Published papers

A diaryliodonium salt-based strategy enabled the first systematic synthesis of rarely accessible N-alkoxyindolines. Mechanistic analyses suggested that the reaction likely involves reductive elimination of iodobenzene from iodaoxazepine via a four-membered transition state, followed by Meisenheimer rearrangement. Substrates with N-carbamate protection afforded indole in a manner similar to that of the Ishikawa indole synthesis. Preinstallation of a stannyl group as an iodonium salt precursor greatly expanded the substrate scope, and further mechanistic insights are discussed.

Humulanolides are natural products isolated from Asteriscus, and the isolation and total synthesis of many types of humulanolides have been reported. In this study, we evaluated anti-proliferative activity of twelve humulanolides against various human cancer cell lines and found that humulanolide analog E, which was newly designed and synthesized, exhibited the highest anti-proliferative activity. Structure-activity relationship analysis revealed that α,β-unsaturated carbonyl moieties in humulanolides play an important role for anti-proliferative activity. To identify molecular targets of humulanolide analog E, we investigated various cell-based and in vitro assays. Treatment with humulanolide analog E against human fibrosarcoma HT1080 cells increased the expression level of HSP70 protein and decreased the levels of AKT and CDK4, which are HSP90 client proteins. Moreover, humulanolide analog E inhibited refolding of denatured luciferase protein via suppression of HSP90 activity in vitro. These results suggest that humulanolide analog E possesses the anti-proliferative activity against human cancer cells by inhibiting HSP90 functions.

Both pyruvylation and sialylation onto the terminus of oligosaccharides of N-glycoproteins seem to be structurally and functionally similar with a property of conferring negative charge. However, detailed molecular characteristics of pyruvylation and sialylation in vivo were elusive. Here, to investigate an effect of terminal pyruvylation to N-glycan on in vivo biodistribution and kinetics, we prepared human serum albumin (HSA) modified with pyruvylated N-glycan (PvG), conjugated with HiLyte Fluor 750 (FL750-PvGHSA). In vivo imaging by using FL750-PvGHSA revealed that terminally pyruvylated N-glycoalbumin was excreted like sialylated N-glycoalbumin, suggesting that pyruvylation mimics sialylation in in vivo biodistribution and kinetics of N-glycoproteins. Terminal pyruvylation onto N-glycans can be a potential tool for a novel glycoengineering strategy.

A highly stereoselective (3 + 2) cycloaddition for the asymmetric synthesis of versatile cyclopentene compounds containing all-carbon quaternary stereocenters was developed. The phosphine-catalyzed reactions of alkynoates with α-alkylated electron-deficient alkenes bearing Oppolzer's camphorsultam showed high to excellent diastereoselectivities and perfect regioselectivities. The usefulness of this reaction was demonstrated in the concise formal synthesis of (R)-(-)-puraquinonic acid.

Indoles are important heterocycles in pharmaceuticals and agrochemicals, and their atom-economical synthesis is needed. Herein, we describe the synthesis of indoles using sigmatropic rearrangements. The N-allylaniline was oxidized by environmentally benign hydrogen peroxide, and spontaneous [2,3]-Meisenheimer rearrangement gave N-allyloxyaniline. Subsequent treatment with a ruthenium catalyst afforded N-vinyloxyaniline, which underwent [3,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement to give indoles, expelling water as the only byproduct. The whole sequence is free of quantitative salt byproducts, thereby avoiding aqueous work up and cutting off the inorganic waste.

Graphene quantum dots (GQDs) are environmentally friendly fluorescent carbon-based nanomaterials. However, there is no report on the massive synthesis of GQDs with narrow-band fluorescence and a high photoluminescence quantum yield (PLQY) using a simple liquid-phase method under atmospheric conditions. In this study, GQDs were successfully synthesized in ∼100% product yield by heating phloroglucinol (PG) with Na3PO4·12H2O in 1,2-pentanediol at 180 °C for 6 h in an open system with air flow, followed by dialysis purification. The high product yield was attributed to the addition of Na3PO4·12H2O as a base catalyst, which promoted the dehydration-condensation reaction between PG molecules. The dispersion of PG derived GQDs (PG-GQDs) in ethanol resulted in blue fluorescence with a full width at half maximum of 32 nm and a PLQY of 54%. Further purification of PG-GQDs by silica gel column chromatography improved the PLQY to 75%. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, 1H nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy confirmed that dehydration-condensation reactions occurred not only between PGs but also between GQDs and 1,2-pentanediol. The binding of 1,2-pentanediol to the edges of GQDs suppressed the stacking of GQDs and prevented concentration quenching, resulting in a high PLQY. PG-GQDs exhibited negative fluorescence solvatochromism, i.e., the fluorescence wavelength blue-shifted with increasing solvent polarity. Dispersion of PG-GQDs in N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (MP) resulted in green fluorescence with a PLQY of 96%. Dispersion of PG-GQDs in water resulted in blue fluorescence and a low PLQY of 6% at pH 7, while the PLQY was more than 50% at pH ≥ 11. Using these properties, the sensing of water (pH 13) in MP was investigated. The results showed that as the water content was increased from 0% to 100%, the fluorescence color gradually changed from green to blue and the fluorescence wavelength continuously shifted from 514 nm to 466 nm, indicating their applicability in water sensing.

We have developed a synthesis for tetrahydro-β-carbolines involving cascade sigmatropic rearrangements. The substrates were conveniently prepared from parent anilines via a [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement and cyanomethylation. Silver-mediated decyanation afforded the corresponding iminium cation, which underwent a cascade consisting of an aza-Cope rearrangement, an aza-oxa-Cope rearrangement, an aromatization, and a Pictet-Spengler reaction, and tetrahydro-β-carbolines were obtained as the single product. The reaction involved seven bond scissions and four bond formations and was triggered by a single reagent.

As a common intermediate for polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinols (PPAPs), we successfully synthesized a cyclohexanone moiety that contains two adjacent stereocenters, one of which is a quaternary carbon. Our synthetic strategy relied on an asymmetric Claisen rearrangement using Oppolzer's camphorsultam and a regioselective Dieckmann condensation.

© 2018 American Chemical Society. The enantioselective total synthesis of an unusual pentacyclic proaporphine alkaloid, (-)-misramine, was achieved. The synthetic strategy relied on an enantioselective intramolecular Friedel-Crafts-type 1,4-addition using an asymmetric organocatalyst to construct a spiroindane skeleton containing an all-carbon quaternary stereocenter and a double reductive amination of the keto-aldehyde to form a piperidine ring toward the end of the synthesis. This work is the first example of asymmetric synthesis of a proaporphine alkaloid.

Herein, the total syntheses of (+)-aquatolide, a humulane-derived sesquiterpenoid lactone, and five other related humulanolides are described. The key reactions in these syntheses are a cascade metathesis reaction of cyclobutenecar-boxylate to construct a γ-butenolide with an unsaturated aldehyde side chain, an intramolecular Nozaki-Hiyama-Takai-Kishi reaction to form an all-trans-humulene lactone skeleton, and a biosynthesis-inspired [2 + 2] photocycloaddition to provide a bridged 5/5/4/8-ring system. A cycloaddition giving a 5/4/4/7-ring system was also found. In addition, biological studies were conducted using the synthesized samples.

A novel synthetic route to (-)-anisatin has been developed. Our synthesis features a rhodium-catalyzed 1,4-addition of an arylboronic acid, an intramolecular Diels Alder reaction of an ortho-quinone monoketal, a stereoselective [2,3]-Wittig rearrangement, and construction of the oxabicyclo [3.3.1] skeleton via cleavage of an epoxide by a primary amide.

A structural revision of clavilactoneD, a potent inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinases, was achieved by total syntheses of two newly proposed structures. The syntheses relied on ring-opening/ring-closing metathesis, which transformed a cyclobutenecarboxylate into a -butenolide. The syntheses confirmed that the correct structure of clavilactoneD has an amino group at C-3 instead of a hydroxy group at C-2 in the originally proposed structure.

A series of N-glycans, each sequentially trimmed from biantennary sialoglycans, were homo-or heterogeneously clustered efficiently on fluorescent albumin using a method that combined strain-promoted alkyne-azide cyclization and 6p-azaelectrocyclization. Noninvasive in vivo kinetics and dissection analysis revealed, for the first time, a glycan-dependent shift from urinary to gall bladder excretion mediated by sequential trimming of non-reducing end sialic acids. N-glycoalbumins that were trimmed further, in particular, GlcNAc-and hybrid biantennary-terminated congeners, were selectively taken up by sinusoidal endothelial and stellate cells in the liver, which are critical for diagnosis and treatment of liver fibrillation. Our glycocluster strategy can not only reveal the previously unexplored extracellular functions of N-glycan trimming, but will be classified as the newly emerging glycoprobes for diagnostic and therapeutic applications.