Rapid and scalable assembly of firefly luciferase substrates
Bioluminescence imaging with luciferase-luciferin pairs is a popular method for visualizing biological processes in vivo. Unfortunately, most luciferins are difficult to access and remain prohibitively expensive for some imaging applications. Here we report cost-effective and efficient syntheses of d-luciferin and 6′-aminoluciferin, two widely used bioluminescent substrates. Our approach employs inexpensive anilines and Appel's salt to generate the luciferin cores in a single pot. Additionally, the syntheses are scalable and can provide multi-gram quantities of both substrates. The streamlined production and improved accessibility of luciferin reagents will bolster in vivo imaging efforts. This journal is
McCutcheon, David C.,Porterfield, William B.,Prescher, Jennifer A.
supporting information
p. 2117 - 2121
(2015/03/18)
A new application of the mild thiolation concept for an efficient three-step synthesis of 2-cyanobenzothiazoles: A new approach to Firefly-luciferin precursors
An easy, low cost and upscalable three-step synthesis of Firefly luciferin precursors is presented. The 6-alkoxy-2-cyano-benzothiazoles (1) were synthesized starting from easily available O-alkylated 4-aminophenoles (2) via a mild thiolation, Jacobsen cyclization and dehydratization sequence.
Eco-Friendly Microwave-Assisted Scaleable Synthesis of 2-Cyanobenzothiazoles via N-Arylimino-1,2,3-dithiazoles
The cyclization procedure of N-aryl iminodithiazoles into 2-cyanobenzothiazoles was re-investigated with the aim to develop original and environmentally friendly procedures. In this article, the benefits associated with the microwave methodology are reported and the opportunity to use solvent-free procedures in order to scale up organic synthesis is studied. The result obtained show that the strong thermal effects due to graphite/microwaves interaction can be efficiently used for the synthesis of heterocyclic molecules for which traditional methods failed or are less attractive.