Published papers

© 2018 The Japan Institute of Heterocyclic Chemistry – A new approach to oroxylin A, a monomethylated trihydroxyflavone, is described. The starting material was baicalin, a representative naturally abundant flavonoid glucuronide. First, conditions for the cleavage of the glycosidic bond were established, using a mixture of water and conc. sulfuric acid (5:2) at 121 °C for 40 min. The hydrolysis was performed in a high-pressure steam sterilizer so that the temperature and reaction time were precisely controlled. Subsequent acetylation of the crude material furnished baicalein 6,7-diacetate on a preparative scale and in a reproducible manner. Next, the C-7 position was protected site-selectively with a methoxymethyl (MOM) group, taking advantage of an unexpected sequential migration of the two acetyl groups among the C-5, C-6, and C-7 positions under basic conditions. The removal of the two remaining acetyl groups followed by site-selective methylation of the C-6 position furnished 5-hydroxy-6-methoxy-7-methoxymethoxyflavone (oroxylin A C-7 MOM ether). Finally, by the deprotection of the MOM ether, oroxylin A was obtained in 6 total steps and 62% overall yield from baicalin.

© 2018 The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan. 3β-tert-Butyldimethylsiloxy-22-phenylthio-23,24-bisnorchola-5,9(11)-diene, which has a double bond between C-9 and C-11 and a phenylsulfenyl group on the terminus of the side chain, is a potential synthetic intermediate for steroids with 9,11-unsaturation or 9,11-seco skeletons. We describe here the synthesis of the title compound from 17-ethylenedioxy-3-acetoxyandrosta-3,5-dien-11-one. The introduction of an ethylene unit to 3β-tert-butyldimethylsiloxyandrosta-5,9(11)-dien-17-one by the action of ethyltriphenylphosphonium bromide under basic conditions resulted in an inseparable mixture of two stereoisomeric products (5 : 1). However, in the subsequent step, only the (Z)-isomer was susceptible to the Lewis acid-catalyzed ene reaction with formaldehyde, giving a stereochemically pure product with the desired configuration. Within three steps, the ene-product was derivatized to the title compound, with a total yield of 53% over seven steps. Reductive terminal anion formation by treatment with lithium di-tert-butylbiphenyl (LiDBB) and subsequent nucleophilic attack on a branched aliphatic aldehyde was demonstrated, with an eye toward the introduction of side chains, especially for steroids with oxygen functionality at C-23.

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd A formal total synthesis of (−)-hamigeran B was achieved in 17 steps from commercially available ethyl 2-oxocyclopentanecarboxylate. Carbonyl reductase-catalyzed asymmetric reduction and the subsequent chemical transformations furnished an enantiomerically pure synthetic intermediate, (R)-5-formyl-2-isopropyl-5-methylcyclopent-1-en-1-yl trifluoromethylsulfonate. Suzuki-Miyaura coupling with Gao's arylboronate [2-(2-formyl-3-methoxy-5-methylphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-1,3,2-dioxaborolane], under PdCl2(dppf)•CH2Cl2 catalysis, and the subsequent cyclization by way of intramolecular reductive SmI2-mediated 1,2-diol formation provided a tricyclic skeleton with a tetrasubstituted double bond between C-1 and C-9b. Upon hydrogenation of this double bond, the proper stereochemistry of the remaining chiral centers was established. Exclusive addition of the hydrogen atom from the β-face occurred, owing to the shielding of the α-face with a bulky TBS protective group on the C-4 alcohol. The hydrogenation products were transformed into Clive's synthetic precursor for (−)-hamigeran B.

© 2018 Japan Antibiotics Research Association All rights reserved. Englerin A, a guaiane sesquiterpene isolated from Phyllanthus engleri, showed highly potent and selective growth inhibitory activities against renal cancer cell lines. We synthesized the key tricyclic intermediate from commercially available 2,2-dimethyl-1,3-dioxan-5-one via regio- and diastereoselective [4+3] cycloaddition between the formyl enol silyl ether and the disubstituted furan, in 4.8% total yield over 10 steps.

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd Commercially available “Chiralscreen® OH” starter kit containing five types of carbonyl reductases (E001, E007, E031, E039, and E078) was used for the reduction of several aromatic and aliphatic ketones to obtain enantiomerically enriched drug precursors and an insect pheromone. Almost stereochemically pure secondary alcohols, used in the synthesis of drugs such as (R)-rasagiline mesylate, (S)-rivastigmine, (R)-chlorphenesin carbamate, and (R)-mexiletine, and the insect pheromone (4S,5R)-sitophilure, were conveniently obtained. The enzymes worked well with ketones containing at least one non-bulky substituent at the carbonyl group. The diverse stereochemical preference of the above five carbonyl reductases was clarified.

© 2018 The Chemical Society of Japan. [3]Cyclo-1,8-carbazolylene was found to undergo oxidative rearrangement by oxidation with 2,3-dichloro-5,6-dicyano-pbenzoquinone, giving a 9a-substituted carbazol-1-one derivative. This is the first example of a dearomative oxidative rearrangement of a carbazole or aniline derivative. The geometrical and electronic structures were elucidated by X-ray analysis, UV-vis absorption spectroscopy, and DFT calculations.

© 2019 The Japan Institute of Heterocyclic Chemistry. Lipase-catalyzed site-selective deacetylation of 2,5-dimethylnaphthalene-l,4-diol diacetate was examined. With Candida antarctica lipase B, the suppressing effect of a methyl substituent at the peri-position of the a-naphthyl ester over that at the ortho-position was significant. This site-selectivity was in contrast to that of chemical hydrolysis reported to date. From the resulting monoacetate, mansonone F, a physiologically active heterocyclic orthoquinone, was synthesized in 38% yield in as few as three steps.

© 2018 Elsevier Ltd Utilization of biocatalysts with high accessibility and availability, which have recently been applied in the preparation of enantiomerically enriched starting materials and synthetic intermediates for natural product syntheses (mainly 2013–2017) are summarized in this review. The main contents are as follows: 1) recruitment of biocatalysts for the transformation of organic compounds; 2) special precautions for preparative-scale biocatalytic synthetic experiments; 3) asymmetric reduction of carbonyl substrates; 4) kinetic resolution of alcohol and carboxylate enantiomers; 5) desymmetrization of multifunctional alcohol and carboxylate substrates; and 6) recognition of remote and non-central chirality.

© 2019 The Japan Institute of Heterocyclic Chemistry. Candida antarctica lipase B-catalyzed deacetylation proceeded with high site-selectivity on the C-4′ acetyl group in apigenin triacetate to give apigenin 5,7-diacetate. Methylation of the liberated hydroxy group with the combination of trimethyloxonium tetrafluoroborate (Meerwein reagent) and 1,8-bis(dimethylamino)naphthalene (proton sponge) in CH2Cl2 proceeded in a quantitative manner to give the product methylated at the C-4′ hydroxy group (acacetin 5,7-diacetate). Even with the same precursor, a different methylation product at the C-7 hydroxy group (genkwanin 4′,5-diacetate) was obtained in 86% yield by applying iodomethane and Cs2CO3 in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). The methylated products were deprotected to form acacetin and genkwanin. We inferred that the latter unexpected methylation was ascribable to the intermolecular migration of an acetyl group from C-7 to C-4′. DFT calculations indicated that the C-7 phenoxide ion was 12.6 kJ/mol more stable than the initially formed C-4′ phenoxide ion.

© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim Hydrazine-embedded unsubstituted butterfly-shaped biphenothiazine and its sulfoxides were synthesized by dimerization of 1,9-dibromophenothiazine, which was prepared by realizing selective debromination at the 3,7-positions of 1,3,7,9-tetrabromophenothiazine. cis/trans-Biphenothiazine sulfoxide was selectively prepared by changing the oxidation temperature to control the inversion rate of the butterfly shape of the intermediate. Their butterfly-shapes, conformations, photophysical properties (UV-vis absorption, fluorescence), and redox properties were elucidated by X-ray analysis, DFT calculations, spectral and electrochemical measurements. Fluorescent hydrazine-embedded biphenothiazine sulfoxides and bicarbazoles were applied to cell imaging of HeLa cells. The bicarbazoles exhibited high fluorescence signals in the cells with low toxicity.

© 2018 American Chemical Society. Side-chain modifications that respond to external stimuli provide a convenient approach to control macromolecular structure and function. Responsive modification of backbone amide structure represents a direct and powerful alternative to impact folding and function. Here, we describe a new photocaging method using histidine-directed backbone modification to selectively modify peptides and proteins at the amide N-H bond. A new vinylogous photocleavage method allows photorelease of the backbone modification and, with it, restoration of function.

© 2018 Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry. Fatty acid monoesters of hydroxytyrosol [2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl)ethanol] were synthesized in two steps from tyrosol (4-hydroxyphenylethanol) by successive Candida antarctica lipase B-catalyzed chemoselective acylation on the primary aliphatic hydroxy group over phenolic hydroxy group in tyrosol, and 2-iodoxybenzoic acid (IBX)-mediated hydroxylation adjacent to the remaining free phenolic hydroxy group. Examination of their suppression effects on nitric oxide production stimulated by lipopolysaccharides in RAW264.7 cells showed that hydroxytyrosol butyrate exhibited the highest inhibition (IC 50 7.0 μM) among the tested compounds.