Cyclic Enediynes Research Articles

Functionalized 10-Membered Aza- and Oxaenediynes through the Nicholas Reaction.

The scope and limitations of the Nicholas-type cyclization for the synthesis of 10-membered benzothiophene-fused heterocyclic enediynes with different functionalities were investigated. Although the Nicholas cyclization through oxygen could be carried out in the presence of an ester group, the final oxaenediyne was unstable under storage. Among the N-type Nicholas reactions, cyclization via an arenesulfonamide functional group followed by mild Co-deprotection was found to be the most promising, yielding 10-membered azaendiynes in high overall yields. By contrast, the Nicholas cyclization through the acylated nitrogen atom did not give the desired 10-membered cycle. It resulted in the formation of a pyrroline ring, whereas cyclization via an alkylated amino group resulted in a poor yield of the target 10-membered enediyne. The acylated 4-aminobenzenesulfonamide nucleophilic group was found to be the most convenient for the synthesis of functionalized 10-membered enediynes bearing a clickable function, such as a terminal triple bond. All the synthesized cyclic enediynes exhibited moderate activity against lung carcinoma NCI-H460 cells and had a minimal effect on lung epithelial-like WI-26 VA4 cells and are therefore promising compounds in the search for novel antitumor agents that can be converted into conjugates with tumor-targeting ligands.

Preparation of Maleimide‐Based Enediynes with Propargyl Ester for Efficient Tumor Cell Suppression

AbstractAcyclic enediynes are much easier to be synthesized comparing to natural or synthetic cyclic enediynes. However, the conditions for their thermal reactions to produce free radicals through Bergman cyclization (BC) are typically demanding, limiting their applications as antitumor agents. On the other hand, the acyclic compounds with enyne‐allene structures prone to proceed through Myers‐Saito cyclization (MCS) under much milder conditions. Therefore, it is vital to design acyclic enediynes which can permit propargyl‐allenyl rearrangement and then undergo MSC at low temperature for antitumor applications. In this work, we synthesized a series of maleimide‐based enediyne compounds with propargyl ester functionalities. The facile propargyl‐allenyl tautomerization assisted by the maleimide group enabled the formation of enyne‐allene structures and the subsequent occurrence of MSC. The generation of free radicals, which further raised the reactive oxygen species level in physiological environments, was confirmed by electron paramagnetic resonance analysis. The highly reactive radicals showed excellent DNA‐cleaving ability as confirmed with DNA gel electrophoresis. In addition, this kind of acyclic enediynes effectively inhibited the proliferation of HeLa cells with half inhibition concentration down to submicromolar level, comparable or even superior to many clinically used antitumor agents, showing promising application aspect.

Intramolecular Nicholas Reactions in the Synthesis of Heteroenediynes Fused to Indole, Triazole, and Isocoumarin.

The applicability of an intramolecular Nicholas reaction for the preparation of 10-membered O- and N-enediynes fused to indole, 1,2,3-triazole, and isocoumarin was investigated. The general approach to acyclic enediyne precursors fused to heterocycles includes inter- and intramolecular buta-1,3-diyne cyclizations with the formation of iodoethynylheterocycles, followed by Sonogashira coupling. The nature of both a heterocycle and a nucleophilic group affects the possibility of a 10-membered ring closure by the Nicholas reaction. Among oxacycles, an isocoumarin-fused enediyne was obtained. In the case of O-enediyne annulated with indole, instead of the formation of a 10-membered cycle, BF3-promoted addition of an OH-group to the proximal triple bond at the C3 position afforded dihydrofuryl-substituted indole. For 1,2,3-triazole-fused analogues, using NH-Ts as a nucleophilic functional group allowed obtaining 10-membered azaenediyne, while the substrate with a hydroxyl group gave only traces of the desired 10-membered oxacycle. An improved method for the deprotection of Co-complexes of cyclic enediynes using tetrabutylammonium fluoride in an acetone/water mixture and the investigation of the 10-membered enediynes' reactivity in the Bergman cyclization are also reported. In the solid state, all synthesized iodoethynylheterocycles were found to be involved in halogen bond (XB) formation with either O or N atoms as XB acceptors.

Cyclization of 1,n-Enynes Initiated by the Addition Reaction of gem-Dichromiomethane Reagents to Alkynes.

Treatment of 1,n-enynes with gem-dichromiomethane species prepared in situ from 1,1-diiodomethanes and CrCl2 gave alkenylbicycloalkanes. Alkenylcarbene species, which was generated via [2 + 2] cycloaddition with a triple bond, were intercepted by intramolecular cyclopropanation of a pendant double bond, and alkene metathesis did not proceed. This is a very rare example of transformation of alkynyl C≡C with gem-dimetalloalkanes. Silyl- and borylcarbene equivalents generated from gem-(dichromio)silyl- and borylmethanes promoted the coupling and cyclization of enediynes as well as 1,n-enynes.

Enhancement of Cytotoxicity of Enediyne Compounds by Hyperthermia: Effects of Various Metal Complexes on Tumor Cells.

Enediyne natural products are a class of compounds that were recognized for their potential as chemotherapeutic agents many years ago, but found to be highly cytotoxic due to their propensity for low thermal activation. Bergman cyclization of the enediyne moiety produces a diradical intermediate, and may subsequently induce DNA damage and account for the extreme cytotoxicity. While difficulties in controlling the thermal cyclization reaction have limited the clinical use of cyclic enediynes, we have previously shown that enediyne activity, and thus toxicity at physiological temperatures can be modulated by metallation of acyclic enediynes. Furthermore, the cytotoxicity of "metalloenediynes" can be potentiated by hyperthermia. In this study, we characterized a suite of novel metallated enediyne motifs that usually induced little or no cytotoxicity when two different human cancer cell lines were treated with the compounds at 37°C, but showed a significant enhancement of cytotoxicity after cells were exposed to moderate hyperthermia during drug treatment. Cultured U-1 melanoma or MDA-231 breast cancer cells were treated with various concentrations of Cu, Fe and Zn complexes of the enediyne (Z)-N,N'-bis[1-pyridyl-2-yl-meth-(E)-ylidene]octa-4-ene-2,6-diyne-1,8-diamine (PyED) and clonogenic survival was assessed to determine the effects of the drugs at 37°C and 42.5°C. Toxicity at 37°C varied for each compound, but hyperthermia potentiated the cytotoxicity of each compound in both cell lines. Cytotoxicity was concentration-, time- and temperature-dependent. Heating cells during drug treatment resulted in enhanced apoptosis, but the role of cell cycle perturbation in the response of the cells to the drugs was less clear. Lastly, we showed that hyperthermia enhanced the number of DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs) induced by the compounds, and inhibited their repair after drug treatment. Thus, thermal enhancement of cytotoxicity may be due, at least in part, to the propensity of the enediyne moiety to induce DSBs, and/or a reduction in DSB repair efficiency. We propose that "tuning" of metalloenediyne toxicity through better-controlled reactivity could have potential clinical utility, since we envision that such compounds could be administered systemically as relatively non-toxic agents, but cytotoxicity could be enhanced in, and confined to a tumor volume when subjected to localized heating.

A convergent total synthesis of the kedarcidin chromophore: 20-years in the making.

The kedarcidin chromophore is a formidible target for total synthesis. Herein, we describe a viable synthesis of this highly unstable natural product. This entailed the early introduction and gram-scale synthesis of 2-deoxysugar conjugates of both L-mycarose and L-kedarosamine. Key advances include: (1) stereoselective allenylzinc keto-addition to form an epoxyalkyne; (2) α-selective glycosylations with 2-deoxy thioglycosides (AgPF6/DTBMP) and Schmidt donors (TiCl4); (3) Mitsunobu aryl etherification to install a hindered 1,2-cis-configuration; (4) atropselective and convergent Sonogashira-Shiina cyclization sequence; (5) Ohfune-based amidation protocol for naphthoic acid; (6) Ce(III)-mediated nine-membered enediyne cyclization and ester/mesylate derivatisation; (7) SmI2-based reductive olefination and global HF-deprotection end-game. The longest linear sequence from gram-scale intermediates is 17-steps, and HRMS data of the synthetic natural product was obtained for the first time.

How To Achieve High Regioselectivity in Barrier-less Nucleophilic Addition to p-Benzynes Generated via Bergman Cyclization of Unsymmetrical Cyclic Azaenediyne?

Inducing high regioselectivity in nucleophilic addition to p-benzynes, first reported by Perrin and O'Connor et al. ( J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007 , 129 , 4795 - 4799 ) has been a challenge as the reaction involves a very fast barrier-less addition of nucleophile. On the other hand, achieving a high degree of regioselectivity is important as that will make the reaction synthetically useful. Recently, a study has been reported from our group ( J. Org. Chem. 2018 , 83 , 7730 - 7740 ), whereby it was shown that nucleophilic addition to p-benzynes derived from unsymmetrical N-substituted cyclic enediynes proceeds with low extent of selectivity by incorporation of groups with divergent electronic characters. Herein, we report that excellent regioselectivity (>99%) can be achieved keeping an ortho alkoxy group in unsymmetrical 1,2-dialkynylbenzene in the form of a cyclic enediyne in quantitative yields. High regioselectivity (∼84%) is also shown by pyridine based enediynes where the pyridine nitrogen is in a 1,3-relationship with the impending radical center, expanding the synthetic scope of this nucleophilic addition. The regioselectivity can be explained in terms of computed electrostatic potentials which are substantially different around two radical centers arising due to the "ortho effect" (conformational alignment of lone pair of the ortho alkoxy oxygen or the nitrogen in pyridine systems).

Experiment and Computational Study on the Regioselectivity of Nucleophilic Addition to Unsymmetrical p-Benzynes Derived from Bergman Cyclization of Enediynes.

The regioselectivity in addition of nucleophiles to the p-benzyne intermediates derived from unsymmetrical aza-substituted enediynes via Bergman cyclization was studied. Computational studies [using UB3LYP/6-31G(d,p) level of theory] suggest that the p-benzyne intermediate retains its similar electrophilic character at the two radical centers even under unsymmetrical electronic perturbation, thus supporting the predicted model of nucleophilic addition to p-benzyne proposed by Perrin and co-workers (Perrin et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 4795-4799) and later by Alabugin and co-workers (Peterson et al. Eur. J. Org. Chem. 2013, 2013, 2505-2527). However, observed experimental results suggest that there was small but definite regioselectivity (∼5-25%), the extent varying with the electronic nature of the substituents. Differential solvated halide ion concentrations around the vicinity of two radical centers arising due to surrounding surface electrostatic potential (computationally calculated) may be one of the possible factors for such selectivity in some of the examined p-benzynes. However, other complicated dynamical issues like the trajectory of the attacking nucleophile to the radical center which can be influenced by electronic and/or steric perturbation of starting enediyne conformation cannot be ruled out. The overall yield of the anionic addition was in the range of 80-99%.

Cr(II)-promoted internal cyclization of acyclic enediynes fused to benzo[b]thiophene core: Macrocycles versus 2-methylenecycloalkan-1-ols formation

The utility of the intramolecular Nozaki-type coupling for the synthesis of macrocyclic benzo[b]thiophene-fused enediynes has been explored. The starting acyclic enediynes were prepared by the iodocyclization of 2-(buta-1,3-diynyl)thioanisoles followed by the Sonogashira cross-coupling of the resulting iodo-substituted benzo[b]thiophene with corresponding acetylenes. We found that Cr(II)-promoted intramolecular cyclization of 7-[2-(iodoethynyl)benzo[b]thiophen-3-yl]hept-6-ynal and 7-[3-(iodoethynyl)benzo-[b]thiophen-2-yl]hept-6-ynal resulted in the formation of 11-membered macrocyclic enediynes, while both expected 10-membered enediynes cannot be produced under the Nozaki-type reaction from corresponding 6-[3-(iodoethynyl)benzo[b]thiophen-2-yl]hex-5-ynal and 6-[2-(iodoethynyl)benzo[b]thiophen-3-yl]hex-5-ynal. In the case the reaction was catalyzed by Ni(II), the attack on a proximal triple bond led to the formation of 2-methylenecycloalkane-1-ol fragments, instead of macrocyclization. The DFT analysis of the ring strain in the benzo[b]thiophene-fused 10- and 11-membered enediyne-containing cycle provides the plausible explanation of the observed regioselectivity.

An Approach to the Core of Lactonamycin.

A cascade reaction has been developed for the synthesis of lactonamycin. In this paper, we demonstrate that a transition-metal-free thermal ene-diyne cyclization can be used for the construction of the entire core of the antibiotic lactonamycin and anticancer agent lactonamycin Z.

A Novel Approach toward Polyfulvene: Cationic Polymerization of Enediynes

Enediyne compounds have found limited applications in polymer science and material chemistry due to the poor regioselectivity and/or the step-growth nature in their radical polymerizations. However, the cationic cyclization of enediynes exhibits a high regioselective 5-exo-dig mechanism, providing a new strategy for the synthesis of polyfulvene derivatives. The expected polymers were successfully produced by cationic polymerization of enediynes induced by CF3SO3H, and a well-defined conjugated structure was confirmed by NMR, IR, and UV–vis spectroscopy. GPC analysis shows a relatively narrow molecular weight distribution, and the molecular weight reaches up to 62.9 kDa. On the other hand, the structural features of the obtained polymers and the mechanism of the cationic polymerization were investigated through kinetic study and MALDI-TOF MS analysis, which revealed a second-order consumption of enediyne monomer and the polymerization being probably terminated through intramolecular abstraction of proton f...

Orbital Crossings Activated through Electron Injection: Opening Communication between Orthogonal Orbitals in Anionic C1-C5 Cyclizations of Enediynes.

Generally, the long-range electronic communication between spatially orthogonal orbitals is inefficient and limited to field and inductive effects. In this work, we provide experimental evidence that such communication can be achieved via intramolecular electron transfer between two degenerate and mutually orthogonal frontier molecular orbitals (MOs) at the transition state. Interaction between orthogonal orbitals is amplified when the energy gap between these orbitals approaches zero, or at an "orbital crossing". The crossing between two empty or two fully occupied MOs, which do not lead to stabilization, can be "activated" when one of the empty MOs is populated (i.e., electron injection) or one of the filled MOs is depopulated (i.e., hole injection). In reductive cycloaromatization reactions, such crossings define transition states with energies defined by both the in-plane and out-of-plane π-systems. Herein, we provide experimental evidence for the utility of this concept using orbital crossings in reductive C1-C5 cycloaromatization reactions of enediynes. Communication with remote substituents via orbital crossings greatly enhances regioselectivity of the ring closure step in comparison to the analogous radical cyclizations. We also present photophysical data pertaining to the efficiency of electron injection into the benzannelated enediynes.

Synthesis of chiral polyphenylenes through Bergman cyclization of enediynes with pendant chiral amino ester groups

Chiral enediynes with pendant chiral amino ester groups are synthesized through Sonogashira reactions and subjected to thermal triggered Bergman cyclization at elevated temperatures either in bulk or in solvents to produce chiral polyphenylenes. The disappearance of enediyne monomers are evidenced by FTIR and NMR spectroscopies. The formation of polyphenylenes is further confirmed by UV-Vis and MALDI-TOF mass spectroscopies (MS). Isotope pattern analysis of the MS spectra shows that the polymers prepared in solvents are terminated by the solvent molecules, whereas the chain ends of the polymers prepared in bulk consist of considerable amount of unmasked free radicals, which is further confirmed by EPR analysis. Circular dichroism (CD) spectra of the chiral polymers show blue shifts of the Cotton peaks, indicating the occurrence of the cycloaromatization reaction. A new set of peaks mirrored at the horizontal axis show up in the long wavelength range, which are assigned to main chain chirality of the polyphenylenes.

Enediyne dimerization vs Bergman cyclization.

High-level quantum chemical calculations reveal that the dimerization of enediynes to 1,3-butadiene-1,4-diyl diradicals is energetically more favored than the corresponding Bergman cyclization of enediynes. Moreover, the activation barrier of both reactions can be drastically reduced by the introduction of electron-withdrawing substituents like fluoro groups at the reacting carbon centers of the triple bonds.

Co-sensitization of N719 with polyphenylenes from the Bergman cyclization of maleimide-based enediynes for dye-sensitized solar cells

N719 co-sensitized with a conjugated polyphenylene (7-BC) shows a high efficiency of 9.68% (VOC of 750 mV, JSC of 18.18 mA cm−2 and FF of 0.71) in dye-sensitized solar cells, exhibiting an improvement of 16% compared to devices sensitized with N719 (PCE of 8.34%) alone.

Synthesis of polyphenylenes through bergman cyclization of enediynes with long chain alkyl groups

Several new enediynes with long chain alkyl groups were synthesized through Sonogashira coupling reactions between long chain alkynes and (Z)-1,2-dichloroethene. These enediynes (1) were then subjected to thermal Bergman cyclization in a refluxing diphenyl ether bath under vacuum to obtain conjugated polyphenylenes with the weight-average molecular weights up to 4.9 × 103 g·mol−1. The occurrence of Bergman cyclization was confirmed by 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and IR spectroscopic analysis. These polyphenylenes are fully soluble in common organic solvents and exhibit good thermal stability. The optical properties of the polyphenylenes were investigated by UV-Vis absorption and photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopies. A blue emission was observed for all these polyphenylenes.

Ruthenium-Catalyzed Diastereoselective Cyclization of Enediynes

Key words ruthenium - transfer hydrogenation - intramolecular Diels–Alder reaction

Mechanical Manipulation of Chemical Reactions: Reactivity Switching of Bergman Cyclizations.

Photoswitches incorporated into molecular frameworks have been used since a long time to trigger chemical processes on demand. Here, it is shown how mechanophores can be used as switches in order to drastically change the reactivity of a neighboring functional group as a function of external stress. The reactivities of cyclic enediynes, which are highly toxic agents when undergoing Bergman cyclization, roughly correlate with the distance between the bond-forming carbons in many cases. It is demonstrated how this distance, and thus enediyne reactivity, can be tuned upon applying mechanical stress. Depending on suitable substitution patterns, chemically inert species can be turned into highly reactive ones and vice versa, thus extending the concept of photoswitching to mechanoswitching. Moreover, depending on the derivative, it is found that C1-C5 cyclization becomes energetically preferred over the Bergman (C1-C6) pathway at nano-Newton forces, thus leading to a force-induced switch in selectivity in such cases.

Local Electronic and Chemical Structure of Oligo-acetylene Derivatives Formed Through Radical Cyclizations at a Surface

Semiconducting π-conjugated polymers have attracted significant interest for applications in light-emitting diodes, field-effect transistors, photovoltaics, and nonlinear optoelectronic devices. Central to the success of these functional organic materials is the facile tunability of their electrical, optical, and magnetic properties along with easy processability and the outstanding mechanical properties associated with polymeric structures. In this work we characterize the chemical and electronic structure of individual chains of oligo-(E)-1,1′-bi(indenylidene), a polyacetylene derivative that we have obtained through cooperative C1–C5 thermal enediyne cyclizations on Au(111) surfaces followed by a step-growth polymerization of the (E)-1,1′-bi(indenylidene) diradical intermediates. We have determined the combined structural and electronic properties of this class of oligomers by characterizing the atomically precise chemical structure of individual monomer building blocks and oligomer chains (via noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM)), as well as by imaging their localized and extended molecular orbitals (via scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS)). Our combined structural and electronic measurements reveal that the energy associated with extended π-conjugated states in these oligomers is significantly lower than the energy of the corresponding localized monomer orbitals, consistent with theoretical predictions.

Single-Molecule Chemical Reactions Tracked at the Atomic-Bond Level

On the right track: Recent advances in noncontact atomic force microscopy (nc-AFM) have enabled the bond-resolved imaging of reaction pathways. In particular, unprecedented insights into complex enediyne cyclization cascades on silver surfaces were gained by single-molecule imaging.