Nα-Fmoc-L-glutamic acid α-benzyl ester

Methods are presented that describe alternative protocols for the isolation of rat liver microsomes containing the vitamin K-dependent carboxylase and the procedure in which the solubilized enzyme is assayed. The method for determining the rate of 14CO2 incorporation into low molecular weight, acid soluble substrates by the rat liver microsomal vitamin K-dependent carboxylase has been modified in order to optimize safety, accuracy and simplicity. For these studies the rat liver microsomes containing the vitamin K-dependent carboxylase were isolated by CaCl2 precipitation. These Triton X-100 solubilized microsomes were found to be equivalent to the microsomes obtained by high speed ultracentrifugation with regard to protein concentration, pentapeptide carboxylase activity, carboxylase activity, preprothrombin concentration and total carboxylatable endogenous protein substrate. This modified assay procedure requires fewer steps and pipetting transfers and is quantitatively equivalent to previously employed protocols. The described technique can be adapted for any assay where 14CO2 or H14CO3- is incorporated into non-volatile products. This newly developed assay procedure was employed to assess conditions necessary for optimal vitamin K-dependent carboxylation of the less expensive substrate, N-t-Boc-L-glutamic acid alpha-benzyl ester. The optimal conditions for the carboxylation of N-t-Boc-L-glutamic acid alpha-benzyl ester by the carboxylase were found to be 10 mM N-t-Boc-L-glutamic acid alpha-benzyl ester, 10 mM MgCl2 at 15-18 degrees C. The rate of N-t-Boc-L-glutamic acid alpha-benzyl ester carboxylation under these optimized conditions was found to be higher (1.5-fold) than the rate of carboxylation of 1 mM Phe-Leu-Glu-Glu-Ile in the presence of the cation activator, MgCl2.

N-[4-[[(Benzyloxy)carbonyl]methylamino]benzoyl]-L-glutamic acid alpha-benzyl ester (2) and gamma-benzyl ester (6) served as key intermediates in syntheses of precursors to amides and peptides of methotrexate (MTX) involving both the alpha- and gamma-carboxyl groupings of the glutamate moiety. Coupling of 2 and 6 at the open carboxyl grouping with amino compounds was affected by the mixed anhydride method (using isobutyl chloroformate); carboxyl groupings of amino acids coupled with 2 and 6 were protected as benzyl esters. N-[4-[[(Benzyloxy)carbonyl]methylamino]benzoyl]-L-glutamic acid gamma-methyl ester (5), a precursor to MTX gamma-methyl ester, was prepared from L-glutamic acid gamma-methyl ester and 4-[[(benzyloxy)carbonyl]methylamino]benzoyl chloride (1) in a manner similar to that used to prepare 2 and 6. The precursor to MTX alpha-methyl ester was prepared from gamma-benzyl ester 6 by treatment with MeI in DMF containing (i-Pr)2NEt. Benzyl and (benzyloxy)carbonyl protective groupings were removed by hydrogenolysis, and the deprotected side-chain precursors were converted to alpha- and gamma-substituted amides, peptides, and esters of MTX by alkylation with 6-(bromomethyl)-2,4-pteridinediamine hydrobromide (12). Biochemical-pharmacological studies on the prepared compounds aided in establishing that the alpha-carboxyl grouping of the glutamate moiety contributes to the binding of MTX to dihydrofolate reductase while the gamma-carboxyl does not. Other studies on the peptide MTX-gamma-Glu (13h) are concerned with the contribution toward antifolate activity of this metabolite of MTX. The compounds prepared were also evaluated and compared with MTX with respect to cytotoxicity toward H.Ep.-2 cells and effect on L1210 murine leukemia.

The synergistic chiral Lewis acid/achiral Pd catalyst system was successfully applied in the enantioselective benzylation of various imine esters, giving a range of α-benzyl-substituted α-amino acid derivatives in satisfactory yield with excellent enantioselectivity. It is worth noting that this strategy exhibits good tolerance for bicyclic and monocyclic benzylic electrophiles. Furthermore, the utility of this synthetic protocol was demonstrated by the expedient preparation of enantioenriched antihypertensive drug α-methyl-l-dopa.