Peptide stapling by late-stage Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling

• Hendrik Gruß,
• Rebecca C. Feiner,
• Ridhiwan Mseya,
• David C. Schröder,
• Michał Jewgiński,
• Kristian M. Müller,
• Rafał Latajka,
• Antoine Marion and
• Norbert Sewald

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 1–12, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.1

• –Miyaura cross-coupling of bromotryptophan-containing peptides of the catenin-binding domain of axin. Optimisation of the linker length in order to find a compromise between both sufficient linker rigidity and flexibility resulted in a peptide with an increased α-helicity and enhanced binding affinity to

• its native binding partner β-catenin. An increased proteolytic stability against proteinase K has been demonstrated. Keywords: accelerated molecular dynamics; halotryptophan; intrinsically disordered peptides; late-stage diversification; macrocyclisation; molecular dynamics; stapled peptides; Suzuki

• –Miyaura cross-coupling; Introduction Peptide cyclisation emerged as a popular approach to limit conformational mobility in order to enhance the binding affinity towards a biological target. Moreover, cyclic peptides are more stable against proteolytic digestion and can provide an improved membrane

Study on the interactions between melamine-cored Schiff bases with cucurbit[n]urils of different sizes and its application in detecting silver ions

• Jun-Xian Gou,
• Yang Luo,
• Xi-Nan Yang,
• Wei Zhang,
• Ji-Hong Lu,
• Zhu Tao and
• Xin Xiao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2950–2958, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.204

• (Supporting Information File 1, Figure S7), and the corresponding binding ability (Ka) is 1.422 × 106 M−1. The host–guest interaction of Q[8]-TBT Since Q[8] has a larger cavity than Q[7], it can bind the entire TBT molecule like Q[7]. However, in the 1H NMR titration experiment (Supporting Information File 1

Iron-catalyzed domino coupling reactions of π-systems

• Austin Pounder and
• William Tam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2848–2893, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.196

• oxidative addition, transmetallation, and reductive elimination processes. On the other hand, iron may act as a Lewis acid, activating carbon–carbon multiple bonds via π-binding or heteroatoms via σ-complexes. This can either generate the organoiron complex after nucleophilic attack or produce a carbocation

Synthesis of a novel aminobenzene-containing hemicucurbituril and its fluorescence spectral properties with ions

• Qingkai Zeng,
• Qiumeng Long,
• Jihong Lu,
• Li Wang,
• Yuting You,
• Xiaoting Yuan,
• Qianjun Zhang,
• Qingmei Ge,
• Hang Cong and
• Mao Liu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2840–2847, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.195

• Macrocycles with converging binding sites and functional groups hold a key position in supramolecular chemistry, which has been repeatedly confirmed by classic macrocyclic molecules, such as crown ethers, cyclodextrins, calixarenes, cucurbiturils and their homologues [1]. For the past decades, numerous

• nm, and found to be Ka = (2.1 ± 0.3) × 104 M−1, while the association constant of compound 4 binding to Cu2+ was Ka = (2.8 ± 0.1) × 103 M−1. The macrocycle binds Fe3+ much more strongly than Cu2+. The host–guest interactions between 4 and selected anions, including Cl−, Br−, I−, PF6−, BF4−, HSO4

Host–guest interaction and properties of cucurbit[8]uril with chloramphenicol

• Lin Zhang,
• Jun Zheng,
• Guangyan Luo,
• Xiaoyue Li,
• Yunqian Zhang,
• Zhu Tao and
• Qianjun Zhang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2832–2839, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.194

• between the assemblies. Figure 4 and Table 1 show the exothermic isotherms and thermodynamic constants obtained for the titration of CPE with Q[8] interaction using ITC. From the data, it can be seen that the reaction was enthalpy driven and its binding constant was 8.057 × 105 L/mol. 1H NMR spectroscopy

• (CPE) = 30 μmol/L, (c(Q[8])/c(CPE)) = 0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0; ··· 2.8), insets in (A, C) are the plot of absorbances at 278 nm of CPE. ITC data obtained for the binding of Q[8] with CPE in an aqueous solution at 25 °C. 1H NMR spectra of CPE, CPE@Q[8] and Q[8] (VD2O/VDCl = 3:2). IR spectra recorded

A tribute to Carsten Schmuck

• Jochen Niemeyer,
• Ivo Piantanida and
• Thomas Schrader

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2795–2798, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.190

• exchange of scientific ideas and knowledge. Carsten continuously gave a lot of attention and constructive questions about fine details in targeted binding sites of biomacromolecules (various types of DNA and RNA, or proteins), as well as already known small molecules binding to these targets. Then, taking

GlycoBioinformatics

• Kiyoko F. Aoki-Kinoshita,
• Frédérique Lisacek,
• Niclas Karlsson,
• Daniel Kolarich and
• Nicolle H. Packer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2726–2728, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.184

• tightly connected to mainstream bioinformatics. For example, databases and tools from genomics can be used for gaining information about genes encoding for glycosyltransferases, glycosidases, and glycan-binding proteins (lectins), and search engines initially designed for the detection of

• article by Barnett et al. [2] uses molecular dynamics to show that O-linked glycosylation alters peptide conformation, which influences the binding of the peptides to antibodies, despite the fact that glycans are not directly involved in the binding. Another molecular modeling article by Fogarty et al. [3

• paper by Mehta et al. [5], who summarize recent developments and available online resources for glycan array data, a very powerful technique for understanding the structural element(s) of glycans required for different lectin binding. This further emphasizes the role of glycans as mediators of cellular

Synthesis and investigation on optical and electrochemical properties of 2,4-diaryl-9-chloro-5,6,7,8-tetrahydroacridines

• Najeh Tka,
• Mohamed Adnene Hadj Ayed,
• Mourad Ben Braiek,
• Mahjoub Jabli and
• Peter Langer

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2450–2461, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.162

• difference of 0.23 eV between the optical and the electrochemical band gap which is attributed to the interface barrier between the electrode and the tetrahydroacridine, as well as to the exciton binding energy [68][69]. On the other hand, the calculated HOMO energy was more negative than the experimental

Targeting active site residues and structural anchoring positions in terpene synthases

• Anwei Hou and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2441–2449, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.161

• incorporated by its nucleophilic attack at a cationic intermediate, leading to terpene alcohols [5][6] or sometimes ethers [7][8]. Substrate ionisation by TPSs is achieved through binding of the diphosphate portion to a trinuclear Mg2+ cluster in the active site that is itself bound to two highly conserved

• of the pyrophosphate sensor) that form a salt bridge between helices F and G [12][13][14], and a conserved Asn (8 or 9 residues downstream of the NSE triad) that hydrogen bridges to the Mg2+ binding Glu of the NSE triad [15]. In between these structural anchors the amino acid sequences of terpene

• large active site cavity SmTS1 exhibits a few notable features within its amino acid sequence. The aspartate-rich motif, that is usually composed of DDXX(X)D and is responsible for binding of two Mg2+ cations (Figure 1) [11][21], is modified to N86DLTV in SmTS1. Similarly, the NSE triad for binding of

Synthesis of phenanthridines via a novel photochemically-mediated cyclization and application to the synthesis of triphaeridine

• Songeziwe Ntsimango,
• Kennedy J. Ngwira,
• Moira L. Bode and
• Charles B. de Koning

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2340–2347, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.152

• captivated synthetic chemists and biologists alike since the 1960s due to their efficient DNA binding, antitumour and antiparasitic activities [1]. Such compounds include the DNA and RNA-fluorescent marker ethidium bromide (1), the cell viability probe propidium iodide (2) and the naturally occurring

Post-functionalization of drug-loaded nanoparticles prepared by polymerization-induced self-assembly (PISA) with mitochondria targeting ligands

• Janina-Miriam Noy,
• Fan Chen and
• Martina Stenzel

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2302–2314, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.148

• to mitochondrial protein, but also chelates other cysteine-containing species. Several hundred good binding sites for trivalent arsenicals in each organ have been proposed [6][7], and more than 50 arsenic-binding proteins could be identified and analysed by Zhang et al. [8] and Yan et al. [9] using p

• mitochondria binding ligand does not induce any damaging effects to these cell lines. Many studies have reported that attaching targeting ligands on nanoparticle or liposome surfaces play a key role in overcoming biological barriers and reducing targeting effects. Active targeting or retention can increase

• binding of biorecognition molecules on a PEG nanoparticle to its target only works when the PEG chain length is less than the polymer chain to which the ligand is attached. Otherwise, the long PEG chain will intercept ligand binding [50]. It is also reasonable to think that TPP is barely visible on the

Synthesis of O⁶-alkylated preQ₁ derivatives

• Laurin Flemmich,
• Sarah Moreno and
• Ronald Micura

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2295–2301, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.147

• class-I riboswitch [1]. This riboswitch acts as a ribozyme by using 7-aminomethyl-O6-methyl-7-deazaguanine (m6preQ1) as methyl group donor; it catalyzes self-methylation of a specific cytidine in the aptamer binding pocket, yielding N3-methyl cytidine (m3C) under release of 7-aminomethyl-7-deazaguanine

• thereby regulates genes that are required for queuosine biosynthesis [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. The molecular mechanism behind is called riboswitching. For most riboswitches, ligand binding induces a structural change in the untranslated leader sequence of mRNA by formation (or disruption) of a

Halides as versatile anions in asymmetric anion-binding organocatalysis

• Lukas Schifferer,
• Martin Stinglhamer,
• Kirandeep Kaur and
• Olga García Macheño

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2270–2286, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.145

• development of the research area of asymmetric anion-binding organocatalysis. Key early elucidation studies with chloride as counter-anion confirmed this type of alternative activation, which was then exploited in several processes and contributed to the advance and consolidation of anion-binding catalysis as

• the cationic reactive species. Keywords: anion binding; asymmetric catalysis; halide anions; hydrogen donors; noncovalent interactions; Introduction Halogens and the respective anionic halides occupy an essential role in natural and chemical processes [1][2][3][4]. While in chemical syntheses

• challenging to design small molecule catalysts that resemble anion-binding properties of enzymes. Hence, a major challenge of small organic receptors to mimic nature’s capability of binding to the targeted anions resides in the supramolecular properties of enzymes and co-factors to form exact matching binding

(Phenylamino)pyrimidine-1,2,3-triazole derivatives as analogs of imatinib: searching for novel compounds against chronic myeloid leukemia

• Luiz Claudio Ferreira Pimentel,
• Lucas Villas Boas Hoelz,
• Henayle Fernandes Canzian,
• Frederico Silva Castelo Branco,
• Andressa Paula de Oliveira,
• Vinicius Rangel Campos,
• Floriano Paes Silva Júnior,
• Rafael Ferreira Dantas,
• Jackson Antônio Lamounier Camargos Resende,
• Anna Claudia Cunha,
• Nubia Boechat and
• Mônica Macedo Bastos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2260–2269, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.144

• , with IC50 values between 1.0 and 7.3 μM, and were subjected to molecular docking studies. The results suggest that such compounds can interact at the same binding site as imatinib, probably sharing a competitive inhibition mechanism. One compound showed the greatest interaction affinity for BCR-Abl-1

• TKIs that are even more potent than IMT, such as nilotinib [6][7]. These drugs act as inhibitors at the ATP binding site in the inactive form of BCR-Abl-1, preventing the binding of the protein to ATP in a competitive manner and resulting in the interruption of the substrate phosphorylation process and

• interact with BCR-Abl-1 at the same binding site as IMT but show differences in the binding modes and with higher values of interaction energy. Compound 2c presented a MolDock value of −152.993 a.u. For compound 2d, the value was −152.127 a.u., and for compound 2g, it was −167.520 a.u. (Table 2

Constrained thermoresponsive polymers – new insights into fundamentals and applications

• Patricia Flemming,
• Alexander S. Münch,
• Andreas Fery and
• Petra Uhlmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2123–2163, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.138

Enantioenriched α-substituted glutamates/pyroglutamates via enantioselective cyclopropenimine-catalyzed Michael addition of amino ester imines

• Zara M. Seibel,
• Jeffrey S. Bandar and
• Tristan H. Lambert

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 2077–2084, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.134

• reported [45], for which a detailed transition state model was developed. In that study, it was determined that the reaction proceeds via several competing low-energy transition states involving both O–H and N–H enolate binding modes, E and Z enolate isomers, and a range of H-bonding and other noncovalent

• enolate geometry and N–H vs O–H binding). From this transition state, addition of the enolate to the acrylate followed by rapid proton transfer would lead to the glutamate derivative 10 (path a, red dashed line). A competing pathway involving bond formation between the acrylate α-carbon and the imine

Progress and challenges in the synthesis of sequence controlled polysaccharides

• Giulio Fittolani,
• Theodore Tyrikos-Ergas,
• Denisa Vargová,
• Manishkumar A. Chaube and
• Martina Delbianco

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1981–2025, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.129

• substitution. A collection of linear β(1–4)-ᴅ-xylan chains and with α(1–3)-ʟ-arabinofuranosyl branches was quickly assembled to identify the binding epitopes of monoclonal antibodies. These oligomers, together with other well-defined analogues obtained by chemoenzymatic synthesis, were converted to the

Asymmetric organocatalyzed synthesis of coumarin derivatives

• Natália M. Moreira,
• Lorena S. R. Martelli and
• Arlene G. Corrêa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1952–1980, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.128

• the desired transformation by using only one catalyst [70]. In this sense, an efficient asymmetric organocatalytic reaction was reported by Zhang et al. for the synthesis of 2,8-dioxabicyclo[3.3.1]nonanes [71]. A combination of catalysts 7 and 110, involving iminium and anion-binding catalysis

On the application of 3d metals for C–H activation toward bioactive compounds: The key step for the synthesis of silver bullets

• Renato L. Carvalho,
• Amanda S. de Miranda,
• Mateus P. Nunes,
• Roberto S. Gomes,
• Guilherme A. M. Jardim and
• Eufrânio N. da Silva Júnior

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1849–1938, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.126

Cationic oligonucleotide derivatives and conjugates: A favorable approach for enhanced DNA and RNA targeting oligonucleotides

• Mathias B. Danielsen and
• Jesper Wengel

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1828–1848, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.125

• Mathias B. Danielsen Jesper Wengel Biomolecular Nanoscale Engineering Center, Department of Physics, Chemistry and Pharmacy, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230 Odense M, Denmark 10.3762/bjoc.17.125 Abstract Antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) have the ability of binding to

• nuclease resistance, increased binding to the nucleic acid target and improved cell uptake for oligonucleotides (ONs) and ASOs. The modifications highlighted in this review are some of the most prevalent cationic amine groups which have been attached as single modifications onto ONs/ASOs. The review has

• target generally are of the gapmer-design class (Figure 1), where a central segment of at least five DNA nucleotides termed the 'gap' is flanked by modified nucleotides that promote target binding and protection against exonucleolytic degradation [2]. Another class are the steric block ASOs that bind to

Sustainable manganese catalysis for late-stage C–H functionalization of bioactive structural motifs

• Jongwoo Son

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1733–1751, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.122

• protein–ligand binding properties as well as biological activities of small molecules, potentially leading to dramatic increases in potency, and thus has been widely explored in drug discovery [54][55][56]. Late-stage C–H methylation has recently been investigated using iron and cobalt catalysts as

A systems-based framework to computationally describe putative transcription factors and signaling pathways regulating glycan biosynthesis

• Theodore Groth,
• Rudiyanto Gunawan and
• Sriram Neelamegham

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1712–1724, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.119

• termed glycogenes [1][2]. These glycogenes include the glycosyltransferases, glycosidases, sulfotransferases, transporters, etc. The expression of these glycogenes is in turn driven by the action of a class of proteins called transcription factors (TFs). These TFs regulate gene expression by binding

• proximal to the promoter regions of genes, facilitating the binding of RNA polymerases. They may homotropically or heterotropically associate with additional TFs in order to directly or indirectly control messenger RNA (mRNA) expression. Among the TFs, some “pioneer factors” can pervasively regulate gene

• their tissue-specific expression, DNA binding domains, and nucleosome interaction sequences [3]. Additional factors regulating transcriptional activity include: i) cofactors and small molecules that enable TF-DNA recognition and RNA polymerase recruitment [3]; ii) chromatin modifications, such as

Chemical approaches to discover the full potential of peptide nucleic acids in biomedical applications

• Nikita Brodyagin,
• Martins Katkevics,
• Venubabu Kotikam,
• Christopher A. Ryan and
• Eriks Rozners

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1641–1688, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.116

• and diagnostics, and attempts to develop new PNA therapeutics. The discussion starts with a brief review of PNA’s binding modes and structural features, followed by the most impactful chemical modifications, PNA enabled assays and diagnostics, and discussion of the current state of development of PNA

• therapeutics. While many modifications have improved on PNA’s binding affinity and specificity, solubility and other biophysical properties, the original PNA is still most frequently used in diagnostic and other in vitro applications. Development of therapeutics and other in vivo applications of PNA has

• electrostatic repulsion. The maintenance and function of long double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) is achieved through complex mechanisms involving histones and other proteins. Large non-coding RNAs (e.g., ribosomes) manage electrostatic repulsion using positively charged RNA-binding proteins and cations (e.g

Recent advances in the application of isoindigo derivatives in materials chemistry

• Andrei V. Bogdanov and
• Vladimir F. Mironov

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1533–1564, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.111

• the introduction of aromatic substituents of variable nature into the oligomer structure. By the example of pyrene derivatives 7 and 8, the dependence of the binding type of the aromatic fragment to the isoindigo core was revealed. The synthetic procedure for the preparation of these monoisoindigoid

Cascade intramolecular Prins/Friedel–Crafts cyclization for the synthesis of 4-aryltetralin-2-ols and 5-aryltetrahydro-5H-benzo[7]annulen-7-ols

• Jie Zheng,
• Shuyu Meng and
• Quanrui Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1481–1489, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.104

• therapeutic potential. In addition, trans-4-phenyl-N,N-dimethyl-2-aminotetralin (trans-H2-PAT, 4, Figure 1) [6] has been determined to modulate tyrosine hydroxylase activity and dopamine synthesis in rodent forebrain and is also a ligand binding to histamine H1 receptors, and thus is a potentially useful