A series of 2,4-disubstituted imidazopyridines, originating from a SoftFocus Kinase library, was identified from a high throughput phenotypic screen against the human malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. Hit compounds showed moderate asexual blood stage activity. During lead optimization, several issues were flagged such as cross-resistance against the multi-drug resistant K1 strain, in vitro cytotoxicity and cardiotoxicity, and were addressed through structureactivity and structure-property relationship studies. Pharmacokinetic properties were assessed in mouse for compounds showing desirable in vitro activity, selectivity window over cytotoxicity and microsomal metabolic stability. Frontrunner compound 37 showed good exposure in mice combined with good in vitro activity against the malaria parasite which translated into in vivo efficacy in the P. falciparum NOD-scid IL-2Rγ null (NSG) mouse model. Preliminary mechanistic studies suggest inhibition of hemozoin formation as a contributing mode of action.
An efficient synthesis protocol is presented for accessing quaternized α-amino acids in chiral, nonracemic form via diastereoselective malonate alkylation followed by C- to N-transposition. The key stereodifferentiating step involves a diastereoselective alkylation of an α-monosubstituted malonate-imidazolidinone, which is followed first by a chemoselective malonate PMB ester removal and then a Curtius rearrangement to provide the transposition. The method demonstrates a high product ee (89-99% for eight cases) for quaternizing a range of proteinogenic α-amino acids. The stereogenicity in targets 5a-i supports previous conclusions that the diastereoselective alkylation step proceeds via an α-substituted malonate-imidazolidinone enolate in its Z-configuration, with the auxiliary in an s-trans conformation.
A new stereoselective alkylation methodology is presented for formation of chiral, nonracemic quaternary centers via a chiral auxiliary protocol involving α-alkylated malonate imidazolidinones. Based on two X-ray structures of quaternized products, the diastereoselectivity observed may be rationalized via a transition-state involving an s-transC-N conformation of the C-N bond of the auxiliary, with the metal cation (K(+)) chelated into the malonate six-membered hole as a Z-enolate. A deprotection protocol involving ethanethiolate exchange of the imide to the corresponding thioester, followed by a standard Fukuyama reduction and a borohydride reduction, furnishes α,α'-quaternized β-hydroxypropionates in high ee overall.
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