A new approach to the synthesis of cilastatin, an inhibitor of renal dipeptidase

Article abstract of DOI:10.1007/BF00696982

A convenient preoarative synthesis of cilastatin, an inhibitor of renal dipeptidase used in drugs with the antibiotic imipenem, has been elaborated.The key intermediate in this synthesis is 2-amino-7-chloroheptanoic acid prepared by oxidative cleavage of cycloheptanone followed by bromination of 7-chloroheptanoyl chloride with subsequent amination of the 2-bromo-7-chloroheptanoic acid thus formed.All of the stages of the new synthesis are easily performed, as is the isolation of the intermediate products, and they do not require any organometallic reagents. - Key words: cilastatin, (R)-cysteine, 7-chloroheptanoic acid, 2-amino-7-chloro-2-heptenoic acid, 2,2-dimethylcyclopropanecarbonyl chloride; oxidation, bromination, amination, cyclopropanation.