Boc-D-glutamic acid α-methyl ester

p-Boronophenylalanine (l-BPA) is applied in clinical settings as a boron carrier for boron neutron capture therapy (BNCT) to cure malignant melanomas. Structural modification or derivatization of l-BPA, however, to improve its uptake efficiency into tumor cells has scarcely been investigated. We successfully synthesized (S)-2-amino-3-(4-boronophenyl)-2-methylpropanoic acid in enantioenriched form as a novel candidate molecule for BNCT. Key steps to enhance the efficiency of this synthesis were enantioselective alkylation of N-protected alanine tert-butyl ester with a Maruoka catalyst and Miyaura borylation reaction to install the boron functionality.

Biocatalytic processes were used to prepare chiral intermediates for pharmaceuticals. These include the following processes. Enzymatic synthesis of [4S-(4a,7a,10ab)]1-octahydro-5-oxo-4-[[(phenylmethoxy) carbonyl]amino]-7H-pyrido-[2,1-b] [1,3]thiazepine-7-carboxylic acid methyl ester (BMS-199541-01), a key chiral intermediate for synthesis of a new vasopeptidase inhibitor. Enzymatic oxidation of the epsilon-amino group of lysine in dipeptide dimer N2-[N[[(phenylmethoxy)carbonyl] L-homocysteinyl] L-lysine)1,1-disulfide (BMS-201391-01) to produce BMS-199541-01 using a novel L-lysine epsilon-aminotransferase from S. paucimobilis SC16113 was demonstrated. This enzyme was overexpressed in E. coli, and a process was developed using recombinant enzyme. The aminotransferase reaction required alpha-ketoglutarate as the amine acceptor. Glutamate formed during this reaction was recycled back to alpha-ketoglutarate by glutamate oxidase from S. noursei SC6007. Synthesis and enzymatic conversion of 2-keto-6-hydroxyhexanoic acid 5 to L-6-hydroxy norleucine 4 was demonstrated by reductive amination using beef liver glutamate dehydrogenase. To avoid the lengthy chemical synthesis of ketoacid 5, a second route was developed to prepare the ketoacid by treatment of racemic 6-hydroxy norleucine (readily available from hydrolysis of 5-(4-hydroxybutyl) hydantoin, 6) with D-amino acid oxidase from porcine kidney or T. variabilis followed by reductive amination to convert the mixture to L-6-hydroxynorleucine in 98% yield and 99% enantiomeric excess. Enzymatic synthesis of (S)-2-amino-5-(1,3-dioxolan-2-yl)-pentanoic acid (allysine ethylene acetal, 7), one of three building blocks used for synthesis of a vasopeptidase inhibitor, was demonstrated using phenylalanine dehydrogenase from T. intermedius. The reaction requires ammonia and NADH. NAD produced during the reaction was recycled to NADH by oxidation of formate to CO2 using formate dehydrogenase.