A Predictive Model for the Pd-Catalyzed Site-Selective Oxidation of Diols

A predictive model, shaped as a set of rules, is presented that predicts site-selectivity in the mono-oxidation of diols by palladium-neocuproine catalysis. For this, the factors that govern this site-selectivity within diols and between different diols have been studied both experimentally and with computation. It is shown that an electronegative substituent antiperiplanar to the C-H bond retards hydride abstraction, resulting in a lower reactivity. This explains the selective oxidation of axial hydroxy groups in vicinal cis-diols. Furthermore, DFT calculations and competition experiments show how the reaction rate of different diols is determined by their configuration and conformational freedom. The model has been validated by the oxidation of several complex natural products, including two steroids. From a synthesis perspective, the model predicts whether a natural product comprising multiple hydroxy groups is a suitable substrate for site-selective palladium-catalyzed oxidation.</p

Site-Selective Palladium-catalyzed Oxidation of Unprotected Aminoglycosides and Sugar Phosphates

The site-selective modification of complex biomolecules by transition metal-catalysis is highly warranted, but often thwarted by the presence of Lewis basic functional groups. This study demonstrates that protonation of amines and phosphates in carbohydrates circumvents catalyst inhibition in palladium-catalyzed site-selective oxidation. Both aminoglycosides and sugar phosphates, compound classes that up till now largely escaped direct modification, are oxidized with good efficiency. Site-selective oxidation of kanamycin and amikacin was used to prepare a set of 3'-modified aminoglycoside derivatives of which two showed promising activity against antibiotic-resistant E. coli strains.</p

Site-Selective Palladium-catalyzed Oxidation of Unprotected Aminoglycosides and Sugar Phosphates

The site-selective modification of complex biomolecules by transition metal-catalysis is highly warranted, but often thwarted by the presence of Lewis basic functional groups. This study demonstrates that protonation of amines and phosphates in carbohydrates circumvents catalyst inhibition in palladium-catalyzed site-selective oxidation. Both aminoglycosides and sugar phosphates, compound classes that up till now largely escaped direct modification, are oxidized with good efficiency. Site-selective oxidation of kanamycin and amikacin was used to prepare a set of 3'-modified aminoglycoside derivatives of which two showed promising activity against antibiotic-resistant E. coli strains.</p

Synthesis of C-Glycosyl Amino Acid Building Blocks Suitable for the Solid-Phase Synthesis of Multivalent Glycopeptide Mimics

Five C-glycosyl functionalized lysine building blocks, featuring C-glycosidic derivatives of α-rhamnose, α-mannose, α-galactose, β-galactose, and β-N-acetyl glucosamine have been designed and synthesized. These derivatives, equipped with acid-labile protecting groups, are eminently suitable for solid-phase synthesis of multivalent glycopeptides. The lysine building blocks were prepared from C-allyl glycosides that underwent a Grubbs cross-metathesis with an acrylate, followed by a reduction of the C=C double bond in the resulting α,β-unsaturated esters, and liberation of the carboxylate to allow condensation with a lysine side chain. The thus obtained C-glycosides, five in total, were applied in the solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS) of three glycopeptides, showing the potential of the described building blocks in the assembly of well-defined mimics of homo- and heteromultivalent glycopeptides and glycoclusters