Photochemical reactions contribute in a significant way to the existing repertoire of carbon-carbon bond-forming reactions by allowing access to exceptional molecular structures that cannot be obtained by conventional means. In this Review, the most important photochemical transformations that have been employed in natural product synthesis are presented. Selected total syntheses are discussed as examples, with particular attention given to the photochemical key step and its stereoselectivity. The structural relationship between the photochemically generated molecule and the natural product is shown, and, where necessary, the consecutive reactions in the synthesis are illustrated and classified.

This report describes the development of an enantioselective C–N bond-forming reaction to produce 1,2,3,4-tetrahydroisoquinoline-derived cyclic aminals catalyzed by chiral phosphate anions. Central to the success of this goal was the design of a library of 3,3′-triazolyl BINOL-derived phosphoric acids capable of forming attractive hydrogen-bonding interactions with the peptide-like substrate. We envision this work will offer an alternative to the conventional strategy of increasing catalyst steric bulk to improve enantioselectivity with BINOL-derived phosphoric acids.

Label-free, mass spectrometric (MS) detection is an emerging technology in the field of drug discovery. Unbiased deciphering of enzymatic reactions is a proficient advantage over conventional label-based readouts suffering from compound interference and intricate generation of tailored signal mediators. Significant evolvements of matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) MS, as well as associated liquid handling instrumentation, triggered extensive efforts in the drug discovery community to integrate the comprehensive MS readout into the high-throughput screening (HTS) portfolio. Providing speed, sensitivity, and accuracy comparable to those of conventional, label-based readouts, combined with merits of MS-based technologies, such as label-free parallelized measurement of multiple physiological components, emphasizes the advantages of MALDI-TOF for HTS approaches. Here we describe the assay development for the identification of protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitors. In the context of this precious drug target, MALDI-TOF was integrated into the HTS environment and cross-compared with the well-established AlphaScreen technology. We demonstrate robust and accurate IC determination with high accordance to data generated by AlphaScreen. Additionally, a tailored MALDI-TOF assay was developed to monitor compound-dependent, irreversible modification of the active cysteine of PTP1B. Overall, the presented data proves the promising perspective for the integration of MALDI-TOF into drug discovery campaigns.

Photochemische Reaktionen bereichern in signifikanter Weise das Repertoire zur Knüpfung von Kohlenstoff‐Kohlenstoff‐Bindungen und machen ungewöhnliche, auf herkömmlichem Weg nicht erhältliche Molekülgerüste zugänglich. In diesem Aufsatz werden die wichtigsten Umsetzungen der Photochemie vorgestellt, die auf breiter Front Einzug in die Naturstoffsynthese gehalten haben. Beispielhaft werden einzelne Totalsynthesen diskutiert, wobei besonderes Augenmerk auf den photochemischen Schlüsselschritt sowie dessen Stereoselektivität gerichtet ist. Dabei wird das photochemisch erzeugte Molekül in Relation zur Struktur des Naturstoffs gebracht, und Folgereaktionen werden, wo notwendig, illustriert und klassifiziert.

Starting from tetronate 1 (R = CH(2)OH), a short photochemical access to the 3,12-dioxatricyclo[8.2.1.0(6,13)]tridecane-skeleton 2 of briarellin and asbestinin diterpenes has been explored. In the course of these studies, a number of surprising observations were made. For example, a two-step reaction pathway to the bicyclic ketolactone 3 was discovered, which is based on tetronate 1 (R = COOMe).