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Biomedical subjects

Scott E Schaus

Publications and source records attributed to Scott E Schaus.

16 recordsLinked to original sources

Exploring skeletal diversity via ring contraction of glycal-derived scaffolds.

Aryl ether C-glycoside scaffolds have been prepared from tri-O-acetyl-D-glucal by C-glycosylation followed by allylic substitution with phenols mediated by Pd(0). The aryl ethers were subjected to either [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement to produce 3-pyranyl-phenols or Au(III)-mediated ring contraction to create highly substituted tetrahydrofurans. [structure: see text]

Furans↗

Asymmetric allylboration of ketones catalyzed by chiral diols.

Chiral BINOL-derived diols catalyze the enantioselective asymmetric allylboration of ketones. The reaction requires 15 mol % of 3,3'-Br2-BINOL as the catalyst and allyldiisopropoxyborane as the nucleophile. The reaction products are obtained in good yields (76-93%) and high enantiomeric ratios (95:5-99.5:0.5). High diastereoselectivities (dr >/= 98:2) and enantioselectivities (er >/= 98:2) are obtained in the reactions of acetophenone with crotyldiisopropoxyboranes.

Alcohols↗

JEDA: Joint entropy diversity analysis. An information-theoretic method for choosing diverse and representative subsets from combinatorial libraries.

The joint entropy-based diversity analysis (JEDA) program is a new method of selecting representative subsets of compounds from combinatorial libraries. Similar to other cell-based diversity analyses, a set of chemical descriptors is used to partition the chemical space of a library of compounds; however, unlike other metrics for choosing a compound from each partition, a Shannon-entropy based scoring function implemented in a probabilistic search algorithm determines a representative subset of compounds. This approach enables the selection of compounds that are not only diverse but that also represent the densities of chemical space occupied by the original chemical library. Additionally, JEDA permits the user to define the size of the subset that the chemist wishes to create so that restrictions on time and chemical reagents can be considered. Subsets created from a chemical library by JEDA are compared to subsets obtained using other partition-based diversity analyses, namely principal components analysis and median partitioning, on a combinatorial library derived from the Comprehensive Medical Chemistry Dataset.

Chemistry, Pharmaceutical↗

Highly diastereoselective asymmetric Mannich reactions of 1,3-dicarbonyls with acyl imines.

[reaction: see text] The cinchona alkaloids catalyze direct asymmetric Mannich reactions of cyclic 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds with acyl imines to afford alpha-quaternary carbon-bearing reaction products in yields of up to 98%, a diastereomeric excess of 90% or greater, and enantioselectivities up to 99% ee. A model is proposed that accounts for both the observed diastereoselectivities and the enantioselectivities for the reactions.

Catalysis↗

Asymmetric Mannich reactions of beta-keto esters with acyl imines catalyzed by cinchona alkaloids.

Cinchona alkaloids catalyze the enantioselective Mannich reaction of beta-keto esters with acyl aryl imines. The reaction requires 10 mol % of cinchonine or cinchonidine. The reaction products are obtained in good yields (81-99%), high enantioselectivities (80-96% ee), and in diastereoselectivities that range from 1:1 to >95:5. The cinchonine-catalyzed reaction provides access to highly functionalized building blocks used in the asymmetric synthesis of a dihydropyrimidone and beta-amino alcohol.

Catalysis↗

Convergent synthesis of a complex oxime library using chemical domain shuffling.

[reaction: see text] The synthesis of a complex hybrid oxime library is reported utilizing convergent ligation of alkoxyamine and carbonyl monomers via "chemical domain shuffling". Initial biological screening of the library against human small cell lung carcinoma (A549) cells led to the identification of a novel hybrid dimer in contrast to the corresponding monomeric compounds which were found to be inactive.

Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques↗

Chemical library synthesis using convergent approaches.

New strategies are continuously being developed in combinatorial and diversity-oriented synthesis. Convergent design in target-oriented synthesis is commonly employed for construction of complex molecules. In this mini-review, we describe examples of convergent library design and synthesis as well as potential areas for future development.

Combinatorial Chemistry Techniques↗

Chemogenomic profiling on a genome-wide scale using reverse-engineered gene networks.

A major challenge in drug discovery is to distinguish the molecular targets of a bioactive compound from the hundreds to thousands of additional gene products that respond indirectly to changes in the activity of the targets. Here, we present an integrated computational-experimental approach for computing the likelihood that gene products and associated pathways are targets of a compound. This is achieved by filtering the mRNA expression profile of compound-exposed cells using a reverse-engineered model of the cell's gene regulatory network. We apply the method to a set of 515 whole-genome yeast expression profiles resulting from a variety of treatments (compounds, knockouts and induced expression), and correctly enrich for the known targets and associated pathways in the majority of compounds examined. We demonstrate our approach with PTSB, a growth inhibitory compound with a previously unknown mode of action, by predicting and validating thioredoxin and thioredoxin reductase as its target.

Algorithms↗

Decarboxylative aldol reactions of allyl beta-keto esters via heterobimetallic catalysis.

Mild and selective heterobimetallic-catalyzed decarboxylative aldol reactions involving allyl beta-keto esters have been developed. The reaction is promoted by Pd(0)- and Yb(III)-DIOP complexes at room temperature and involves the in situ formation of a ketone enolate from allyl beta-keto esters followed by addition of the enolate to aldehydes. The reaction is a new example of heterobimetallic catalysis in which the optimized reaction conditions require the addition of both metals.

Journal Article↗

Asymmetric Morita-Baylis-Hillman reactions catalyzed by chiral Brønsted acids.

Chiral BINOL-derived Brønsted acids catalyze the enantioselective asymmetric Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction of cyclohexenone with aldehydes. The asymmetric MBH reaction requires 2-20 mol % of the chiral Brønsted acid 2e or 2f and triethylphosphine as the nucleophilic promoter. The reaction products are obtained in good yields (39-88%) and high enantioselectivities (67-96% ee). The Brønsted-acid-catalyzed reaction is the first example of a highly enantioselective asymmetric MBH reaction of cyclohexenone with aldehydes.

Journal Article↗

Borrelidin induces the transcription of amino acid biosynthetic enzymes via a GCN4-dependent pathway.

Global cellular profiling of messenger RNA levels has been used to provide insight into the effects of the angiogenesis inhibitor borrelidin on the eukaryotic model organism Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The most notable result of treatment with borrelidin is the induction of amino acid biosynthetic enzymes in a time-dependent fashion. We have ascertained that induction of this pathway involves the GCN4 transcription factor. This conclusion was determined by treating a yeast strain lacking this gene and observing the absence of increased gene transcription under Gcn4p control.

Amino Acids↗

Development of an enantioselective synthetic route to neocarzinostatin chromophore and its use for multiple radioisotopic incorporation.

A convergent, enantioselective synthetic route to the natural product neocarzinostatin chromophore (1) is described. Synthesis of the chromophore aglycon (2) was targeted initially. Chemistry previously developed for the synthesis of a neocarzinostatin core model (4) failed in the requisite 1,3-transposition of an allylic silyl ether when applied toward the preparation of 2 with use of the more highly oxygenated substrates 27 and 54. An alternative synthetic plan was therefore developed, based upon a proposed reduction of the epoxy alcohol 58 to form the aglycon 2, a transformation that was achieved in a novel manner, using a combination of the reagents triphenylphosphine, iodine, and imidazole. The successful route to 1 and 2 began with the convergent coupling of the epoxydiyne 15, obtained in 9 steps (43% overall yield) from D-glyceraldehyde acetonide, and the cyclopentenone (+)-14, prepared in one step (75-85% yield) from the prostaglandin intermediate (+)-16, affording the alcohol 22 in 80% yield and with > or =20:1 diastereoselectivity. The alcohol 22 was then converted into the epoxy alcohol 58 in 17 steps with an average yield of 92% and an overall yield of 22%. Key features of this sequence include the diastereoselective Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation of allylic alcohol 81 (98% yield); intramolecular acetylide addition within the epoxy aldehyde 82, using Masamune's lithium diphenyltetramethyldisilazide base (85% yield); selective esterification of the diol 84 with the naphthoic acid 13 followed by selective cleavage of the chloroacetate protective group in situ to furnish the naphthoic acid ester 85 in 80% yield; and elimination of the tertiary hydroxyl group within intermediate 88 using the Martin sulfurane reagent (79% yield). Reductive transposition of the product epoxy alcohol (58) then formed neocarzinostatin chromophore aglycon (2, 71% yield). Studies directed toward the glycosylation of 2 focused initially on the preparation of the N-methylamino --> hydroxyl replacement analogue 3, an alpha-D-fucose derivative of neocarzinostatin chromophore, formed in 42% yield by a two-step Schmidt glycosylation-deprotection sequence. For the synthesis of 1, an extensive search for a suitable 2'-N-methylfucosamine glycosyl donor led to the discovery that the reaction of 2 with the trichloroacetimidate 108, containing a free N-methylamino group, formed the alpha-glycoside 114 selectively in the presence of boron trifluoride diethyl etherate. Subsequent deprotection of 114 under mildly acidic conditions then furnished the labile chromophore (1). The synthetic route was readily modified for the preparation of singly and doubly (3)H- and (14)C-labeled 1, compounds unavailable by other means, for studies of the mechanism of action of neocarzinostatin in vivo.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic↗

Highly selective hydrolytic kinetic resolution of terminal epoxides catalyzed by chiral (salen)Co(III) complexes. Practical synthesis of enantioenriched terminal epoxides and 1,2-diols.

The hydrolytic kinetic resolution (HKR) of terminal epoxides catalyzed by chiral (salen)Co(III) complex 1 x OAc affords both recovered unreacted epoxide and 1,2-diol product in highly enantioenriched form. As such, the HKR provides general access to useful, highly enantioenriched chiral building blocks that are otherwise difficult to access, from inexpensive racemic materials. The reaction has several appealing features from a practical standpoint, including the use of H(2)O as a reactant and low loadings (0.2-2.0 mol %) of a recyclable, commercially available catalyst. In addition, the HKR displays extraordinary scope, as a wide assortment of sterically and electronically varied epoxides can be resolved to > or = 99% ee. The corresponding 1,2-diols were produced in good-to-high enantiomeric excess using 0.45 equiv of H(2)O. Useful and general protocols are provided for the isolation of highly enantioenriched epoxides and diols, as well as for catalyst recovery and recycling. Selectivity factors (k(rel)) were determined for the HKR reactions by measuring the product ee at ca. 20% conversion. In nearly all cases, k(rel) values for the HKR exceed 50, and in several cases are well in excess of 200.

Alcohols↗

Transcriptional response pathways in a yeast strain sensitive to saframycin a and a more potent analog: evidence for a common basis of activity.

Saframycin A (SafA) is a natural product that inhibits human cancer cell proliferation. Its synthetic analog, QAD, is a more potent inhibitor of these cells. SafA does not affect wild-type yeast, but it does inhibit growth of the strain CCY333 (DeltaPDR1/PDR3/ERG6) (IC50 = 0.9 microM). QAD is also a more effective inhibitor of CCY333 growth (IC50 = 0.4 microM). Transcription profiling of SafA- and QAD-treated CCY333 cultures showed that both drugs generated nearly identical profiles, with altered expression levels (> or =2-fold) of more than 240 genes. Both agents induced the overexpression of genes involved in glycolysis, oxidative stress, and protein degradation and repressed genes encoding histones, biosynthetic enzymes, and the cellular import machinery. Significantly, neither drug affected the expression of known DNA-damage repair genes, as might have been expected if their primary mechanism of action involved the covalent modification of DNA.

Acetyl Coenzyme A↗