Electrochemical Synthesis of Unnatural Amino Acids via Anodic Decarboxylation of N-Acetylamino Malonic Acid Derivatives
Organic Letters 2023
Olesja Koleda, Katrīna Prāne, Edgars Sūna

Broad application of α,α-disubstituted cyclic amino acid derivatives in medicinal chemistry urges for analogue design with improved pharmacokinetic properties. Herein, we disclose an electrochemical approach toward unnatural THF- and THP-containing amino acid derivatives that relies on anodic decarboxylation-intramolecular etherification of inexpensive and readily available N-acetylamino malonic acid monoesters under Hofer-Moest reaction conditions. The decarboxylative cyclization proceeds under constant current conditions in an undivided cell in an aqueous medium without any added base. A successful bioisosteric replacement of the 1-aminocyclohexane-1-carboxylic acid subunit by the THP-containing amino acid scaffold in cathepsin K inhibitor balicatib helped to reduce lipophilicity while retaining low nanomolar enzyme inhibitory potency and comparable microsomal stability.


DOI
10.1021/acs.orglett.3c02687
Hyperlink
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.orglett.3c02687

Koleda, O., Prāne, K., Sūna, E. Electrochemical Synthesis of Unnatural Amino Acids via Anodic Decarboxylation of N-Acetylamino Malonic Acid Derivatives. Organic Letters, 2023, Vol. 25, No. 44, pp.7958-7962. ISSN 1523-7060. e-ISSN 1523-7052. Available from: doi:10.1021/acs.orglett.3c02687

Publication language
English (en)
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