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A series of alpha-substituted beta-alanine (beta) linked polyamides (DbaPyPyPy-beta*-PyPyPy) were prepared and examined. This resulted in the observation that while most substituents disrupt DNA binding, (R)-alpha-methoxy-beta-alanine (beta((R)-OMe)) maintains strong binding affinity and preferentially adopts a hairpin versus extended binding mode, providing an alternative hairpin linker to gamma-aminobutyric acid (gamma). A generalized variant of a fluorescent intercalator displacement assay conducted on a series of hairpin deoxyoligonucleotides containing a systematically varied A/T-rich binding site size was developed to distinguish between the extended binding of the parent beta-alanine 1 (DbaPyPyPy-beta-PyPyPy) and the hairpin binding of 3 (DbaPyPyPy-beta((R)-OMe)-PyPyPy).

Representatives of two classes of hexakis-adducts of C60 were prepared by templated synthesis strategies. Compound 8 with a dipyridylmethano addend in a pseudo-octahedral addition pattern was obtained by DMA-templated addition (DMA=9,10-dimethylanthracene; Scheme 1) and served as the starting material for the first supramolecular fullerene dimer 2. Hexakis-adduct 12 also possesses a pseudo-octahedral addition pattern and was obtained by a sequence of tether-directed remote functionalization, tether removal, and regioselective bis-functionalization (Scheme 2). With its two diethynylmethano addends in trans-1 position, it is a precursor for fascinating new oligomers and polymers that feature C60 moieties as part of the polymeric backbone (Fig. 1). With the residual fullerene π-electron chromophore reduced to a `cubic cyclophane'-type sub-structure (Fig. 4), and for steric reasons, 8 and 12 no longer display electrophilic reactivity. As a representative of the second class of hexakis-adducts, (±)-1, which features six addends in a distinct helical array along an equatorial belt, was prepared by a route that involved two sequential tether-directed remote functionalization steps (Schemes 3 and 5). In compound (±)-1, π-electron conjugation between the two unsubstituted poles of the carbon sphere is maintained via two (E)-stilbene-like bridges (Fig. 4). As a result, (±)-1 features very different chemical reactivity and physical properties when compared to hexakis-adducts with a pseudo-octahedral addition pattern. Its reduction under cyclic voltammetric conditions is greatly facilitated (by 570 mV), and it readily undergoes additional, electronically favored Bingel additions at the two sterically well-accessible central polar 6-6 bonds under formation of heptakis- and octakis-adducts, (±)-30 and (±)-31, respectively (Scheme 6). The different extent of the residual π-electron delocalization in the fullerene sphere is also reflected in the optical properties of the two types of hexakis-adducts. Whereas 8 and 12 are bright-yellow (end-absorption around 450 nm), compound (±)-1 is shiny-red, with an end-absorption around 600 nm. This study once more demonstrates the power of templated functionalization strategies in fullerene chemistry, providing addition patterns that are not accessible by stepwise synthetic approaches.

A series of iminodiacetic acid (IDA)-linked polyamides (DpPyPyPy-IDA-PyPyPyDp) were prepared and constitute polyamides joined head-to-head by a functionalizable five-atom linker. It was found that the IDA linker exerts a unique influence over the DNA binding conformation differing from both the beta-alanine (extended) or gamma-aminobutyric acid (hairpin) linkers, resulting in cooperative parallel side-by-side 2:1 binding in an extended conformation most likely with a staggered versus stacked alignment. A generalized variant of a fluorescent intercalator displacement (FID) assay conducted on a series of hairpin deoxyoligonucleotides containing a systematically varied A/T-rich binding-site size was used to distinguish between the binding modes of the IDA-linked polyamides.

A series of saturated heterocyclic analogues of distamycin were prepared and examined. A fluorescent intercalator displacement (FID) assay conducted on p[dA]-p[dT] DNA to obtain C(50) values and a hairpin deoxyoligonucleotide containing an A/T-rich binding site was used to evaluate DNA binding affinity. It is observed that saturated heterocycles greatly reduce the DNA binding relative to distamycin.

Corrigendum Corrigendum to ‘‘Discovery of the first known small-molecule inhibitors of heme-regulated eukaryotic initiation factor 2a (HRI) kinase” [Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 19 (2009) 6548] Mark D. Rosen *, Craig R. Woods, Steven D. Goldberg, Michael D. Hack, A. Dawn Bounds, Young Yang, Pamela C. Wagaman, Victor K. Phuong, Angela P. Ameriks, Terrance D. Barrett, Kimon C. Kanelakis, Jui Chang Chuang, Nigel P. Shankley, Michael H. Rabinowitz Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development, L.L.C., 3210 Merryfield Row, San Diego, CA 92121, United States