Recent advances in asymmetric synthesis of pipecolic acid and derivatives

Summary. This review covers the literature relating to asymmetric syntheses of pipecolic acid derivatives from 1997 to present. This review is organized according to the position and the degree of substitution of the piperidinic cycle. In a first section, syntheses of pipecolic acid itself are described. Then, successively, syntheses of C-3, C-4, C-5, C-6 substituted pipecolic acid derivatives are reported. Finally, syntheses of unsaturated pipecolic acid derivatives are presented before the last part devoted to the polysubstituted pipecolic acid derivatives.     

Unusual amino acids VIII. Asymmetric hydrogenation of some heteroaryl-N-CBZ and N-BOC aminocinnamic acid derivatives

Summary (Z)--[(Benzyloxy)- or (tert.-butyloxy)carbonylamino]- (thienyl)-or (furyl)-acrylic acids and their esters were prepared by known methods and hydrogenated to the corresponding optically active alanine derivatives with optical yields in the range of 58–93% ee using the cationic rhodium complex of PROPRAPHOS.     

Asymmetric hydrogenation of dehydrodipeptide esters bearing different protective groups

Summary N-[(Z)-N-Benzoyl- orN-Boc-(2-fluorophenyl)dehydroalanyl]-(R)-or (S)-phenylalanine esters were synthesized and hydrogenated to give the corresponding dipeptide derivatives with optical yields in the range of 53–87%de using the cationic rhodium complexes of PROPRAPHOS and BPPM. The efficiency of chiral diphosphine ligands as well the effect of the chiral center in the substrate on the catalytic asymmetric induction was studied.Dedicated to Professor Günther Oehme on the occasion of his 60th birthday     

Asymmetric syntheses and bio-evaluation of novel chiral esters derived from substituted tetrafluorobenzyl alcohol

A series of novel chiral esters derived from tetrafluorobenzyl alcohol were designed and prepared via asymmetric synthesis. The target molecules have been identified on the basis of analytical spectra data. All newly synthesized compounds have been screened their potential insecticidal activity against Plutella xylostella compared with those of fenvalerate and d-trans-phenothrin by standard method, and the respective pairs of enantiomers (3-B1-R/S, 3-C1-R/S, 3-D1-R/S) indicated significantly different activities.     

High-performance liquid chromatography determination of pipecolic acid after precolumn ninhydrin derivatization using domestic microwave

A novel procedure to specifically quantify low amounts of pipecolic acid and structurally related compounds in several types of biological materials has been characterized. From crude extracts of various types of biological material, the first step was to clear all low-molecular-weight compounds containing primary amino groups by a treatment of nitrous acid. Using a microwave-assisted reaction, the remaining substances containing secondary amino groups were then derivatized with ninhydrin and made soluble in glacial acetic acid. The derivatives produced were resolved by reverse-phase HPLC and detected by spectrophotometry at 570nm. This procedure allowed more rapid determination of pipecolic acid since microwave heating shortened the time needed for derivatization compared with heating at 95 degrees C in a water bath. The complete analysis of the chromogens for pipecolic acid and related substances was achieved in 20min. Under such conditions, the detection threshold for pipecolic acid was about 20pmol. The suitability of the technique was assessed in various biological matrices known to contain significant amounts of this amino acid. The data obtained are in accordance with those available in the literature. To our knowledge, this is the first method using the ninhydrin reaction in a precolumn, microwave-assisted derivatization procedure for detection and determination of heterocyclic alpha-amino acids.     

Synthesis of symmetric and asymmetric diamides of citric acid and amino acids

Summary A convenient method for the synthesis of symmetric and asymmetric diamides of amino acids including DOPA and citric acid from 2-tert-butyl-1,3-di(N-hydroxysuccinimidyl)citrate and 1-tert-butyl-2,3-di(N-hydroxysuccinimidyl)citrate is described.Abbreviations AcOtBu tert-butyl acetate - i-Bu iso-butyl - tBu tert-butyl - Bzl benzyl - p-OH-Bzl p-hydroxybenzyl - m,p-(OH)₂-Bzl m,p-dihydroxybenzyl - DCCI dicyclohexylcarbodiimide - Et ethyl - Me methyl - Su succinimidyl - SuOH N-hydroxysuccinimide - Ph phenyl     

Neuroexcitatory amino acids: phosphonic analogue of kainic acid

Summary The enantioselective synthesis of phosphonic analogue of kainic acid is described.     

基于噁唑烷酮的不对称催化合成构建多官能化手性氨基酸类化合物

多官能化手性氨基酸及其衍生物是一类重要的手性药物以及合成手性药的关键中间体,如现在大量用于临床的左甲状腺素、赖诺普利、阿莫西林、缬沙坦、头孢氨苄以及青霉素等。进行多官能化手性氨基酸类化合物的不对称催化合成,可为新型化学药的设计与发现开辟新的视野。噁唑烷酮(Azlactone)被证明是合成四取代氨基酸衍生物的优秀底物。可通过不对称催化手段向其中引入需要的基团,再经多取代的噁唑烷酮直接开环得到一系列的目标化合物。本文主要综述了近年来基于恶唑烷酮的不对称催化反应构建四取代氨基酸类化合物的研究。     

Influence of pipecolic acid on the release and uptake of [3H]GABA from brain slices of mouse cerebral cortex

Recently, pipecolic acid (PA) has been involved in the functioning of the GABAergic system. In the present work we have studied the effect of PA on GABA uptake and release in cerebral cortex slices. PA (100 M) was able to increase the release of [³H]GABA (90%) stimulated by mild depolarization with 15 mM potassium. If during the labeling of the tissue with [³H]GABA, -alanine was present, PA also enhanced the release (42%). However, when nipecotic acid was present instead -alanine, no stimulation of [³H]GABA release by potassium was observed neither in the control nor in the presence of PA. Spontaneous release was not affected by PA in any of the experimental conditions tested. In uptake experiments, only when -alanine was present in the medium PA significantly diminished the uptake (36%) of [³H]GABA. These results suggest that the effect of PA is mostly at the presynaptic level, inhibiting the neuronal GABA uptake and/or enhancing its release.     

Asymmetric catalysis of the Strecker amino acid synthesis by a cyclic dipeptide

Summary A novel cyclic dipeptide —cyclo[(S)-His-(S)-NorArg] — has been prepared which catalyzes an enantioselective version of the Strecker amino acid synthesis. The catalyst, when present in 2 mol % quantity in methanol solution, catalyzes the addition of hydrogen cyanide toN-alkylimines to afford-amino nitriles in high yield and high enantiomeric excess. Furthermore, acid hydrolysis ofN-benzhydryl--amino nitriles afforded the corresponding-amino acids directly. This methodology affords a variety of arylglycines in exceptionally high enantiomeric excess, but aliphatic amino acids were obtained with low enantioselectivity. Current efforts are underway to expand the scope of this reaction, as well as to elucidate the mechanism of catalysis and the roles played by substrate and catalyst in determining the stereochemical outcome of the reaction.A preliminary communication on this work has recently appeared in: Iyer MS, Gigstad KM, Namdev ND, Lipton MA (1996) J Am Chem Soc 118: 4910–4911.     

Synthesis and biological evaluation of enantiomerically pure glyceric acid derivatives as LpxC inhibitors

Inhibitors of the UDP-3-O-[(R)-3-hydroxymyristoyl]-N-acetylglucosamine deacetylase (LpxC) represent a promising class of novel antibiotics, selectively combating Gram-negative bacteria. In order to elucidate the impact of the hydroxymethyl groups of diol (S,S)-4 on the inhibitory activity against LpxC, glyceric acid ethers (R)-7a, (S)-7a, (R)-7b, and (S)-7b, lacking the hydroxymethyl group in benzylic position, were synthesized. The compounds were obtained in enantiomerically pure form by a chiral pool synthesis and a lipase-catalyzed enantioselective desymmetrization, respectively. The enantiomeric hydroxamic acids (R)-7b (K_i = 230 nM) and (S)-7b (K_i = 390 nM) show promising enzyme inhibition. However, their inhibitory activities do not substantially differ from each other leading to a low eudismic ratio. Generally, the synthesized glyceric acid derivatives 7 show antibacterial activities against two Escherichia coli strains exceeding the ones of their respective regioisomes 6.     

Synthesis of novel unnatural amino acid as a building block and its incorporation into an antimicrobial peptide

Considering the biological mechanism and in vivo stability of antimicrobial peptides, we designed and synthesized novel unnatural amino acids with more positively charged and bulky side chain group than lysine residue. The unusual amino acids, which were synthesized by either solution phase or solid phase, were incorporated into an antimicrobial peptide. Its effect on the stability, activity, and the structure of the peptide was studied to evaluate the potential of these novel unnatural amino acids as a building block for antimicrobial peptides. The incorporation of this unusual amino acid increased the resistance of the peptide against serum protease more than three times without a decrease in the activity. Circular dichroism spectra of the peptides indicated that all novel unnatural amino acids must have lower helical forming propensities than lysine. Our results indicated that the unnatural amino acids synthesized in this study could be used not only as a novel building block for combinatorial libraries of antimicrobial peptides, but also for structure–activity relationship studies about antimicrobial peptides.     

Determination of amino acids in foods by reversed-phase HPLC with new precolumn derivatives,butylthiocarbamyl, and benzylthiocarbamyl derivatives compared to the phenylthiocarbamyl derivative and ion exchange chromatography

New precolumn derivatizing reagents for analysis of amino acids by HPLC—butylisothiocyanate (BITC) and benzylisothiocyanate (BZITC)—reacted quantitatively with 22 standard amino acids and the amino acids in the acid hydrolysate of food and protein standard, bovine serum albumin (BSA), at 40°C for 30 min to yield butylthiocarbamyl (BTC) amino acids and at 50°C for 30 min to yield benzylthiocarbammyl (BZTC) amino acids. BTC and BZTC amino acids were successfully separated in 35 min on the reversed-phase Nova-Pak C18 column (30 cm × 3.9 mm, 4 μm). The optimum wavelengths for determination of BTC and BZTC derivatives were 240 nm and 246 nm, respectively. Analysis of the results obtained with BSA and food samples as BTC and BZTC derivatives showed good agreement with those determined as ion-exchange chromatography and data presented in the literature. The advantage of BITC reagent over the phenylisothiocyanate (PITC) and BZITC was that it had high volatility, so the excess reagent and by-products were easily removed in about 10 min, compared to about 1 h in the PITC and BZITC reagents. In the BTC and BZTC derivatives, cystine and cysteine were determined separately, but in the PTC amino acids derivatized with PITC reagent they were resolved into single peak.     

5-(pyrrolidin-2-yl)-1H-tetrazole and 5-[(pyrrolidin-2-yl)methyl]-1H-tetrazole: proline surrogates with increased potential in asymmetric catalysis

Catalytic enantioselective methodology has dramatically been enriched by the re-discovery of the simple amino acid proline as a chiral catalyst in the year 2000. Although no catalyst offers such a simple and broad access to quite complex reaction products, as does proline, its synthetic potential is not unrestricted, what is especially connected to its poor solubility in organic media. Exchange of the carboxylic moiety by a tetrazole unit leads to proline surrogates, that by far outperform proline with respect to yield, enantioselectivity, reaction time, substrate and solvent scope, catalyst loading, and stoichiometry of the compounds used in excess. These factors are discussed and critically compared with selected representative proline-catalyzed reactions.     

Neuroexcitatory amino acids: 4-methylene glutamic acid derivatives

Summary A short synthesis of 4-methylene glutamic acid was achieved. Under thermal conditions the corresponding anhydride reacted with 2,3 dimethylbutadiene to afford the corresponding DIELS-ALDER adduct in good yield. L-4-methylene glutamic acid essentially acts on glutamate metabotropic receptors and is as potent as L-Glu in producing IPs.     

Manganese(II) and zinc(II) compounds via amino acid derivatives: Effects of temperature and solvents

To investigate the influence of temperature and the ratios of solvents on the design and synthesis of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), we have synthesized and structurally characterized a series of supramolecular assemblies based on different amino acid derivatives and nitrogen-containing heterocyclic ligands, namely [Mn(phen)₂(phth)(H₂O)]·4H₂O (1), [Mn(phen)₂(HL1)₂]·3.5H₂O (2), [Zn(bpp)₂(L-Me)₂] (3), and [Zn(bpp)(L-Me)₂] (4) (H₂phth = phthalic acid, H₂L¹ = phthalyl-l-valine, H₂L = (+)-N-tosyl-l-glutamic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, bpp = 1,3-bis(4-pyridyl)propane, and L-Me = C₁₂H₁₃NO₆S-CH₃). Compounds 1 and 2, which are assembled through noncovalent interactions, were obtained by controlling the temperature. In 1, π-π stacking and hydrogen-bonding interactions lead to stacking in a 3D supramolecular network, while in 2, π-π stacking interactions form 1D chains that extend along the c-axis. Depending on the solvents employed, compounds 3 and 4 could be generated, with a 1D bpp-connected Zn-bpp-Zn double chain that is further hydrogen-bonded into a 2D network that extends parallel to the ac plane in 3, and a single chain in 4.     

Cyanamide mediated syntheses of peptides containing histidine and hydrophobic amino acids

Summary Using the model of a primitive earth evaporation pond, the synthesis of three histidyl peptides in yields of up to 11% was demonstrated when aqueous solutions of histidine, leucine, ATP, cyanamide, and MgCl₂ were evaporated and heated for 24 h at 80°C. In addition, peptides were formed in yields of up to 56%, 35%, and 21%, respectively for phenylalanine, leucine, and alanine when aqueous solutions of the appropriate amino acid were evaporated and heated with cyanamide and one or more of the following components: ATP, AMP, 4-amino-5-imidazole carboxamide, or MgCl₂. The greatest peptide yield occurred at pH 3. But peptide formation was demonstrated for a system of Leu, cyanamide, and MgCl₂ adjusted to pH 7 with NH₄OH.Peptide synthesis was also studied in the presence of CaCl₂, ZnCl₂, different adenosine nucleotides, and UTP to compare their effects on peptide synthesis. The optimum conditions for cyanamide mediated peptide synthesis were also studied in terms of pH, reaction time, reaction temperature, and cyanamide concentration. The major side product in nearly all reactions studied appears to be an amino acid-cyanamide adduct. Peptides were analyzed and identified by thin layer chromatography, acid hydrolysis, and enzymatic degradation.     

A model for the chiral recognition of L and D amino acids by helicoidal systems

Summary The interaction between a helix and an amino acid molecule is determined on the basis of semi-empirical potentials including Lennard-Jones, electrostatic, induction and hydrogen bond contributions. Calculations are performed for various values of the helix characteristics which schematize helicoidal polysaccharides (cellulose, cellulose derivatives). The helix configuration acts as a chiral revealer as it frozes the amino acid inside its cavity. The chiral discriminatory ratio is maximum for similar sizes of the cavity and of the analyte.     

Conjugation of antifungal benzoic acid derivatives as a path for detoxification in Penicillium brasilianum,an endophyte from Melia azedarach

In this study, the consumption of 4-bromobenzoic acid and 4-chlorobenzoic acid by the fungus Penicillium brasilianum, an endophyte from Melia azedarach is evaluated. This fungus metabolizes these halobenzoic acids to produce three new brominated compounds, which have been isolated and characterized, and three new chlorinated derivatives identified by HRMS. Among these products, (4-bromobenzoyl)proline has been also chemically synthesized and employed in biological assays, thus providing insights for the elucidation of the defense mechanism of P. brasilianum towards these halobenzoic acids.