Stereoselective synthesis of 1,2-cis- and 2-deoxyglycofuranosyl azides from glycosyl halides

Protected 1,2-cis glycofuranosyl azides with alpha-D-ribo, beta-D-arabino and 2-deoxy-2-fluoro-beta-D-arabino configurations were efficiently prepared from the appropriate 1,2-trans glycosyl halides bearing non-participating 0-2 substituent by inversion with sodium azide under phase transfer catalytic conditions (80-85% yields, 90-96% de). The same method failed to result in sufficiently good beta-selectivity starting from 2-deoxy-3,5-di-O-(p-toluoyl)-alpha-D-ery-thro-pentofuranosyl chloride (5alpha) (40% de). The selectivity in favour of the protected 2-deoxy-beta-D-erythro-pentofura-nosyl azides was greatly improved (74-80% de) by treating 5alpha and its p-chlorobenzoyl analog 6alpha with cesium or potassium azide in dimethylsulfoxide at room temperature (83-85% yields).     

Stereoselective single-step synthesis and X-ray crystallographic investigation of acetylated aryl 1,2-trans glycopyranosides and aryl 1,2-cis C2-hydroxy-glycopyranosides

Reported is an attractive and environmentally friendly method for the synthesis of the title compounds in moderate yield using inexpensive 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-acetyl-beta-D-gluco- and galactopyranoses as sugar donors, five different phenols as acceptors and H-beta zeolite as the catalyst. The yield (23-28%) of aryl 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-alpha-D-glycopyranosides obtained in this single-step procedure is considerably higher than that obtained using previously reported methods. Treatment of an orthoacetate, 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-[1,2-O-(1-p-fluorophenoxyethylidene)]-alpha-D-glucopyranose, with p-fluorophenol under the same solvent-free reaction conditions also led to the formation of the title compounds in similar yield and composition. X-ray crystallographic analysis of phenyl 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside and p-fluorophenyl 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-alpha-D-glucopyranoside showed that the molecular packing is stabilized by C-H...O, C-H...pi and C-H...F interactions, in addition to regular hydrogen bonding patterns.     

Studies on synthesis of 1,2-cis-D-galactosides with partially benzylated intermediates.

The 1-bromides of p-nitrobenzoylated 2-O-benzyl- (1) and 2,3- (8) and 2,6-di-O-benzyl-D-galactose (14) and 2-O-benzyl-D-glucose (20) were treated under Koenigs-Knorr conditions with 6-(trifluoroacetamido)-1-hexanol. Examination of the products by p.m.r. spectroscopy, g.l.c., and mass spectrometry revealed that, whereas the major product derived from 14 was the pyranoside (19), the glycosides derived from both 1 and 8 were mainly furanosides. The corresponding glycoside from 20 was entirely the pyranoside (23).     

General methods for the synthesis of glycopyranosyluronic acid azides

Per-O-acetylated D-glycopyranoses derived from both mono- and disaccharides were first converted to glycosyl iodides and subsequently reacted with an azide source to achieve the stereoselective synthesis of beta-D-glycosyl azides after deacetylation. Low-temperature (4 degrees C) TEMPO oxidation of the monosaccharides provided the corresponding uronic acids, which were purified as the free acids. Oxidation of the lactosyl- and cellobiosyl azides resulted in diacid formation. However, 4',6'-O-benzylidene protection enabled selective oxidation of the C-6 hydroxyl. 2-Acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glycopyranosyl azides were also prepared and converted to uronic acids completing the library synthesis.     

Studies on the synthesis of 1,2-cis pentofuranosides from S-glycofuranosyl dithiocarbamates, dithiocarbonates and phosphorodithioates

The selectivity in the synthesis of 1,2-cis glycofuranosides from dithiocarbonates, dithiocarbamates and phosphorodithioates is improved by combined use of silver triflate and catalytic amount of hexamethylphosphoramide (HMPA) under mild conditions.     

Zeolite-catalyzed Helferich-type glycosylation of long-chain alcohols. Synthesis of acetylated alkyl 1,2-trans glycopyranosides and alkyl 1,2-cis C2-hydroxy-glycopyranosides

Zeolite-catalyzed glycosylation of long-chain alcohols, using the inexpensive and readily available peracetylated beta-D-gluco- and galactopyranoses as glycosyl donors under solvent free conditions, has been explored for the first time. Among the various forms (H-, Na-, Fe- and Zn) of beta zeolite examined as catalysts in the reaction of 1,2,3,4,6-penta-O-acetyl-beta-D-galactopyranose with cetyl alcohol, Fe-beta zeolite gave the maximum yield of 63% of cetyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-beta-D-galactopyranoside and cetyl 3,4,6-tri-O-acetyl-alpha-D-galactopyranoside. Fe-beta Zeolite-catalyzed glycosylation was found to be general affording the title compounds in each case in a moderate yield, but with a good stereoselectivity. The yield of synthetically valuable acetylated long-chain alkyl 1,2-cis C2-hydroxy-glycopyranosides obtained in the present single-step procedure is considerably higher than that of the previously reported multi-step method employing the Stork silicon tether approach.     

One-step synthesis of non-anomeric sugar isothiocyanates from sugar azides

Tandem Staudinger-aza-Wittig reaction of primary azidodeoxy sugars with triphenylphosphine-carbon disulfide affords the corresponding primary deoxyisothiocyanato sugars in high yield. No products arising from O --> N acyl migration or formation of dimeric carbodiimides were observed. Interestingly, a polymer-supported triarylphosphine can advantageously replace triphenylphosphine, thus limiting the purification step to a simple filtration process. The reaction also allows the preparation of 5-deoxy-5-isothiocyanato sugars, a hitherto unknown class of compounds, from the corresponding azide precursors. Secondary sugar azides bearing the azido group at an endocyclic carbon atom afforded much lower isothiocyanation yields under these reaction conditions.     

Structural basis for regioselectivity and stereoselectivity of product formation by naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase

Rieske oxygenase (RO) systems are two- and three-component enzyme systems that catalyze the formation of cis-dihydrodiols from aromatic substrates. Degradation of pollutants in contaminated soil and generation of chiral synthons have been the major foci of RO research. Substrate specificity and product regio- and stereoselectivity have been shown to vary between individual ROs. While directed evolution methods for altering RO function have been successful in the past, rational engineering of these enzymes still poses a challenge due to the lack of structural understanding. Here we examine the structural changes induced by mutation of Phe-352 in naphthalene 1,2-dioxygenase from Pseudomonas sp. strain NCIB 9816-4 (NDO-O(9816-4)). Structures of the Phe-352-Val mutant in native form and in complex with phenanthrene and anthracene, along with those of wild-type NDO-O(9816-4) in complex with phenanthrene, anthracene, and 3-nitrotoluene, are presented. Phenanthrene was shown to bind in a different orientation in the Phe-352-Val mutant active site from that in the wild type, while anthracene was found to bind in similar positions in both enzymes. Two orientations of 3-nitrotoluene were observed, i.e., a productive and a nonproductive orientation. These orientations help explain why NDO-O(9816-4) forms different products from 3-nitrotoluene than those made from nitrobenzene dioxygenase. Comparison of these structures among themselves and with other known ROs bound to substrates reveals that the orientation of substrate binding at the active site is the primary determinant of product regio- and stereoselectivity.     

A speculation on the origin of protein synthesis

It is suggested that protein synthesis may have begun without even a primitive ribosome if the primitive tRNA could take up two configurations and could bind to the messenger RNA with five base-pairs instead of the present three. This idea would impose base sequence restriction on the early messages and on the early genetic code such that the first four amino acids coded were glycine, serine, aspartic acid and aspargine. A possible mechanism is suggested for the polymerization of the early message.This paper is dedicated to the memory of Dr. Aharon Katzir.     

Aminoacyl-nucleotide reactions: Studies related to the origin of the genetic code and protein synthesis

In the present paper, we report on the effect of pH and carbonate on the hydrolysis rate constants of N-blocked and free aminoacyl adenylate anhydrides. Whereas the hydrolysis of free aminoacyly adenylates seems principally catalyzed by OH^–, the hydrolysis of the N-blocked species is also catalyzed by H⁺, giving this compound a U-shaped hydrolysis vs. pH curve. Furthermore, at pH's<8, carbonate has an extreme catalytic effect on the hydrolysis of free aminoacyl-AMP anhydride, but essentially no effect on the hydrolysis of N-blocked aminoacyl-AMP anhydride. Furthermore, the N-blocked aminoacyl-AMP anhydride is a very efficient generator of peptides using free glycine as acceptor. The possible significance of the observations to prebiological peptide synthesis is discussed.     

Studies on synthesis and activation mechanism of mitomycin dimers connected by 1,2-dithiolane and diol linkers

We report the synthetic and mechanistic studies on a new cyclic disulfide mitomycin dimer, 7-N,7′-N′-(1″,2″-dithiolanyl-3″,5″-dimethylenyl)bismitomycin C (8), and a diol mitomycin dimer, 7-N,7′-N′-(2″,4″-dihydroxy-1″,5″-pentanediyl)bismitomycin C (9). Mitomycin 8 is a dimer connected by a 1,2-dithiolane (a five-membered cyclic disulfide) linker, and was specifically designed to undergo nucleophilic activation and double DNA alkylations leading to efficient production of DNA interstrand cross-link (DNA ISC) adducts. Disulfide cleavage in 8 would generate two thiol groups that could serve as probes to activate two mitomycin rings. At first, the target mitomycin 8 was synthesized using mitomycin A (1) and the key intermediate, cyclic disulfide (10), which was prepared through a seven-step synthetic sequence. Diol mitomycin 9 was also synthesized from 1 and diamine salt 13. Next, kinetic studies using solvolysis reaction revealed that the activation rates of 8 were much higher than those of 9 and mitomycin C (2) under nucleophilic conditions provided by Et₃P presumably due to the presence of a cyclic disulfide unit in 8. These findings led us to propose a nucleophilic activation pathway for 8. Then, DNA ISC experiments further revealed that the levels of DNA ISC caused by 8 in the presence of Et₃P were much higher (97%) than those by 9 (5%) and 2 (4%). More importantly, mitomycin 8 underwent much faster activation and produced slightly higher levels of DNA ISC than the previously reported mitomycins 5–7. Overall, we concluded that 8 was highly efficient for both nucleophilic activation and corresponding DNA ISC formation, and that this differentiation came from the crucial function of the cyclic disulfide unit in 8.