Functionalised 2,3-dimethyl-3-aminotetrahydrofuran-4-one and N-(3-oxo-hexahydrocyclopenta[b]furan-3a-yl)acylamide based scaffolds: synthesis and cysteinyl proteinase inhibition Original Research Article

A stereoselective synthesis of functionalised (2R,3R)-2,3-dimethyl-3-amidotetrahydrofuran-4-one, its (2S,3R)-epimer and (3aR,6aR)-N-(3-oxo-hexahydrocyclopenta[b]furan-3a-yl)acylamide cysteinyl proteinase inhibitors has been developed using Fmoc-protected scaffolds 6–8 in a solid-phase combinatorial strategy. Within these scaffolds, the introduction of an alkyl substituent α to the ketone affords chiral stability to an otherwise configurationally labile molecule. Preparation of scaffolds 6–8 required stereoselective syntheses of suitably protected α-diazomethylketone intermediates 9–11, derived from appropriately protected α-methylthreonines (2R,3R)-12, (2R,3S)-13 and a protected analogue of (1R,2R)-1-amino-2-hydroxycyclopentanecarboxylic acid 14. Application of standard methods for the preparation of amino acid α-diazomethylketones, through treatment of the mixed anhydride or pre-formed acyl fluorides of intermediates 12–14 with diazomethane, proved troublesome giving complex mixtures. However, the desired α-diazomethylketones were isolated and following a lithium chloride/acetic acid promoted insertion reaction provided scaffolds 6–8. Elaboration of 6–8 on the solid phase gave α,β-dimethyl monocyclic ketone based inhibitors 38a–f, 39a,b,d,e,f and bicyclic inhibitors 40a–e that exhibited low micromolar activity against a variety of cysteinyl proteinases.