The potential of deuterated pharmaceuticals is being widely demonstrated. Here we describe the first trideuteromethylation under radical reaction conditions using deuterated dimethyl sulfoxide as a reagent for the synthesis of labelled heterocycles and trideuteromethylated compounds. A broad scope of the developed method for the synthesis of various scaffolds was demonstrated.

Although all-oral direct-acting antiviral (DAA) therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment is now a reality, today's HCV drugs are expensive, and more affordable drugs are still urgently needed. In this work, we report the identification of the 2-phenyl-4,5,6,7-Tetrahydro-1H-indole chemical scaffold that inhibits cellular replication of HCV genotype 1b and 2a subgenomic replicons. The anti-HCV genotype 1b and 2a profiling and effects on cell viability of a selected representative set of derivatives as well as their chemical synthesis are described herein. The most potent compound 39 displayed EC50 values of 7.9 and 2.6 µM in genotype 1b and 2a, respectively. Biochemical assays showed that derivative 39 had no effect on HCV NS5B polymerase, NS3 helicase, IRES mediated translation and selected host factors. Thus, future work will involve both the chemical optimization and target identification of 2-phenyl-4,5,6,7-Tetrahydro-1H-indoles as new anti-HCV agents.

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We have developed an efficient and stereoselective route to trans-fused octahydrocyclohepta[b]pyrrol-4(1H)-ones. The key features of our synthesis include the regioselective epoxide ring-opening of alkynyl oxiranes and a stereoselective aza-Cope-Mannich reaction. The target compounds were prepared in 3-6 steps from commercially available starting materials (61-75% overall yield) with minimal chromatographic purification. We have devised an stereoselective route to target compounds using Shi epoxidation or (R)-1-phenylethylamine as a source of chirality.

Medicinal chemists are keen to explore tridimensional compounds, especially when it comes to small molecules. It has already been stressed that the majority of known drugs tend to be flat, whereas natural products tend to be more tridimensional and represent a good source of active compounds. 3D metrics have been implemented and computational descriptors are available to evaluate and prioritize compounds based on their 3D geometry. This is usually done by comparing the saturated carbon atoms in a molecule with the total number of its non‐hydrogen atoms (the Fsp3 value). While this aspect is clear, still there are not enough synthetic tools that support the realization of novel chemotypes that conform to these criteria. Herein we describe a diversity oriented synthesis (DOS) synthetic cascade technology that starts from two simple reagents, and generates highly enriched Fsp3 novel and diverse spiro‐scaffolds with pragmatic synthetic handles (points of diversity). The spiro nature of these scaffolds not only ensures high Fsp3 values but renders the compounds more rigid and therefore more effective in forming precise stereo‐interactions with their potential biological targets. These compounds were also profiled for their drug‐like properties and as potential modulators of the NNMT enzyme.