesis of (±)-Isoclavukerin A.

A systematic study is undertaken to investigate the less explored radical cyclization in activated olefin-appended epoxides using CpTiCl. The radical generated by the Ti(III)-promoted reductive opening of the epoxy ring promptly underwent cyclization, giving access to differently 1,3-disubstituted six- and seven-membered carbocycles in good yields and diastereoselectivity. This protocol was successfully employed in the construction of 5,7- and 6,7-fused bicyclic frameworks entailing a de novo synthesis of (±)-isoclavukerin A belonging to tri--guaiane class of sesquiterpene natural products in eight simple steps from commercially available starting materials.

An attempt to construct an indole-fused azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane framework radical cyclization.

The structural motif of an indole-fused azabicyclo[3.3.1]nonane is common in many biologically significant indole-based natural products.

One-Pot Tandem Aldol-Cycloetherification Protocol in the Enantioselective Synthesis of Davanoids.

Total synthesis of and diastereomers of prenylated davanoids like davanone, nordavanone, and davana acid ethyl ester was achieved in an enantioselective strategy. Various other davanoids could also be synthesized using standard procedures from the Weinreb amides derived from davana acids. Enantioselectivity in our synthesis was achieved employing a Crimmins' non-Evans syn aldol reaction that fixed the stereochemistry of the C3-hydroxyl group, while the C2-methyl group was epimerized in a late stage of the synthesis.

CpTiCl-Mediated Reductive Cyclization: Total Synthesis of Pestalotiolactone A, Myrotheciumone A, and Scabrol A.

The first stereoselective total syntheses of fungal secondary metabolites monoterpenoid (+)-pestalotiolactone A, meroterpenoid (-)-myrotheciumone A, and iridoid lactone (+)-scabrol A have been accomplished in an expedient unified approach starting from d-(+)-malic acid employing an epoxide opening-radical cyclization protocol initiated by CpTi(III)Cl as a key step to assemble the core bicyclic lactone moieties of these molecules with complete diastereoselective control. Finally, the deoxygenation and methylation delivered the target natural products.

Environment-Sensitive Fluorescence of 7-Nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl (NBD)-Labeled Ligands for Serotonin Receptors.

Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that plays a crucial role in the regulation of several behavioral and cognitive functions by binding to a number of different serotonin receptors present on the cell surface. We report here the synthesis and characterization of several novel fluorescent analogs of serotonin in which the fluorescent NBD (7-nitrobenz-2-oxa-1,3-diazol-4-yl) group is covalently attached to serotonin. The fluorescent ligands compete with the serotonin receptor specific radiolabeled agonist for binding to the receptor.

Total Synthesis of Panaginsene.

The total synthesis of panaginsene has been accomplished in 11 linear steps starting from methyl 3,3-dimethyl-5-oxocyclopent-1-ene-1-carboxylate. The key steps are a Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation and Ti(III)-mediated reductive epoxide opening-radical cyclization to construct the chiral quaternary carbon stereocenter followed by a very challenging HWE olefination reaction on an 1,3-keto aldehyde and a late stage McMurry olefination using low valent titanium to construct the highly constrained angular tetrasubstituted olefin in a five-membered ring.

Application of CpTiCl-Promoted Radical-Induced Cyclization: An Expeditious Access to []-Annelated Indoles.

An efficient and novel route for assembling pyrrolo/piperido[1,2-]indoles is portrayed involving a radical-mediated reductive epoxide opening reaction of -tethered epoxy-indoles that trigger facile intramolecular cyclization followed by an oxidative quenching step. Capitalizing on the operational simplicity of the method involving just two steps and use of an efficient C-C bond-forming reaction, this radical-based protocol enables the modular assembly of an important class of -fused indole derivatives with versatile functional and structural diversity.

Development of Minimal Diguanosinyl Motif toward RNA G-Quadruplex-Like Structures in Solution.

Among the non-canonical structures of B-DNA, the G-quadruplex is of particular interest because of its well-defined conformation, high stability, and versatility. Herein we report our studies on the development of an amide-linked minimal diguanosinyl motif that forms a G-quadruplex-like structure in solution in the presence of potassium cations; various linear guanosine amino acid dimers were synthesized with linkers of different chain lengths to investigate the optimum flexibility required to form such structures.

Titanocene(III)-Mediated 5-exo-trig Radical Cyclization: En Route to Spirooxindole-Based Tetrahydrofuran and Bicyclic Lactone.

The isatin core system is of immense importance due to the highly reactive prochiral C-3 position, which paves an easy way to construct large arrays of spirooxindole heterocyclic motifs. Herein, we depict an isatin-derived and 3,3'-disubstituted oxindole-appended epoxy-acrylate undergoing CpTi(III)Cl-mediated reductive oxirane-ring opening with concomitant intramolecular 5-exo-trig radical cyclization leading to tetrahydrofuran-based oxa-spirooxindole systems. The fused spirooxindole structural feature is embedded in many natural products and tends to exhibit a wide spectrum of biological activities.

Studies on sugar puckering and glycosidic stabilities of 3'-amino-5'-carboxymethyl-3',5'-dideoxy nucleoside mimics.

The synthesis of nucleoside amino acid monomers and dimers has been carried out to evaluate and characterize the impact of the neutral amide backbone on key attributes like puckering of the sugar rings and glycosidic bond strengths of these analogs. The conformational analysis suggests that amide-linked nucleotides have a high predilection towards N-type conformers. The glycosidic bond strength was found to be slightly weaker compared to ribonucleosides under acidic conditions at high temperatures.

Application of CpTiCl-Promoted Radical Cyclization: A Unified Strategy for the Syntheses of Iridoid Monoterpenes.

An expedient approach toward the unified total syntheses of (+)-iridomyrmecin, (-)-isoiridomyrmecin, (+)-7- epi-boschnialactone, (+)-teucriumlactone, and (-)-dolichodial in chirally pure forms starting from readily available (+)-β-citronellene is delineated combining step economy and simplicity. Highlights include a Ti(III)-mediated reductive epoxide opening-cyclization for the construction of the core cyclopenta[ c]pyran skeleton of the iridoid lactones with complete diastereoselectivity for the newly created bridgehead stereogenic centers. Subsequent transformations facilitate a short access to (+)-teucriumlactone and (-)-dolichodial and formal access to potentially other iridoids.

Conformation Analysis of GalNAc-Appended Sugar Amino Acid Foldamers as Glycopeptide Mimics.

Sugar amino acid (SAA)-based foldamers with well-defined secondary structures were appended with N-acetylgalactosamine (GalNAc) sugars to access sequence-defined, multidentate glycoconjugates with full control over number, spacing and position. Conformation analysis of these glycopeptides by extensive NMR spectroscopic studies revealed that the appended GalNAc units had a profound influence on the native conformational behaviour of the SAA foldamers. Whereas the 2,5-cis glycoconjugate showed a helical structure in water, comprising of two consecutive 16-membered hydrogen bonds, its 2,5-trans congener displayed an unprecedented 16/10-mixed turn structure not seen before in any glycopeptide foldamer.

Diversity-Oriented Approach to N-Heterocyclic Compounds from α-Phenyl-β-enamino Ester via a Mitsunobu-Michael Reaction Sequence.

Herein we delineate a novel route for the diastereoselective construction of diversely substituted N-heterocyclic ring systems as valuable scaffolds for natural products and pharmaceuticals, starting from an easily accessible prochiral α-phenyl-β-enamino ester. The reaction sequence relies on the unexplored reactivity of α-phenyl-β-enamino ester as a nucleophilic partner in the Mitsunobu reaction to forge the N-tethered alkene-alcohol/thiol/amine intermediate, which was subjected to an intramolecular hetero-Michael addition reaction under mild conditions to furnish the respective N-heterocyclic compounds embedded with an exocyclic chiral center in high yields and excellent diastereoselectivities. The methodology is amenable for a broad range of substrates based on a metal-free approach.

Synthesis, SAR and biological studies of sugar amino acid-based almiramide analogues: N-methylation leads the way.

Leishmaniasis, caused by the protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania, is one of the most neglected diseases endemic in many continents posing enormous global health threats and therefore the discovery of new antileishmanial compounds is of utmost urgency. The antileishmanial activities of a library of sugar amino acid-based linear lipopeptide analogues were examined with the aim to identify potential drug candidates to treat visceral leishmaniasis. It was found that among the synthesized analogues, most of the permethylated compounds exhibited more activity in in vitro studies against intra-macrophagic amastigotes than the non-methylated analogues.

Radical Approach to the Chiral Quaternary Center in Asperaculin A: Synthesis of 9-Deoxyasperaculin A.

Diastereoselective approaches toward the synthesis of a marine-derived sesquiterpenoid fungal metabolite, asperaculin A, are delineated, combining step economy and simplicity. Two distinct lactonization sequences from a common intermediate led to the first synthesis of 9-deoxyasperaculin A, a novel dioxa[5.5.

Influence of Linker Length on Conformational Preferences of Glycosylated Sugar Amino Acid Foldamers.

Glycosylation of foldamers derived from furanoid sugar amino acids with mannose and a propyltriazole linker results in an unprecedented 16/10 mixed-turn structure in the glycopeptides in water, with a preference for the higher-order structure irrespective of the stereochemistry of the starting foldamer. This is in stark contrast to the structures displayed by the same oligomers in water when mannosylated with a two-carbon-shorter methyltriazole linker: 16-membered turn structure in the cis-foldamer and 10-membered in its trans congener. This demonstrates the defining influence of the linker length on the structural preference of these novel glycopeptide mimics.

Cyclic Cationic Peptides Containing Sugar Amino Acids Selectively Distinguishes and Inhibits Maturation of Pre-miRNAs of the Same Family.

The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) has added a new dimension to the gene regulatory networks, making aberrantly expressed miRNAs as therapeutically important targets. Small molecules that can selectively target and modulate miRNA levels can thus serve as lead structures. Cationic cyclic peptides containing sugar amino acids represent a new class of small molecules that can target miRNA selectively.

Tetrahydrofuran amino acid-containing gramicidin S analogues with improved biological profiles.

Gramicidin S (GS) is a cyclic cationic antimicrobial peptide (CAP) with a wide spectrum of antibiotic activities whose usage has been limited to topical applications owing to its cytotoxic side effects. We have synthesized tetrahydrofuran amino acid (Taa)-containing GS analogues, and we have carried out conformational analysis and explored their structure activity relationships by evaluating their antitubercular, antibacterial and cytotoxic properties. Two of these analogues showed impressive as well as selective activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) without toxicity towards mammalian Vero cells or human RBCs, and are promising as potential leads.

Drug discovery research in India: current state and future prospects.

Indian civilization developed a strong system of traditional medicine and was one of the first nations to develop a synthetic drug. In the postindependence era, Indian pharmaceutical industry developed a strong base for production of generic drugs. Challenges for the future are to give its traditional medicine a strong scientific base and develop research and clinical capability to consistently produce new drugs based on advances in modern biological sciences.

In the sense of transcription regulation by G-quadruplexes: asymmetric effects in sense and antisense strands.

G-Quadruplexes occupy important regulatory regions in the genome. DNA G-quadruplexes in the promoter regions and RNA quadruplexes in the UTRs (untranslated regions) have been individually studied and variously implicated at different regulatory levels of gene expression. However, the formation of G-quadruplexes in the sense and antisense strands and their corresponding roles in gene regulation have not been studied in much detail.

An approach to a bislactone skeleton: a scalable total synthesis of (±)-penifulvin A.

An efficient and scalable total synthesis of the architecturally challenging sesquiterpenoid (±)-penifulvin A has been accomplished via a 12-step sequence with an overall yield of 16%. For the construction of this structurally complex tetracyclic molecule, the key steps used included 1,4-conjugate addition, a Pd(0) catalyzed cross-coupling reaction between an enol phosphate and trimethyl aluminum, Claisen rearrangement using the Johnson orthoester protocol, Ti(III)-mediated reductive epoxide opening-cyclization, Lewis acid catalyzed epoxy-aldehyde rearrangement, and finally a substrate controlled oxidative cascade lactonization process.

Formal synthesis of actin binding macrolide rhizopodin.

Formal synthesis of an actin binding macrolide rhizopodin was achieved in 19 longest linear steps. The key features of the synthesis include a stereoselective Mukaiyama aldol reaction, dual role of a Nagao auxiliary (first, as a chiral auxiliary of choice for installing hydroxy centers and, later, as an acylating agent to form an amide bond with an amino alcohol), late stage oxazole formation, and Stille coupling reactions.

Morphological effects of G-quadruplex stabilization using a small molecule in zebrafish.

Zebrafish (Danio rerio) embryos are transparent and advantageous for studying early developmental changes due to ex utero development, making them an appropriate model for studying gene expression changes as a result of molecular targeting. Zebrafish embryos were injected with a previously reported G-quadruplex selective ligand, and the phenotypic changes were recorded. We report marked discrepancies in the development of intersegmental vessels.