Synthetic applications of the Cannizzaro reaction

• Bhaskar Chatterjee,
• Dhananjoy Mondal and
• Smritilekha Bera

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1376–1395, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.120

• proposed strategy where the metal ion acts as the binding cation template for the intramolecular desymmetrization (Scheme 15) [82]. A similar highly efficient intramolecular Cannizzaro reaction of calix[4]arene dialdehydes was observed by Galli et al. where the 1,3-distal cone 35 significantly responded to

Rhodium-catalyzed homo-coupling reaction of aryl Grignard reagents and its application for the synthesis of an integrin inhibitor

• Kazuyuki Sato,
• Satoki Teranishi,
• Atsushi Sakaue,
• Yukiko Karuo,
• Atsushi Tarui,
• Kentaro Kawai,
• Hiroyuki Takeda,
• Tatsuo Kinashi and
• Masaaki Omote

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1341–1347, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.118

• developing novel inhibitors of integrin function, we identified a drug candidate (10n) through high throughput screening (HTS) that inhibits the integrin complex formation, which is an important step for integrin activation. The binding inhibitor 10n was effective as IC50 of 190 μM in AlphaScreen system, and

Diameter-selective extraction of single-walled carbon nanotubes by interlocking with Cu-tethered square nanobrackets

• Guoqing Cheng and
• Naoki Komatsu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1298–1307, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.113

• complexation between host molecules and SWNTs are strongly related to the molecular structures, making it possible to tune the binding affinity [8]. The host molecules we employed so far for CNT separation through molecular recognition have been developed as “nanotweezers” [9], “nanocalipers” [10] and

• square in its shape by changing anthracene in 1a to pyrene in 1b. To interpret the results of the diameter selectivity, the theoretical calculation using the semiempirical tight binding quantum chemical method GFN2-xTB was employed instead of the molecular mechanics used in our previous works, because it

• binding energy between SWNTs and the host molecules is calculated by the GFN2-xTB method, because the number of atoms is too large to use DFT methods. The binding energy Ebind is calculated by the following equation: The Ehost, ESWNTs and Ecomplex are the electronic energies of the host molecules, SWNTs

Stability trends in carbocation intermediates stemming from germacrene A and hedycaryol

• Naziha Tarannam,
• Prashant Kumar Gupta,
• Shani Zev and
• Dan Thomas Major

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1189–1197, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.101

• ones presented here, and therefore were neglected. We used the non-covalent interactions (NCI) NCIplot analysis with the program NCIPLOT [39][40][41] to study the non-covalent interactions present in these molecules. To map local binding properties with this method, two scalar fields are used: the

Synthesis of 1,4-azaphosphinine nucleosides and evaluation as inhibitors of human cytidine deaminase and APOBEC3A

• Maksim V. Kvach,
• Stefan Harjes,
• Harikrishnan M. Kurup,
• Geoffrey B. Jameson,
• Elena Harjes and
• Vyacheslav V. Filichev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1088–1098, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.96

• partially localised in the nucleus of cells and, in cancer cells, become genotoxic [24]. A3A and A3H are single-domain enzymes, whereas A3B is a double-domain enzyme, in which only the C-terminal domain (CTD) has catalytic activity, and the N-terminal domain (NTD) is responsible for binding of DNA and for

• measured using the NMR-based assay (Figure 2). The results revealed that both anomers of Va do not inhibit engineered A3A mimic even at elevated concentration in comparison to a control ODN containing FdZ (IId) at pH 6.0. It is very likely that a negative charge in nucleobase Va prevents binding to the

Novel analogues of a nonnucleoside SARS-CoV-2 RdRp inhibitor as potential antivirotics

• Luca Julianna Tóth,
• Kateřina Krejčová,
• Milan Dejmek,
• Eva Žilecká,
• Blanka Klepetářová,
• Lenka Poštová Slavětínská,
• Evžen Bouřa and
• Radim Nencka

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1029–1036, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.91

• of HeE1-2Tyr (1), it must be considered that the synthesized ligands were significantly smaller in size. Normalization of the obtained results using the binding efficiency index (BEI) [32] suggest that both ligand types, 3a–c and 4a,b, bind more efficiently to the SARS-CoV-2 RdRp when compared to 1

Spin and charge interactions between nanographene host and ferrocene

• Akira Suzuki,
• Yuya Miyake,
• Ryoga Shibata and
• Kazuyuki Takai

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1011–1019, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.89

• effect, ACFs were ground in a mortar before the measurement. Results and Discussion XPS spectra acquired in a wide binding energy region for ACFs and FeCp2-ACFs-150 are shown in Figure 1. Peaks of C1s and O1s were observed in ACFs, while C1s, O1s, and Fe2p peaks appeared in the spectrum for FeCp2-ACFs

• -150. Figure 2 shows the Fe2p spectrum for FeCp2-ACFs-150 in a narrow binding energy region. The binding energies of the Fe2p peaks are similar to the reported value for FeCp2 [16]. So, the Fe2p peaks observed in FeCp2-ACFs-150 indicate the successful introduction of the FeCp2 molecule into ACFs as

• binding energy region, respectively. Table 1 shows peak positions for XPS C1s, O1s, and Fe2p peaks for ACFs and FeCp2-ACFs-150, where elemental abundances are obtained from the peak intensity. The amount of FeCp2 is calculated as 0.39 mmol in 1 g of FeCp2-ACFs-150 from the total intensity ratio of Fe2p

A Diels–Alder probe for discovery of natural products containing furan moieties

• Alyssa S. Eggly,
• Namuunzul Otgontseren,
• Carson B. Roberts,
• Amir Y. Alwali,
• Haylie E. Hennigan and
• Elizabeth I. Parkinson

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1001–1010, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.88

• the MMFs specifically, we have developed a chemical probe that is capable of covalently binding to natural products containing furan moieties. Molecular probes are molecules that covalently bind to a compound of interest in order to make them easier to identify from the complex milieu of the cell

Enhancing structural diversity of terpenoids by multisubstrate terpene synthases

• Min Li and
• Hui Tao

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 959–972, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.86

• coelicolor [55] (Figure 8a). Further structure-based engineering of BezA successfully repurposed it to catalyze the unprecedented C6-methylation of FPP by a single residue substitution in its substrate-binding pocket [55]. Moreover, efforts have also been made to engineer the TSs to modulate their product

(Bio)isosteres of ortho- and meta-substituted benzenes

• H. Erik Diepers and
• Johannes C. L. Walker

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 859–890, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.78

• benzenes that have more than one substituent; for example, the ortho-, meta-, or para- relative substitution of a disubstituted benzene should ideally be replicated in the saturated bioisostere to ensure ligand–protein binding is conserved through the bioisosteric swap. Bioisosteres of para-substituted

Activity assays of NnlA homologs suggest the natural product N-nitroglycine is degraded by diverse bacteria

• Kara A. Strickland,
• Brenda Martinez Rodriguez,
• Ashley A. Holland,
• Shelby Wagner,
• Michelle Luna-Alva,
• David E. Graham and
• Jonathan D. Caranto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 830–840, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.75

• these homologs exist mostly as dimers in solution. Next, the heme incorporation of the isolated homologs was measured. UV–vis absorption spectra showed that each NnlA homolog exhibited characteristic Soret absorption features consistent with heme binding to the protein (Figure 3). In addition, the A412

• [32]. We sought to identify the heme binding site, but AlphaFold does not model this. However, this AlphaFold model was predicted to bind a heme cofactor by the consensus modeling tool COACH [33]. This protein–ligand model exhibited steric clashes with the heme and protein side chains (data not shown

• ), limiting the use of this model to predict the heme environment. Nevertheless, this protein–ligand model heme binding between the β-sheet and an α-helix based on similarity to the oxygen-sensing dimeric DosH protein [34]. DosH is also a heme-binding PAS-domain containing protein, further validating the

Substrate specificity of a ketosynthase domain involved in bacillaene biosynthesis

• Zhiyong Yin and
• Jeroen S. Dickschat

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 734–740, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.67

• Zhiyong Yin Jeroen S. Dickschat Kekulé-Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Gerhard-Domagk-Straße 1, 53121 Bonn, Germany 10.3762/bjoc.20.67 Abstract An isotopic labelling method was developed to investigate substrate binding by ketosynthases, exemplified by the

• glutamate decarboxylase, and incubated with BaeJ-KS2. Substrate binding was demonstrated through 13C NMR analysis of the products against the background of various control experiments. Keywords: bacillaene; biosynthesis; enzyme mechanisms; isotopes; trans-AT polyketide synthases; Introduction Polyketides

• analysed by 13C NMR, showing the presence of free 11 after the first centrifugation step (Figure 1C), but not after the last round of centrifugation (Figure 1D). Protein binding of the substrate surrogates 11 was confirmed through digestion of BaeJ-KS2 using protease K after buffer exchange. The digested

Chemoenzymatic synthesis of macrocyclic peptides and polyketides via thioesterase-catalyzed macrocyclization

• Senze Qiao,
• Zhongyu Cheng and
• Fuzhuo Li

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 721–733, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.66

• -binding protein (PBP) family and plays a role in chain termination and macrocyclization in the biosynthesis of surugamides. This PBP-type discrete TE was utilized in the chemoenzymatic synthesis of surugamide B with corresponding peptidyl-SNAC thioester (17b). Most recently, it was observed that SurE

New variochelins from soil-isolated Variovorax sp. H002

• Jabal Rahmat Haedar,
• Aya Yoshimura and
• Toshiyuki Wakimoto

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 692–700, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.63

• structure – a linear hexapeptide with β-hydroxyaspartate and hydroxamate functional groups, serving in iron-binding coordination. Three new variochelins C–E (3–5) were characterized by varied fatty acyl groups at their N-termini; notably, 4 and 5 represent the first variochelins with N-terminal unsaturated

A myo-inositol dehydrogenase involved in aminocyclitol biosynthesis of hygromycin A

• Michael O. Akintubosun and
• Melanie A. Higgins

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 589–596, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.51

• essential for in vivo antimicrobial activity suggesting a distinct biological function independent of ribosome binding. The hygromycin A biosynthetic gene cluster has been identified and the biosynthesis of the aminocyclitol has been proposed (Figure 1) [8][9]. Starting from glucose-6-phosphate, the pathway

• PF01408, in which Hyg17 is a member (Figure 3). PF01408 is classified as an oxidoreductase with NAD-binding Rossmann fold family and contains over 340,000 sequences. Many of the family members act as sugar dehydrogenases with diverse sugar substrates (Supporting Information File 1, Table S1). These

• then induced with 50 µL of 20 mg mL−1 thiostrepton and grown for another 24 h at 30 °C while shaking at 200 rpm. Cells were then harvested by centrifugation, resuspended in binding buffer (500 mM NaCl, 20 mM Tris pH8.0) and disrupted by sonication using a Branson Sonifier 450 (5 rounds of 3 s/3 s on

Recent developments in the engineered biosynthesis of fungal meroterpenoids

• Zhiyang Quan and
• Takayoshi Awakawa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 578–588, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.50

• they have similar substrate binding modes but different regional specificities. The rapid increase in genomic information has further expanded the number of available enzyme genes, thus increasing the potential for diversifying DMOA-derived meroterpenoid biosynthesis. Recently, a similar genome mining

• compounds (40, 43, 44, 47, 48, 50, 51, and 53–55) (Figure 7A). In addition, a structure-based mutagenesis study of SptF was performed to further amplify its catalytic potential. Firstly, the hydrophobic residues Ile63, Phe133, and Ile231, which compose the substrate binding site of SptF, were mutated. As a

• change their reaction products depending on the conformation of the terpenoid skeleton, the regiospecificity of the oxidation reaction can be modified by introducing random mutations in the substrate-binding site of αKG-dependent dioxygenase. The αKG-dependent dioxygenase AndA withdraws H-12 of

Possible bi-stable structures of pyrenebutanoic acid-linked protein molecules adsorbed on graphene: theoretical study

• Yasuhiro Oishi,
• Motoharu Kitatani and
• Koichi Kusakabe

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 570–577, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.49

• that similar steric hindrance effects appear when rotation around the alkyl chain occurs. Such an assumption may not be valid when substitutional binding of the linker to the protein causes some effects to the extent which rotation is not defined, such as a strong chemical bond change, a conformational

• proteins is weakly coupled to graphene. It can be concluded that except for bulky structures that allow multiple binding on graphene by several linkers, the above cases will be of a weakly perturbed nature when making a single link for protein capture. Discussion on strategy for improving biosensors The

Synthesis and biological profile of 2,3-dihydro[1,3]thiazolo[4,5-b]pyridines, a novel class of acyl-ACP thioesterase inhibitors

• Jens Frackenpohl,
• David M. Barber,
• Guido Bojack,
• Birgit Bollenbach-Wahl,
• Ralf Braun,
• Rahel Getachew,
• Sabine Hohmann,
• Kwang-Yoon Ko,
• Karoline Kurowski,
• Bernd Laber,
• Rebecca L. Mattison,
• Thomas Müller,
• Anna M. Reingruber,
• Dirk Schmutzler and
• Andrea Svejda

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 540–551, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.46

• binding affinity to enzyme targets, e.g., acyl-ACP thioesterases, belonging to the protein family of FATs, was demonstrated by using co-crystallization, fluorescence-based thermal shift assays, and chemoproteomics techniques [3]. Likewise, methiozolin (2) is a recently assigned FAT inhibitor that has

• . Accordingly, the target binding affinities were considerably lower than those measured for the strongest analogues 7b, 7c, and 13b. To gain further insights into the biological profile, we chose compounds 7b, 7c, and 13b with promising initial in vivo activity as representatives of our new class of FAT

• pI50 values were calculated from plots of inhibition values vs test compound concentration using Model 205 of the ID Business Solutions Ltd Xlfit software suite. The FAT A binding fluorescent tracer was synthesized from (2S,4S)-4-[(2,6-difluorophenyl)methoxymethyl]-4-ethyl-2-methyl-N-(prop-2

Switchable molecular tweezers: design and applications

• Pablo Msellem,
• Maksym Dekthiarenko,
• Nihal Hadj Seyd and
• Guillaume Vives

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 504–539, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.45

• first part will be devoted to chemically responsive tweezers, including stimuli such as pH, metal coordination, and anion binding. Then, redox-active and photochemical tweezers will be presented. Keywords: coordination; molecular recognition; molecular switches; photoswitch; redox; supramolecular

• Schrader [3][4], and more flexible variants by Rebek [5][6], Zimmerman [7][8], Bosnich [9] and others [10][11][12]. Initially serving as agents for guest binding and recognition, molecular tweezers have undergone a remarkable evolution, diversifying their applications into the realms of biology, catalysis

• flourished since the early 2000s. It is worth mentioning, as stated by Leigh in a comprehensive review [15], that a pioneering example of a molecular machine was the photoswitchable molecular tweezers developed by Shinkai [16] in 1981 for photocontrolled cation binding. This novel class of tweezers

Ligand effects, solvent cooperation, and large kinetic solvent deuterium isotope effects in gold(I)-catalyzed intramolecular alkene hydroamination

• Ruichen Lan,
• Brock Yager,
• Yoonsun Jee,
• Cynthia S. Day and
• Amanda C. Jones

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 479–496, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.43

• , acetonitrile, and the triflate counterion [66]. Theoretical calculation of binding constants predict that esters coordinate more strongly than alkynes, and water [68]. Alkenes have been shown in some cases to coordinate more strongly than alkynes, but the trend depends on substitution pattern (alkynes can

Development of a chemical scaffold for inhibiting nonribosomal peptide synthetases in live bacterial cells

• Fumihiro Ishikawa,
• Sho Konno,
• Hideaki Kakeya and
• Genzoh Tanabe

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 445–451, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.39

• investigated the influence of a modification of 2′-OH in the AMS scaffold with different functional groups on binding to target enzymes and bacterial cell penetration. The inhibitor 7 with a cyanomethyl group at 2′-OH showed desirable inhibitory activity against both recombinant and intracellular gramicidin S

• activities against the A-domain of MbtA, a component of mycobactin synthetase and antimicrobial activities against M. tuberculosis [7]. In addition, aminoacyl (AA)-AMS has been designed to inhibit the amino acid-activating A-domains in NRPSs and has been found to be a tight-binding inhibitor (Figure 2b) [8

• introduced a pegylated biotin linker at the 2′-OH group of ʟ-Phe-AMS and confirmed that the probe retains the binding activities toward the A-domain of GrsA, a gramicidin S synthetase. Aldrich et al. developed a Sal-AMS-based activity-based probe (ABP) to profile MbtA in M. tuberculosis [12]. In contrast, we

Enhanced host–guest interaction between [10]cycloparaphenylene ([10]CPP) and [5]CPP by cationic charges

• Eiichi Kayahara,
• Yoshiyuki Mizuhata and
• Shigeru Yamago

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 436–444, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.38

• . Furthermore, Isobe and co-workers also showed that the carbon nanorings with the simplest structural unit of chiral CNTs, such as cyclochrysenylene [34], cyclonaphthylenes [35], and cycloanthanthrenylene [36], are also excellent hosts of fullerenes with exceptionally high binding constants. These results open

Green and sustainable approaches for the Friedel–Crafts reaction between aldehydes and indoles

• Periklis X. Kolagkis,
• Eirini M. Galathri and
• Christoforos G. Kokotos

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 379–426, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.36

• the GPR receptor can aggravate the symptoms of myeloid leukemia. In contrast to most GPR84 agonists which contain long alkyl chains, BIMs are not lipophilic molecules, which allow them to bind to the GPR receptor via an allosteric binding site and modulate GPR84’s rate of expression [2]. One

• -effects that it can cause in the more sensitive subgroups of patients. Specifically, when DIM was used in tandem with tamoxifen, the ratio between 2OHE1/16αOHE1 increased up to 229%, as well as the concentration of the sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) that inhibits the growth of breast cancer cells [4

• related environments [8]. The mechanism of action involves the binding of BIMs to the penicillin-restricting protein PBP2a which inhibits the biosynthesis of the bacterial cell wall, making the treatment feasible without any toxicity to human cells [9][10]. The applications of BIMs have also been extended

Spatial arrangements of cyclodextrin host–guest complexes in solution studied by ¹³C NMR and molecular modelling

• Konstantin Lebedinskiy,
• Ivan Barvík,
• Zdeněk Tošner,
• Ivana Císařová,
• Jindřich Jindřich and
• Radim Hrdina

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 331–335, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.33

• signals in 13C NMR spectra. This signal split can be correlated to the distance of the guest atoms from the wall of the host cavity and to the spatial separation of binding sites preferred by pairs of prochiral carbon atoms. These measurements complement traditional solid-state analyses, which rely on the

• delivery [2][3][4], in analytical and preparative chemistry for compound separation [5] and in materials science for small molecule detection [6][7]. Association (binding) constants between the host and guest molecules [8][9][10] are typically measured by 1H NMR titration [11][12] or isothermal titration

Elucidating the glycan-binding specificity and structure of Cucumis melo agglutinin, a new R-type lectin

• Jon Lundstrøm,
• Emilie Gillon,
• Valérie Chazalet,
• Nicole Kerekes,
• Antonio Di Maio,
• Ten Feizi,
• Yan Liu,
• Annabelle Varrot and
• Daniel Bojar

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 306–320, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.31

• garnered attention for their roles as laboratory probes and potential therapeutics. Here, we report the discovery and characterization of Cucumis melo agglutinin (CMA1), a new R-type lectin from melon. Our findings reveal CMA1’s unique glycan-binding profile, mechanistically explained by its 3D structure

• , augmenting our understanding of R-type lectins. We expressed CMA1 recombinantly and assessed its binding specificity using multiple glycan arrays, covering 1,046 unique sequences. This resulted in a complex binding profile, strongly preferring C2-substituted, beta-linked galactose (both GalNAc and Fuca1-2Gal

• ), which we contrasted with the established R-type lectin Ricinus communis agglutinin 1 (RCA1). We also report binding of specific glycosaminoglycan subtypes and a general enhancement of binding by sulfation. Further validation using agglutination, thermal shift assays, and surface plasmon resonance