A novel peptide-peptide ligation strategy is introduced that has the potential to provide peptide libraries of linearly or branched coupled fragments and will be suited to introduce simultaneous protein modifications at different ligation sites. Ligation is assisted by templating peptide nucleic acid (PNA) strands, and therefore, ligation specificity is solely encoded by the PNA sequence. PNA templating, in general, allows for various kinds of covalent ligation reactions. As a proof of principle, a native chemical ligation strategy was elaborated. This PNA-templated ligation includes easy on-resin procedures to couple linkers and PNA to the respective peptides, and a traceless photocleavage of the linker/PNA oligomer after the ligation step. A 4,5-dimethoxy-2-nitrobenzaldehyde-based linker that allowed the photocleavable linkage of two bio-oligomers was developed.

The regioselective cyclometalation of 4-(pyridin-2-yl)phthalimide was exploited for the economical design of organometallic protein kinase inhibitors. 4-(Pyridin-2-yl)phthalimide can be prepared from inexpensive 4-bromophthalimide in just three steps including one Pd-catalyzed Stille cross-coupling. The versatility of this new ligand was demonstrated with the synthesis of ruthenium(II) half-sandwich as well as octahedral ruthenium(II) and iridium(III) complexes. The regioselectivity of the C-H activation in the course of the cyclometalation can be influenced by the reaction conditions and the steric demand of the introduced metal complex fragment. The biological activity of this new class of metalated phthalimides was evaluated by profiling two representative members against a large panel of human protein kinases. A cocrystal structure of one metallo-phthalimide with the protein kinase Pim1 confirmed an ATP-competitive binding with the intended hydrogen bonding between the phthalimide moiety and the hinge region of the ATP-binding site.

Over the past decade, DNA and RNA aptamers have attracted keen research interest due to their ability to specifically bind targets of therapeutic relevance. However, their application is often hampered by a short serum half-life and missing effector functions. Conjugation of aptamers to antibody Fc fragments could improve pharmacokinetics, enable immune effector mechanisms, and provide an option for the introduction of desired payloads (e.g., toxins or fluorescent dyes). We developed a modular scaffold-supported system based on human IgG1 Fc fragments, which allows for its dual functionalization with moieties of interest. In our approach, two bioorthogonal, enzyme-mediated reactions were used in combination with oxime ligation and self-assembly based on PNA-DNA base pairing. Thus, an engineered synthetic peptide nucleic acid (PNA) oligomer was coupled to the C-termini of the Fc dimer upon sequence-specific sortase A-mediated transpeptidation. Hybridization of the resulting Fc-PNA conjugate with a tailored DNA aptamer that binds cancer-related hepatocyte growth factor receptor (c-MET) led to a hybrid construct which showed strong and specific binding to c-MET and was readily internalized by c-MET-overexpressing cells. To install an additional orthogonally addressable site, aldehyde tag technology was applied followed by oxime ligation with an aminooxy-bearing fluorescent dye as model cargo. Delivery of fluorescent probe specifically to c-MET-overexpressing cells was confirmed by flow cytometry. Our approach can provide access to engineered aptamer-Fc conjugates with desired target specificity and cytotoxic payloads.

Rhodium(I)/Binap complexes catalyze highly enantioselective additions of methyl- and arylaluminum reagents to cyclic α,β-unsaturated N-tosyl ketimines. Depending on the solvent and substituents at the ring, the reaction occurs either in a 1,2-manner to deliver α-tertiary allylic amines or in a 1,4-manner to yield, after subsequent reduction, 3-substituted cycloalkyl amines. Well known in the case of the respective cycloalkenones, these first transformations of the aza-analogues enable the synthesis of amine structures of pharmaceutical and biochemical interest.

Rhodium-Catalyzed Enantioselective Addition of Organoaluminum Reagents to N-TosylKetimines. -The first enantioselective 1,2-addition of methyl-and arylaluminum reagents to cycloalkenone-derived N-tosyl imines, yielding -tertiary allylamides, is developed. Depending on the solvent and substituents at the ring, the applied Rh(I)/Binap catalyst can also result in enantioselective 1,4-additions to these substrates. After subsequent reduction of the products, 3-substituted cycloalkyl amines are yielded. -(HIRNER, S.; KOLB, A.; WESTMEIER, J.; GEBHARDT, S.; MIDDEL, S.; HARMS, K.; VON ZEZSCHWITZ*, P.; Org. Lett. 16 (2014) 11, 3162-3165, http://dx.