{"title":"Spirocyclic Diamine Scaffolds for Medicinal Chemistry","authors":"Aline Carrel, Alejandro Flores, Maedeh Darsaraee, Jean-Louis Reymond","doi":"10.1002/hlca.202500207","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hlca.202500207","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Medicinal chemistry requires the exploration of structurally diverse compound families to expand the repertoire of bioactive small molecule drugs. Here we investigated the potential of spirocycles with ring sizes four to eight carrying a primary or secondary amine in each ring as drug scaffolds. We found that 285 of these 391 spirocyclic diamines were not listed in PubChem and therefore possibly new. Their structural diversity was evidenced by the very low Tanimoto similarity between scaffolds and the presence of up to three stereocenters per scaffold, raising numbers to 1381 possible stereoisomers. To exemplify their use, we prepared four novel spirocyclic diamines containing azepane or azocane rings and tested their activities as inhibitors of potassium channels, neurotransmitter transporters, and muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChR). We identified a single enantiomeric unsubstituted spirocyclic diamine as a micromolar inhibitor of the M4 mAChR.</p>","PeriodicalId":12842,"journal":{"name":"Helvetica Chimica Acta","volume":"109 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hlca.202500207","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145986874","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Xanthate-Based Pathways to Ketones","authors":"Samir Z. Zard","doi":"10.1002/hlca.202500197","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hlca.202500197","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>This brief review describes applications of the radical chemistry of xanthates developed in the author's laboratory for the synthesis of open-chain and cyclic ketones. Most direct and general are additions of α-ketonyl xanthates to alkenes, but β-ketonyl and <i>S</i>-acyl-xanthates are also valuable reagents. Several novel allylation reactions can be used in conjunction with xanthates to provide a variety of ketones. The radical addition step can then be followed by various radical and non-radical post-modification steps to furnish more elaborate compounds. This chemistry is flexible, versatile, highly tolerant of numerous functional groups, and, importantly, allows intermolecular additions to be accomplished on non-activated, electronically unbiased alkenes. These properties open synthetic pathways and retrosynthetic analyses hitherto unavailable.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12842,"journal":{"name":"Helvetica Chimica Acta","volume":"109 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145986823","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sophie Maguire, John E. O'Brien, Brendan Twamley, Liam Cribbin, Mathias O. Senge
{"title":"Controlling Rotational Motion of Nonplanar Porphyrin Atropisomers by Metal Coordination","authors":"Sophie Maguire, John E. O'Brien, Brendan Twamley, Liam Cribbin, Mathias O. Senge","doi":"10.1002/hlca.202500192","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hlca.202500192","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Porphyrin atropisomerism is an outstanding tool for the accessibility of shape-specific molecules, yet over 20 years after the unusual rotational barriers of nonplanar porphyrins were observed, a quantitative relationship remains at large. There is a growing need to control this phenomenon in nonplanar porphyrin systems due to the mounting interest in these systems as enzyme mimics and organocatalysts. Hence, in this work, the influence of steric bulk on the stability of nonplanar 5,10,15,20-tetraaryl-2,3,7,8,12,13,17,18-octaethyl-porphyrin atropisomers was explored. The library of atropisomeric porphyrins synthesized herein emphasizes the delicate balance that must be achieved between steric bulk without inducing an undesired amount of macrocycle flexibility to obtain an atropisomer with a predictable rotational barrier. To overcome this challenge, a stabilization strategy was devised by exploiting metal coordination to the peripheral porphyrin functionalities, leading to an atroposelective superstructure formation.</p>","PeriodicalId":12842,"journal":{"name":"Helvetica Chimica Acta","volume":"109 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hlca.202500192","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145986824","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Timur Ashirov, Krzysztof Piech, Onur Buyukcakir, Taner Yildirim, Ali Coskun
{"title":"Tuning Pore Chemistry in Dioxin-Linked Porous Organic Polymers for Enhanced High-Pressure CO2 Uptake","authors":"Timur Ashirov, Krzysztof Piech, Onur Buyukcakir, Taner Yildirim, Ali Coskun","doi":"10.1002/hlca.202500174","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hlca.202500174","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Precise tuning of pore chemistry in three-dimensional porous organic polymers (3D-POPs) is critical for high-performance gas (CO<sub>2</sub>)-separation. Here, we demonstrate the impact of functional groups on the dioxin-linked 3D-tPOPs bearing a tetraphenylene core, synthesized under solvothermal conditions using NaCl as a template, on the low- and high-pressure CO<sub>2</sub> uptake. The post-synthetic amidoxime functionalization of 3D-tPOPs, involving the reaction of pendant nitrile moieties with hydroxylamine hydrochloride, has been shown to precisely tailor pore chemistry without altering the network structure. Whereas the incorporation of the amidoxime moieties, 3D-tPOP-AO, enables higher heteroatom content, a critical factor to enhance CO<sub>2</sub> affinity at low pressures, strong hydrogen bonding interactions between amidoxime units limit framework flexibility, thus leading to a significant decrease in the high-pressure gas uptake. 3D-tPOPs on the other hand showed a high CO<sub>2</sub> uptake capacity of 57.4 wt% at 33 bar and 270 K; after modification, CO<sub>2</sub> uptake capacity decreased to 19.4 wt% at 273 K and 34 bar. Similarly, CH<sub>4</sub> uptake capacity also decreased from 14.0 wt% at 116 bar and 270 K to 3.8 wt% at 75 bar and 273 K. These findings highlight the critical role of the interactions between functional groups and pore chemistry to form robust adsorbents with high CO<sub>2</sub> uptake performance at high pressures.</p>","PeriodicalId":12842,"journal":{"name":"Helvetica Chimica Acta","volume":"109 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-12-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hlca.202500174","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145993914","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christian P. Bold, Pascal S. Engl, Alfred Stutz, Markus Stöckli, Matthias Krämer, Serena M. Fantasia, Albrecht Metzger, Christian Moessner, Paolo Tosatti, Stefan Hildbrand
{"title":"Scalable Synthesis of Highly Pure (R)-3-Fluoropyrrolidine From (S)-4-Chloro-3-hydroxybutyronitrile","authors":"Christian P. Bold, Pascal S. Engl, Alfred Stutz, Markus Stöckli, Matthias Krämer, Serena M. Fantasia, Albrecht Metzger, Christian Moessner, Paolo Tosatti, Stefan Hildbrand","doi":"10.1002/hlca.202500164","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hlca.202500164","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>(<i>S</i>)-Pyrrolidin-3-ol and (<i>R</i>)-3-fluoropyrrolidine are key intermediates in Roche's drug candidates, Vicasinabin and Mosperafenib. Sourcing these compounds proved challenging, particularly for (<i>R</i>)-3-fluoropyrrolidine, for which a quality of ≥ 99.8% purity and ≥ 99.95% chiral purity along with stringent impurity control was required. To address these challenges, a scalable process for the manufacturing of (<i>R</i>)-3-fluoropyrrolidine hydrochloride salt using a stereoselective S<sub>N</sub>2 reaction was developed based on prior work on (<i>S</i>)-pyrrolidin-3-ol synthesis. The process was successfully scaled up in the pilot plant, enabling the production of a total of 798 kg of high-purity (<i>R</i>)-3-fluoropyrrolidine hydrochloride salt to support the clinical development of Mosperafenib. Key steps included “pump-hydrogenation” to improve the yield of (<i>S</i>)-pyrrolidin-3-ol from the cost-effective starting material (<i>S</i>)-4-chloro-3-hydroxybutyronitrile. This was followed by in situ Boc-protection, and a two-step stereospecific fluorination involving mesylation and nucleophilic substitution with potassium fluoride. Finally, Boc-deprotection using HCl followed by recrystallization from <i>n</i>-BuOH and water, ensured efficient removal of impurities including the undesired enantiomer. This streamlined approach addressed supply challenges, ensured consistent quality, and established an efficient, robust manufacturing process for (<i>R</i>)-3-fluoropyrrolidine hydrochloride.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12842,"journal":{"name":"Helvetica Chimica Acta","volume":"109 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145994015","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Allylation of C(sp3)─H Bonds Using a MW/Persulfate Protocol","authors":"Hsin-Hsuan Lee, Chun-Yu Chen, Yen-Ku Wu, Ilhyong Ryu","doi":"10.1002/hlca.202500191","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hlca.202500191","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The C(sp<sup>3</sup>)─H allylation reaction using allyl phenyl sulfone was affected by persulfate anion (PS) under microwave (MW) irradiation. The MW/PS protocol has been found to be applicable to a wide variety of C(sp<sup>3</sup>)─H bonds of ethers, alkanes, aldehydes, and ketones, leading to the C(sp<sup>3</sup>)─H allylated compounds. The origin of the site-selectivity in the allylation of cyclohexanone is discussed in terms of the polarity-governed transition states for the radical cascades involving hydrogen atom transfer (HAT), radical addition, and β-elimination.</p>","PeriodicalId":12842,"journal":{"name":"Helvetica Chimica Acta","volume":"109 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hlca.202500191","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145987123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andreas Stoy, Johannes Schwarzmann, Felix Geist, Ahmed Fetoh, Malte Jürgensen, Jordi Poater, Istemi Kuzu, Crispin Lichtenberg
{"title":"Bismuth Compounds React With a Nitrone: Lewis Pair Formation and Quantification of Radical Trapping","authors":"Andreas Stoy, Johannes Schwarzmann, Felix Geist, Ahmed Fetoh, Malte Jürgensen, Jordi Poater, Istemi Kuzu, Crispin Lichtenberg","doi":"10.1002/hlca.202500182","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hlca.202500182","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Reactions of the Lewis acidic, cationic bismuth compound [BiMe<sub>2</sub>(SbF<sub>6</sub>)] (<b>1</b>) with the spin trap α-phenyl-<i>N</i>-<i>tert</i>butyl-nitrone (PBN) yield simple Lewis acid/base adducts [BiMe<sub>2</sub>(PBN)(SbF<sub>6</sub>)] (<b>2</b>) and [BiMe<sub>2</sub>(PBN)<sub>2</sub>][SbF<sub>6</sub>] (<b>3</b>). Such adducts have, for the first time, been fully characterized for the frequently used spin trap PBN. The ability of <b>2</b> and <b>3</b> to release PBN-trapped methyl radicals under thermal conditions is investigated. This is compared to the ability of a small series of simple neutral organobismuth compounds BiR<sub>3</sub> (R = Me, <i>n</i>Bu, <i>i</i>Pr, <i>t</i>Bu, CF<sub>3</sub>) and one mixed aryl/alkyl-substituted bismuth complex to transfer carbon-based radicals to PBN. Applied analytical techniques include NMR spectroscopy, elemental analysis, mass spectrometry, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, and EPR spectroscopy.</p>","PeriodicalId":12842,"journal":{"name":"Helvetica Chimica Acta","volume":"109 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hlca.202500182","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145987124","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Antony Bigot, François Decalogne, Jésus Manzanas, Changxia Yuan, Han Chen, Fenglai Sun
{"title":"Photo-Flow Reaction and Enantiomer Separation as an Enabling Combination to Chiral Substituted 1,2-Cyclobutanediol","authors":"Antony Bigot, François Decalogne, Jésus Manzanas, Changxia Yuan, Han Chen, Fenglai Sun","doi":"10.1002/hlca.202500200","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hlca.202500200","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 \u0000 <p>Enantiomerically pure substituted 1,2-cyclobutanediols are densely packed, small building blocks. For an internal program, we needed an efficient, reliable and scalable route to such an intermediate. Capitalizing on the vast body of knowledge addressing the synthesis of cyclobutanone derivatives <i>via</i> photo-chemical reaction either in batch or in flow, our own efforts presented in this article culminated in an enabling route to the desired enantiopure (1<i>R</i>,2<i>R</i>)-1-methylcyclobutane-1,2-diol, combining a Norrish–Yang photocyclization under flow conditions to produce a racemic keto-alcohol that was then diastereoselectively reduced to the desired <i>trans</i> 1,2-diol using NaBH(OAc)<sub>3</sub>. The resulting racemic diol was then turned into a UV-active benzoate and the desired enantiomer separated and methanolyzed to furnish the desired enantiomerically pure product.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":12842,"journal":{"name":"Helvetica Chimica Acta","volume":"109 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145993995","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Michael Cognet, Giacomo Renno, Nicholas Rose, Yuheng Zhang, Pierre Josso, Julia Moreno, Xudong Ren, Jules Bouffard, Saidbakhrom Saidjalolov, Naomi Sakai, Stefan Matile
{"title":"Cell-Penetrating Poly(disulfide)s","authors":"Michael Cognet, Giacomo Renno, Nicholas Rose, Yuheng Zhang, Pierre Josso, Julia Moreno, Xudong Ren, Jules Bouffard, Saidbakhrom Saidjalolov, Naomi Sakai, Stefan Matile","doi":"10.1002/hlca.202500129","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hlca.202500129","url":null,"abstract":"<p>To appreciate 10 years of cell-penetrating poly(disulfide)s (CPDs), this review comprehensively covers the structures realized by now. CPDs have been introduced as dynamic covalent polymers that i) are obtained from cyclic disulfide monomers by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) and ii) enter cells by thiol-mediated uptake. They were discovered in 2014 and have been used since then for diverse delivery applications in vitro and in vivo. The introduction briefly sketches their mode of action, as far as it is known. The main part lists the CPDs realized so far, organized by their structures, with selected examples for biological applications. The final chapters cover the few cyclic monomers other than lipoic acid derivatives that have been explored and links to related topics such as templated ROP of cyclic disulfides in lipoplexes and liposomes and related delivery motifs. We hope this review offers a solid and productive basis for future progress with CPD research and its use in science and society.</p>","PeriodicalId":12842,"journal":{"name":"Helvetica Chimica Acta","volume":"108 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hlca.202500129","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145761149","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Georgian Nedelcu, Sergii Yakunin, Artem Yanchak, Matthias Driess, Hansjörg Grützmacher, Dmitry N. Dirin, Maksym V. Kovalenko
{"title":"Air-Stable Aluminum Tris[Bis(mesitoyl)Arsenide] Precursor for Metal Arsenide Quantum Dots","authors":"Georgian Nedelcu, Sergii Yakunin, Artem Yanchak, Matthias Driess, Hansjörg Grützmacher, Dmitry N. Dirin, Maksym V. Kovalenko","doi":"10.1002/hlca.202500162","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1002/hlca.202500162","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Colloidal III–V arsenide quantum dots (QDs) are promising low-toxicity, solution-processable materials for near-infrared optoelectronics, yet their development has been constrained by the scarcity of suitable precursors and proneness to oxidation. Existing routes either rely on highly reactive but toxic, pyrophoric group-14-substituted arsines, or on safer aminoarsines that require in situ reduction and cause staggered rather than a single burst nucleation. We introduce aluminum tris[bis(mesitoyl)arsenide] as a nonpyrophoric and air-stable precursor that, upon nucleophilic attack, directly delivers the formally As<sup>3−</sup> species. Using this precursor, we synthesized 2.3–4.6 nm large InAs QDs and 2–5.5 nm large Cd<sub>3</sub>As<sub>2</sub> QDs with photoluminescence tunable in the 800–2250 nm range. These results establish aluminum tris[bis(mesitoyl)arsenide] as a versatile precursor, enabling safe and controlled syntheses of various arsenide QDs.</p>","PeriodicalId":12842,"journal":{"name":"Helvetica Chimica Acta","volume":"108 12","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2025-11-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/hlca.202500162","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"145761148","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"化学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}