Regio- and stereocontrolled synthesis of a heterocycle fragment collection using palladium catalyzed C–H arylation
File(s)
Author(s)
Piticari, Amalia-Sofia
Antermite, Daniele
Linkhorn, Harry J
Larionova, Natalia A
Webster, Matthew P
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
Saturated heterocycles are valuable fragments in drug discovery due to their polarity, three-dimensional structure and potential for versatile binding modes, yet their controlled functionalization remains challenging. Existing methods often require pre-functionalized substrates and provide limited control over substitution patterns, restricting access to diverse exit vectors. Here, we report a campaign achieving systematic control over the position and orientation of exit vectors in heterocycles through the synthesis of a structurally diverse fragment collection using aminoquinoline-directed C–H functionalization. The study prioritizes five- and six-membered N-heterocycles, as well as rings with sulfonyl and difluoromethylene units. Aminoquinoline directing groups installed at C(2), C(3), or C(4) enable β-arylation, and are subsequently removed to reveal carboxylic acids, primary amides, primary alcohols, or nitriles. The resulting 44 fragments, now part of AbbVie’s compound collection, combine structural novelty with favourable physicochemical properties. Finally, a simple script is provided for rapid analysis of fragment properties.
Date Issued
2025-11-10
Date Acceptance
2025-11-03
Citation
Chemistry - A European Journal, 2025
ISSN
0947-6539
Publisher
Wiley
Journal / Book Title
Chemistry - A European Journal
Copyright Statement
© 2025 The Author(s). Chemistry – A European Journal published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
License URL
Publication Status
Published online
Article Number
e03126
Date Publish Online
2025-11-10