A general strategy for the synthesis of azapeptidomimetic lactams

A selection of azapeptidomimetics containing constraining lactam rings have been prepared by Mitsunobu cyclization of serine/homologated serine-azaalanine derivatives. These include sterically-congested β-lactams, as well as γ-butyrolactam and δ-valerolactam analogs. A novel azaamino acid acylation method was developed to prepare the sterically demanding α-benzyl-serine-azaalanine precursor. In all cases, the Mitsunobu conditions were highly efficient in forming the desired azapeptidomimetic lactams. The reported process represents a general strategy for the synthesis of peptidomimetic structures with a constraining lactam ring.