Expedient route to functionalized and water soluble 5-6-5 imidazole-phenyl-thiazole based α-helix mimetics

A range of small molecule scaffolds have been shown to act as structural and functional mimics of α-helices by mimicking the i, i+4, and i+7 positions, often found at the interface of PPIs. These molecules, though potent, possess complicating features—either low water solubility, or maintenance of conformation by hydrogen-bonding networks. We have addressed these limitations by developing a scaffold with increased water solubility. Herein we present a rapid synthetic pathway to a library of 56 compounds based on a 5-6-5 scaffold, containing an imidazole-phenyl-thiazole core; the route is flexible and allows rapid installation of different substituents via high-yielding Ullman and Suzuki couplings and Hantsch thiazole syntheses.