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Photopharmacological tools enable the precise spatiotemporal control of small molecule drugs. Amongst them, caged compounds incorporate a photolabile moiety which is released under illumination, thus liberating the active molecule. Caging groups have long been known and many chemical scaffolds have already been used in different applications. However, most of the initial examples are cleaved with UV light, which suffers from low tissue permeability and cell damage. Recently, caging groups that are released under visible light have been reported, which expand their utility. In this review, we outline the chemical strategies that have been used to increase the absorption wavelengths; we compare their photophysical properties, discuss their synthetic accessibility, and exemplify some of their biological applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is an aggressive type of leukaemia with low rates of long-term survival. While the current standard of care is based on cytotoxic chemotherapy, a promising emerging approach is differentiation therapy. However, most current differentiating agents target specific mutations and are effective only in certain patient subtypes. To identify agents which may be effective in wider population cohorts, we performed a phenotypic screen with the myeloid marker CD11b and identified a compound series that was able to differentiate AML cell lines in vitro regardless of their mutation status. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed that replacing the formamide and catechol methyl ether groups with sulfonamide and indazole respectively improved the in vitro metabolic profile of the series while maintaining the differentiation profile in multiple cell lines. This optimisation exercise enabled progression of a lead compound to in vivo efficacy testing. Our work supports the promise of phenotypic screening to identify novel small molecules that induce differentiation in a wide range of AML subtypes. [Display omitted] • A phenotypic assay based on the expression of CD11b identifies small molecules that differentiate diverse AML cells. • The phenotypic screen identifies a hit series based on an imidazo[1,2- a ]pyridine core. • The initial hit is optimised to improve solubility and metabolic stability. • The lead compound OXS007464 differentiates AML cells in vitro in a range of cell lines with a range of mutation status. • The lead compound OXS007464 has a favourable pharmacokinetic profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weinreb amide derivatives of tetramates may be effectively accessed by chemoselective Dieckmann reaction, and further react with Grignards in a fully chemoselective reaction, giving rise to unsaturated acyl derivatives not easily available by other routes. These systems are strong chelators of calcium, and some show potent activity against Gram positive bacteria, and one is a first-in-class proteasome inhibitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reduction of bicyclic tetramates can be achieved with high levels of diastereocontrol, but small changes in the substitution of the bicyclic lactam system can lead to changes in the steric bias of the concave/convex system. The tetramates and pyroglutamates prepared in this work exhibited limited antibacterial activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anomalous cross-peaks observed in the NOESY spectra of 2,4-disubstituted thiazolidines and oxazolidines that cannot be attributed to classical dipolar NOE or chemical exchange peaks have been investigated experimentally and computationally and have been shown to arise from scalar cross-relaxation of the first kind. This process is stimulated by the relatively slow modulation of scalar couplings and, for the systems studied, arises from slow on-off proton exchange of the amino nitrogen, a process influenced by solution temperature, acidity, and concentration. The mechanism is likely to be significant for many systems in which proton exchange occurs on the millisecond time scale, and misinterpretation of these cross-peaks may lead to erroneous conclusions should their true origins not be recognized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is the most aggressive type of blood cancer, and there is a continued need for new treatments that are well tolerated and improve long-term survival rates in patients. Induction of differentiation has emerged as a promising alternative to conventional cytotoxic chemotherapy, but known agents lack efficacy in genetically distinct patient populations. Previously, we established a phenotypic screen to identify small molecules that could stimulate differentiation in a range of AML cell lines. Utilising this strategy, a 1,5-dihydrobenzo[e][1,4]oxazepin-2(3H)-one hit compound was identified. Herein, we report the hit validation in vitro, structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies and the pharmacokinetic profiles for selected compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Redox reactions catalyzed by highly selective nicotinamide-dependent oxidoreductases are rising to prominence in industry. The cost of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide coenzymes has led to the use of well-established elaborate regeneration systems and more recently alternative synthetic biomimetic cofactors. These biomimetics are highly attractive to use with ketoreductases for asymmetric catalysis. In this work, we show that the commonly studied cofactor analogue 1-benzyl-1,4-dihydronicotinamide (BNAH) can be used with alcohol dehydrogenases (ADHs) under certain conditions. First, we carried out the rhodium-catalyzed recycling of BNAH with horse liver ADH (HLADH), observing enantioenriched product only with unpurified enzyme. Then, a series of cell-free extracts and purified ketoreductases were screened with BNAH. The use of unpurified enzyme led to product formation, whereas upon dialysis or further purification no product was observed. Several other biomimetics were screened with various ADHs and showed no or very low activity, but also no inhibition. BNAH as a hydride source was shown to directly reduce nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) to NADH. A formate dehydrogenase could also mediate the reduction of NAD from BNAH. BNAH was established to show no or very low activity with ADHs and could be used as a hydride donor to recycle NADH. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A ring-closing alkene metathesis (RCM)/ oxyselenation-selenoxide elimination sequence was established to the sodium salts E- and Z- 25 of the originally proposed structure for the recently isolated cytotoxin aruncin B ( 1), as well as to the sodium salt Z- 34 of a related ethyl ether regioisomer; however, none of their corresponding free acids could be obtained. Their acid sensitivity, together with detailed analysis of the spectroscopic data indicated that profound structural revision was necessary. This led to reassignment of aruncin B as a Z-γ-alkylidenebutenolide Z- 36. Although a related RCM/ oxyselenation-selenoxide elimination sequence was used to confirm the γ-alkylidenebutenolide motif, a β-iodo Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction/ Sonogashira cross-coupling-5- exo-dig lactonisation sequence was subsequently developed, due to its brevity and flexibility for diversification. Aruncin B ( 36), together with 14 γ-alkylidenebutenolide analogues, were generated for biological evaluation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A short (10 step) and efficient (15% overall yield) synthesis of the natural product (-)-(3R)-inthomycin C is reported. The key steps comprise three C-C bond-forming reactions: (i) a vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol, (ii) an olefin cross-metathesis reaction, and (iii) an asymmetric Mukaiyama-Kiyooka aldol. This route is notable for its brevity and has the advantage of lacking stoichiometric tin-promoted cross-coupling reactions present in previous approaches. Initial investigations on the biological activity of (-)-(3R)-inthomycin C and structural analogues on human cancer cell lines are also described for the first time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]