Use of chiral auxiliaries in the asymmetric synthesis of biologically active compounds: A review

This review article describes the use of some of the most popular chiral auxiliaries in the asymmetric synthesis of biologically active compounds. Chiral auxiliaries derived from naturally occurring compounds, such as amino acids, carbohydrates, and terpenes, are considered essential tools for the construction of highly complex molecules. We highlight the auxiliaries of Evans, Corey, Yamada, Enders, Oppolzer, and Kunz, which led to remarkable progress in asymmetric synthesis in the last decades and continue to bring advances until the present day.     

Design and synthesis of new alkyl‐based chiral phosphoric acid catalysts

Using chiral BINOL‐derived phosphoric acids (PA's) to activate substrates for enhanced reactivity is now regarded as a powerful strategy to control enantioselectivity in asymmetric synthesis. Generally, most substituents at the 3,3′‐positions of BINOL PA's are aryl derivatives. These derivatives are pivotal in attaining high selectivity. PA's with alkyl substituents in these positions have rarely been reported. Herein, we introduced alkyl‐based substituents at the 3,3′‐position of PA's. These new potential catalysts, if applied in reactions, may allow altered noncovalent interactions (as opposed to the typical aryl substituents in these positions) with substrates used in chiral PA‐catalyzed chemistry in the future.     

Racemic and enantiopure forms of 3‐ethyl‐3‐phenylpyrrolidin‐2‐one adopt very different crystal structures

3‐Ethyl‐3‐phenylpyrrolidin‐2‐one ( EPP) is an experimental anticonvulsant based on the newly proposed α‐substituted amide group pharmacophore. These compounds show robust activity in animal models of drug‐resistant epilepsy and are thus promising for clinical development. In order to understand pharmaceutically relevant properties of such compounds, we are conducting an extensive investigation of their structures in the solid state. In this article, we report chiral high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) separation, determination of absolute configuration of enantiomers, and crystal structures of EPP. Preparative resolution of EPP enantiomers by chiral HPLC was accomplished on the Chiralcel OJ stationary phase in the polar‐organic mode. Using a combination of electronic CD spectroscopy and anomalous dispersion of X‐rays we established that the first‐eluted enantiomer corresponds to (+)‐(R )‐EPP, while the second‐eluted enantiomer corresponds to (−)‐(S )‐EPP. We also demonstrated that, in the crystalline state, enantiopure and racemic forms of this anticonvulsant have considerable differences in their supramolecular organization and patterns of hydrogen bonding. These stereospecific structural differences can be related to the differences in melting points and, correspondingly, solubility and bioavailability.     

Enantioselective potential of polysaccharide‐based chiral stationary phases in supercritical fluid chromatography

The enantioselective potential of two polysaccharide‐based chiral stationary phases for analysis of chiral structurally diverse biologically active compounds was evaluated in supercritical fluid chromatography using a set of 52 analytes. The chiral selectors immobilized on 2.5 μm silica particles were tris‐(3,5‐dimethylphenylcarmabate) derivatives of cellulose or amylose. The influence of the polysaccharide backbone, different organic modifiers, and different mobile phase additives on retention and enantioseparation was monitored. Conditions for fast baseline enantioseparation were found for the majority of the compounds. The success rate of baseline and partial enantioseparation with cellulose‐based chiral stationary phase was 51.9% and 15.4%, respectively. Using amylose‐based chiral stationary phase we obtained 76.9% of baseline enantioseparations and 9.6% of partial enantioseparations of the tested compounds. The best results on cellulose‐based chiral stationary phase were achieved particularly with propane‐2‐ol and a mixture of isopropylamine and trifluoroacetic acid as organic modifier and additive to CO₂, respectively. Methanol and basic additive isopropylamine were preferred on amylose‐based chiral stationary phase. The complementary enantioselectivity of the cellulose‐ and amylose‐based chiral stationary phases allows separation of the majority of the tested structurally different compounds. Separation systems were found to be directly applicable for analyses of biologically active compounds of interest.     

High‐performance liquid chromatography separation of enantiomers of mandelic acid and its analogs on a chiral stationary phase

The enantiomers of mandelic acid and its analogs have been chromatographically separated on a chiral stationary phase (CSP) derived from 4‐(3,5‐dinitrobenzamido) tetrahydrophenanthrene. The rationale of separations of these compounds is discussed with respect to the method development for determining enantiomeric purity and possibility of obtaining enantiomerically pure materials by high‐pressure liquid chromatography. The relationship of analyte structure to the extent of enantiomeric separation has been examined and separation factors (α) are presented for various groups of structurally related compounds. Chiral recognition models have been suggested to account for the observed separations. These models provide mechanistic insights into the chiral recognition process. Chirality 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Novel fluorine‐containing chiral hydrazide‐hydrazones: Design,synthesis, structural elucidation,antioxidant and anticholinesterase activity,and in silico studies

In this study, a series of fluorine‐containing chiral hydrazide‐hydrazone derivatives [III‐XII] from ?‐cysteine ethyl ester hydrochloride was synthesized as new antioxidant and anticholinesterase agents. The antioxidant activity of these derivatives was evaluated by ABTS^+· and DPPH^· scavenging and CUPRAC assays and the anticholinesterase activity by the Ellman method spectrophotometrically. The results of the antioxidant assay showed that compounds V , IX , and X exhibited higher activity than BHT and α‐tocopherol used as positive standards. Among the synthesized derivatives, compound IX (IC₅₀: 2.3 ± 1.6 μM) exhibited higher acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity than galantamine (IC₅₀: 4.5 ± 0.8 μM). Compounds XI (IC₅₀: 9.6 ± 1.0 μM), IX (IC₅₀: 12.5 ± 1.6 μM), III (IC₅₀: 16.0 ± 1.6 μM), X (IC₅₀: 17.2 ± 1.8 μM), VI (IC₅₀: 20.2 ± 0.8 μM), XII (IC₅₀: 21.5 ± 1.0 μM), and VII (IC₅₀: 24.6 ± 0.6 μM) displayed better butyrylcholinesterase inhibitory activity than galantamine (IC₅₀: 46.03 ± 0.14 μM). ADME‐Tox analysis was used to probe the drug‐like properties of the compounds. Molecular docking studies were also applied to understand the interactions between compounds and targets. The docking calculations were supported by the experimental data. In particular, compound IX , having better activity than galantamine against acetylcholinesterase and butyrylcholinesterase enzymes, was visualized using molecular docking.     

Enantioselective synthesis of (R)‐Cinacalcet via cobalt‐catalysed asymmetric Negishi cross‐coupling

A novel enantioselective synthesis of (R)‐cinacalcet with 99% enantiomeric excesses (ee) has been achieved. The main strategies of the approach include a gram‐scale cobalt‐catalysed asymmetric cross‐coupling of racemic ester with arylzinc reagent, Hoffman‐type rearrangement of acidamide, the amidation of chiral amine, and improving the ee of chiral amide from 87% to 99% via recrystallization.     

Crystallographic studies for the chiral recognition of the novel chiral stationary phase derived from (+)‐(R)‐18‐crown‐6 tetracarboxylic acid

Chiral discrimination observed in high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with the novel chiral stationary phase (CSP‐18C6I) derived from (+)‐(R)‐18‐crown‐6 tetracarboxylic acid [(+)‐18C6H₄] was investigated by X‐ray crystallographic analysis of the complex composed of the R‐enantiomer of 1‐(1‐naphthyl)ethylamine (1‐NEA) and (+)‐18C6H₄. Mixtures of 1‐NEA (the R‐ or S‐enantiomer) and (+)‐18C6H₄ were dissolved in methanol‐water (1:1) solution and allowed to stand for crystallization. The R‐enantiomer crystallized with (+)‐18C6H₄ as a co‐crystal, although the S‐enantiomer did not. This result was in good agreement with the enantiomer elution order of 1‐NEA in CSP‐18C6I. The apparent binding constants (K_a) of the enantiomers to the (+)‐18C6H₄ obtained from ¹H‐NMR experiments also supported the above‐mentioned result. The X‐ray crystal structure of the 1:1 complex of the R‐enantiomer and (+)‐18C6H₄ indicated the four sets of hydrogen bond association between the naphthylethylammonium cation and oxygen of polyether ring or carbonyl group of (+)‐18C6H₄. Chirality 11:173–178, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Enantioselective liquid‐liquid extraction of DL‐mandelic acid using chiral diphosphine ligands as extractants

In order to expand the application range of chiral diphosphine ligands, (S)‐BINAP, (S)‐SEGPHOS, and (S)‐MeO‐BIPHEP were employed as extractants to recognize DL‐mandelic acid. The results indicated that (S)‐SEGPHOS‐Cu exhibited considerable ability to recognize DL‐mandelic acid with operational enantioselectivity (α) of 2.677. The process of extraction of DL‐mandelic acid using (S)‐SEGPHOS‐Cu as extractant was systematically investigated. Performance factor (pf) was adopted to comprehensively evaluate the extraction. After optimization by response surface methodology (RSM), the optimal extraction condition is temperature of 5.5°C, (S)‐SEGPHOS‐Cu concentration of 3.0 mmol/L, and pH of 8.0. And the predicted and experimental maximum values of pf were 0.26374 and 0.26839, respectively.     

Enantioselective and diastereoselective separation of synthetic pyrethroid insecticides on a novel chiral stationary phase by high-performance liquid chromatography

A novel chiral packing material for high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was prepared by connecting (R)-1-phenyl-2-(4-methylphenyl) ethylamine (PTE) amide derivative of (S)-isoleucine to aminopropyl silica gel through 2-amino-3,5-dinitro-1-carboxamido-benzene unit. This chiral stationary phase was applied to the enantioselective and diastereoselective separation of five pyrethroid insecticides by HPLC under normal phase condition. To achieve satisfactory baseline separation an optimization of the variables of mobile phase composition was required. The two enantiomers of fenpropathrin and four stereoisomers of fenvalerate were baseline separated using hexane-1,2-dichloroethane-2-propanol as mobile phase. The results show that the enantioselectivity of CSP is better than Pirkle type 1-A column for these compounds. Only partial separations for the cypermethrin and cyfluthrin stereoisomers were observed. Seven peaks and eight peaks were observed for cypermethrin and cyfluthrin, respectively. The elution orders were assigned by using different stereoisomer-enriched products.     

Kinetics of chiral resolution in stirred crystallization of D/L‐glutamic acid

Stirred crystallization of racemic (D/L)‐glutamic acid (Glu) in the presence of small amounts of L‐ or D‐lysine (Lys) was studied for the effect of transient chiral resolution by monitoring the time evolution of optical rotation and the concentration of the solution. The presence of a small amount of L‐ or D‐Lys retards the crystallization rate of the corresponding enantiomer of Glu in a chirally selective manner, giving rise to transient optical resolution of racemic Glu during crystallization. The optical rotation of the Glu solution was found to increase from zero to a value corresponding to an enantiomeric excess (ee) of 22–35% and subsequently decreases to zero over a period of many hours. During this process, the ee of the crystallized Gu is nearly 100% during the first 35 min and then it decreases slowly to zero. Our results indicate that the time at which the ee of the solution reaches its maximum and the maximum value of the ee show a nonlinear dependence on the initial mole fraction of the chiral impurity. The effect of the impurity is highly chirally selective, indicating “molecular recognition.” Chirality 11:343–348, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Enantiomeric resolution,thermodynamic parameters,and modeling of clausenamidone and neoclausenamidone on polysaccharide‐based chiral stationary phases

The aim of the paper is to describe a new synthesis route to obtain synthetic optically active clausenamidone and neoclausenamidone and then use high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to determine the optical purities of these isomers. In the process, we investigated the different chromatographic conditions so as to provide the best separation method. At the same time, a thermodynamic study and molecular simulations were also carried out to validate the experimental results; a brief probe into the separation mechanism was also performed. Two chiral stationary phases (CSPs) were compared with separate the enantiomers. Elution was conducted in the organic mode with n‐hexane and iso‐propanol (IPA) (80/20 v/v) as the mobile phases; the enantiomeric excess (ee) values of the synthetic R‐clausenamidone and S‐clausenamidone and R‐neoclausenamidone and S‐ neoclausenamidone were higher than 99.9%, and the enantiomeric ratio (er) values of these isomers were 100:0. Enantioselectivity and resolution (α and Rs, respectively) levels with values ranging from 1.03 to 1.99 and from 1.54 to 17.51, respectively, were achieved. The limits of detection and quantitation were 3.6 to 12.0 and 12.0 to 40.0 ug/mL, respectively. In addition, the thermodynamics study showed that the result of the mechanism of chiral separation was enthalpically controlled at a temperature ranging from 288.15 to 308.15 K. Furthermore, docking modeling showed that the hydrogen bonds and π‐π interactions were the major forces for chiral separation. The present chiral HPLC method will be used for the enantiomeric resolution of the clausenamidone derivatives.     

Enantioselective synthesis and antioxidant activity of 3‐(3,4‐dihydroxyphenyl)‐glyceric acid—Basic monomeric moiety of a biologically active polyether from Symphytum asperum and S. caucasicum

The racemic and enantioselective synthesis of a novel glyceric acid derivative, namely, 2,3‐dihydroxy‐3‐(3,4‐dihydroxyphenyl)‐propionic acid as well as the antioxidant activities is described. The virtually pure enantiomers, (+)‐(2R,3S)‐2,3‐dihydroxy‐3‐(3,4‐dihydroxyphenyl)‐propionic acid and (?)‐(2S,3R)‐2,3‐dihydroxy‐3‐(3,4‐dihydroxyphenyl)‐propionic acid were synthesized for the first time via Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation of trans‐caffeic acid derivatives using the enantiocomplementary catalysts, (DHQD)₂‐PHAL and (DHQ)₂‐PHAL. The determination of enantiomeric purity of the novel chiral glyceric acid derivatives was performed by high‐performance liquid chromatographic techniques on the stage of their alkylated precursors. The novel glyceric acid derivatives show strong antioxidant activity against hypochlorite and N,N‐diphenyl‐N‐picryl‐hydrazyl free radical. Their antioxidant activity is about 40‐fold higher than that of the corresponding natural polyether and three‐fold higher of trans‐caffeic acid itself. Chirality, 2010. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Enantioseparation of chiral pharmaceuticals by vancomycin‐bonded stationary phase and analysis of chiral recognition mechanism

The drug chirality is attracting increasing attention because of different biological activities, metabolic pathways, and toxicities of chiral enantiomers. The chiral separation has been a great challenge. Optimized high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) methods based on vancomycin chiral stationary phase (CSP) were developed for the enantioseparation of propranolol, atenolol, metoprolol, venlafaxine, fluoxetine, and amlodipine. The retention and enantioseparation properties of these analytes were investigated in the variety of mobile phase additives, flow rate, and column temperature. As a result, the optimal chromatographic condition was achieved using methanol as a main mobile phase with triethylamine (TEA) and glacial acetic acid (HOAc) added as modifiers in a volume ratio of 0.01% at a flow rate of 0.3 mL/minute and at a column temperature of 5°C. The thermodynamic parameters (eg, ΔH, ΔΔH, and ΔΔS) from linear van 't Hoff plots revealed that the retention of investigated pharmaceuticals on vancomycin CSP was an exothermic process. The nonlinear behavior of lnk′ against 1/T for propranolol, atenolol, and metoprolol suggested the presence of multiple binding mechanisms for these analytes on CSP with variation of temperature. The simulated interaction processes between vancomycin and pharmaceutical enantiomers using molecular docking technique and binding energy calculations indicated that the calculated magnitudes of steady combination energy (ΔG) coincided with experimental elution order for most of these enantiomers.     

Preparation and application of a new doubly tethered chiral stationary phase containing N-CH3 amide linkage based on (+)-(18-crown-6)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic acid

A new doubly tethered chiral stationary phase (CSP 5) based on (+)-(18-crown-6)-2,3,11,12-tetracarboxylic acid was developed by attaching the second tethering group to silica gel through a carbon atom of the first tethering group of the corresponding singly tethered CSP (CSP 2) containing an N-CH3 tertiary amide linkage, which was previously developed in our laboratory, in order to enhance the CSP stability without the loss of chiral recognition efficiency. The new CSP was quite effective in the resolution of various racemic alpha-amino acids, amines, and amino alcohols, and the chiral recognition efficiency of the new CSP was even greater than that of the corresponding singly tethered CSP especially in terms of the resolution factors (RS). The stability of the new CSP was greater than that of the corresponding singly tethered CSP. The chromatographic resolution behaviors of the new CSP were generally consistent with those of the corresponding singly tethered CSP.     

Immunological and biological characteristics of a new TRF analogue, L-pyroglutamyl-L-histidyl-L-pipecolic acid amide.

The immunological and biological potencies of a new synthetic TRF analogue, L-pyroglutamyl-L-histidyl-L-pipecolic acid amide, were compared with those of TRF. In a radioimmunoassay system for TRF, parallel inhibition curves were obtained with TRF and the analogue, the immunological potency of the latter being approximately 50 per cent of the former. In vitro and in vivo TSH-releasing activities of the analogue were almost equal to those of TRF. As was observed with TRF, the in vitro TSH-releasing effect of the analogue was reduced in the presence of T4, and the analogue was inactivated by incubation with rat serum. The data suggest that the pyrrolidine ring of TRF can be replaced with piperidine ring without significant loss of the biological activity.     

Method for determination of optical purity of 2‐arylpropanoic acids using urea derivatives based on a 1,1′‐binaphthalene skeleton as chiral NMR solvating agents: Advantages and limitations thereof

Five optically active urea derivatives ( 1 ‐ 5 ) were used as NMR solvating agents for analysis of the optical purity of different 2‐arylpropanoic acids commonly used as nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs. These novel chiral solvating agents were more efficient at discriminating the respective enantiomers of targets than the chiral solvating agents known so far, without the need to add a base for achieving the signal splitting. The advantages and limits of the use of these novel chiral solvating agents were studied.     

Enantioselective chromatography of the antimalarial agents chloroquine,mefloquine, and enpiroline on a α1 -acid glycoprotein chiral stationary phase: Evidence for a multiple-site chiral recognition mechanism

The effect of mobile phase pH and dimethyloctylamine (DMOA) on the retention (k') and stereoselectivity (α) of antimalarial agents mefloquine, enpiroline, and chloroquine on the α₁-acid glycoprotein chiral stationary phase (AGP-CSP) was investigated. An increase of k' with increasing pH was observed while the effect on α was a function of the solute. The magnitude and direction of changes induced by DMOA depended on pH and the structure of the solute. The results of this study are consistent with a change of the conformation of the AGP between pH 5 and 7. At pH 7, the effect of DMOA on mefloquine was relatively well described by a competitive displacement from one enantioselective site. The effect on chloroquine and enpiroline suggests a multiple-site mechanism in which both competitive and allosteric interactions are involved.     

Liquid chromatographic direct resolution of flecainide and its analogs on a chiral stationary phase based on (+)‐(18‐crown‐6)‐2,3,11,12‐tetracarboxylic acid

Flecainide, an antiarrythmic agent, and its analogs were resolved on a high performance liquid chromatographic chiral stationary phase (CSP) based on (+)‐(18‐crown‐6)‐2,3,11,12‐tetracarboxylic acid with the use of a mobile phase consisting of methanol‐acetonitrile‐trifluoroacetic acid‐triethylamine (80/20/0.1/0.3, v/v/v/v). The chiral resolution was quite successful, the separation factors (α) and the resolutions (R_S) for 20 analytes including flecainide being in the range of 1.19–1.82 and 1.73–6.80, respectively. The ortho‐substituent of the benzoyl group of analytes was found to cause decrease in the retention times of analytes probably because of the conformational deformation of analytes originated from the steric hindrance exerted by the ortho‐substituent. Chirality, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Synthesis and chiroptical properties of chiral azoaromatic dendrimers with a C3‐symmetrical core

New chiral azoaromatic dendrimeric systems have been synthesized starting from 1,3,5‐benzenetricarbonyl trichloride as the core molecule. The simultaneous presence of the (S)‐3‐hydroxy pyrrolidinyl ring as the optically active moiety and the azobenzene donor‐acceptor conjugated system as the photochromic group with permanent dipole moment, makes these systems potentially interesting as materials for advanced applications in nanotechnologies. All the compounds obtained have been characterized with particular attention to the effects induced by changing the electron‐withdrawing group in the chromophoric moiety and to their optical activity. A strong nonlinear enhancement of chiroptical properties related to the number of chiral units linked to the symmetrical core is observed in these derivatives, which indicates the presence of conformationally chiral substructures. Chirality, 2010. © 2009 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.