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Synthesis of meta-substituted arene bioisosteres from [3.1.1]propellane
Small-ring cage hydrocarbons are popular bioisosteres (molecular replacements) for commonly found para -substituted benzene rings in drug design 1 . The utility of these cage structures derives from their superior pharmacokinetic properties compared with their parent aromatics, including improved so...
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Published in: | Nature (London) 2022-11, Vol.611 (7937), p.721-726 |
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Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Subjects: | |
Citations: | Items that this one cites Items that cite this one |
Online Access: | Get full text |
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Summary: | Small-ring cage hydrocarbons are popular bioisosteres (molecular replacements) for commonly found
para
-substituted benzene rings in drug design
1
. The utility of these cage structures derives from their superior pharmacokinetic properties compared with their parent aromatics, including improved solubility and reduced susceptibility to metabolism
2
,
3
. A prime example is the bicyclo[1.1.1]pentane motif, which is mainly synthesized by ring-opening of the interbridgehead bond of the strained hydrocarbon [1.1.1]propellane with radicals or anions
4
. By contrast, scaffolds mimicking
meta
-substituted arenes are lacking because of the challenge of synthesizing saturated isosteres that accurately reproduce substituent vectors
5
. Here we show that bicyclo[3.1.1]heptanes (BCHeps), which are hydrocarbons for which the bridgehead substituents map precisely onto the geometry of
meta-
substituted benzenes, can be conveniently accessed from [3.1.1]propellane. We found that [3.1.1]propellane can be synthesized on a multigram scale, and readily undergoes a range of radical-based transformations to generate medicinally relevant carbon- and heteroatom-substituted BCHeps, including pharmaceutical analogues. Comparison of theĀ absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion (ADME) properties of these analogues reveals enhanced metabolic stability relative to their parent arene-containing drugs, validating the potential of this
meta-
arene analogue as an
sp
3
-rich motif in drug design. Collectively, our results show that BCHeps can be prepared on useful scales using a variety of methods, offering a new surrogate for
meta-
substituted benzene rings for implementation in drug discovery programmes.
The potential power of the saturated carbocycle bicyclo[3.1.1]heptane as a beneficial motif for improving the pharmacokinetic and physicochemical properties of drug candidates is demonstrated. |
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ISSN: | 0028-0836 1476-4687 |
DOI: | 10.1038/s41586-022-05290-z |