Synthesis of DNA-sequence-selective hairpin polyamide platinum complexes

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/chem.200601486

Two DNA-sequence-selective hairpin polyamide platinum(II) complexes, containing pyrrole and imidazole heterocyclic rings, have been synthesised by different methods. A six-ring complex, selective for (A/T)GGG-(A/T) DNA sequences, was made by using solid-phase synthesis, whilst an eight-ring complex, selective for (A/ T)CCTG(A/T) DNA sequences, was made by utilising standard wet chemistry. Solid-phase synthesis resulted in a significantly higher yield, required less purification and is more efficient than the wet synthesis; as such, it is the preferred method for further work. The metal complexes were characterised by ¹H and ¹⁹⁵Pt NMR spectroscopy and ESI mass spectrometry. The two compounds provide a foundation for the synthesis of more complex molecules containing multiple hairpins and/or platinum groups.

Full text of DOI:10.1002/chem.200601486

FULL PAPER
DOI: 10.1002/chem.200601486
Synthesis of DNA-Sequence-Selective Hairpin Polyamide Platinum
Complexes
Robin I. Taleb,[a] David Jaramillo,[a, b] Nial J. Wheate,[a] and Janice R. Aldrich-Wright*[a]
Abstract: Two DNA-sequence-selective
hairpin polyamide platinum(II) com-
plexes, containing pyrrole and imid-
made by utilising standard wet chemis-
try. Solid-phase synthesis resulted in a
significantly higher yield, required less
purification and is more efficient than
the wet synthesis; as such, it is the pre-
ferred method for further work. The
metal complexes were characterised by
1H and 195Pt NMR spectroscopy and
ESI mass spectrometry. The two com-
pounds provide a foundation for the
synthesis of more complex molecules
containing multiple hairpins and/or
platinum groups.
A
thesised by different methods. A six-
ring complex, selective for (A/T)GGG-
A
Keywords: antitumor
agents
·
using solid-phase synthesis, whilst an
eight-ring complex, selective for (A/
DNA recognition · platinum · poly-
amides · synthesis design
T)CCTG(A/T) DNA sequences, was
A
Introduction
Over the last ten years, polyamides have been synthesised
that are capable of targeting specific DNA sequences. These
compounds, containing imidazole (Im), pyrrole (Py) and hy-
droxypyrrole (Hp) heterocyclic rings, along with b-alanine
and amino butyric acid (g-turn linker) residues, can be con-
structed in different combinations and therefore used to
target specific DNA regions.[9] Each pair of heterocyclic
rings recognises a specific base pair in DNA: Im/Py and Py/
Im pairings distinguish between G:C and C:G base pairs, re-
spectively, while Hp/Py and Py/Hp recognise T:A and A:T
base pairs. The combination of Py/Py is selective for both
A:T and T:A base pairs.[9]
The platinum complexes, cisplatin, carboplatin and oxalipla-
tin, currently used in the clinic for the treatment of a variety
of human cancers, are limited by their large-dose-limiting
side effects and by acquired or intrinsic resistance.[1] In an
effort to overcome these problems, new drugs are being de-
veloped that exhibit different reactivity and/or DNA bind-
ing. Multinuclear platinum complexes have shown utility in
overcoming resistance,[2,3] but while encapsulation within
protective molecules can reduce their reactivity and degra-
dation,[4,5] these complexes have not shown significant effi-
cacy in recent phase II clinical trials.[6,7] The design of mono-
nuclear or multinuclear platinum drugs that are capable of
specifically targeting cancerous cells, by binding to mutant
genes or extended telomere regions, could simultaneously
reduce the side effects and increase efficacy.[8]
Covalent linking of two antiparallel polyamides results in
molecules with increased DNA affinity and sequence specif-
icity. Amino butyric acid connects the carboxylic terminus
of one polyamide to the amino terminus of another. Polyam-
ides with g turns display ꢀ100-fold increased DNA affinity
compared to that of unlinked homodimers. In fact, eight-
ring hairpins show affinity and sequence specificity similar
to DNA-binding proteins (dissociation constant Kd <
1 nm).[10] The g-turn linker locks the register of the ring pair-
ings, thereby preventing the possibility of slipped-dimer for-
mation, that is, the polyamide binding to DNA in either a
2:1 or 1:1 ligand–DNA binding mode.[11] Hairpin compounds
retain orientation preferences and align N!C with respect
to the 5’!3’ direction of the adjacent DNA strand.[12]
[a] R. I. Taleb, Dr. D. Jaramillo, Dr. N. J. Wheate, Assoc.
Prof. J. R. Aldrich-Wright
School of Biomedical and Health Sciences
University of Western Sydney
Locked Bag 1797, Penrith South DC, NSW (Australia)
Fax : (+61)2-4620-3025
E-mail: j.aldrich-wright@uws.edu.au
[b] Dr. D. Jaramillo
Current address:
We have previously examined the potential of single-
stranded polyamides linked to a platinum group capable of
coordinate covalent bond formation with DNA.[8] Higher
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
University of California, San Diego
La Jolla, CA 92093 (USA)
Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 3177 – 3186
ꢀ 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
3177

DNA affinity and the ability to prevent DNA transcription
may be imparted by instead using a hairpin polyamide
linked to a platinum moiety.
racemisation.[13] The reactivity of the trichloroacetyl group
(haloform reaction) was also utilised in the construction of
some dipeptides,[14] where condensation with the free amine
component yielded the respective products in high yield,
without the need for further purification. Initial attempts at
the synthesis of HLWC-8 began with the formation of the
dipeptides 9–12. The acid of 9 was then coupled with the
free amine of 10, by using DEPBT, after removal of the Boc
group with TFA, to obtain 13 in 40% yield. Compound 14
was prepared in a similar fashion to the synthesis of 13 and
was obtained in a relatively high yield of 61%. The reaction
of 13 with 14 was then carried out with pentafluorophenyl
diphenylphosphinate (FDPP) as the coupling agent. Final in-
corporation of tert-butyl-3-aminopropylcarbamate then gave
the polyamide 16 in 40% yield. Synthesis of the platinum
complex, HLWC-8, began with the preparation of the cation
The wide availability of knowledge on polyamide synthe-
sis means that the organic components of these compounds
can be made by different methods, either solid-phase or
standard wet chemistry synthesis. In this paper we report
the preparation of two hairpin polyamide platinum com-
plexes; a six-ring polyamide platinum complex, HLSP-6,
was made by using solid-phase synthesis and an eight-ring
polyamide platinum complex, HLWC-8, was made by using
standard wet chemistry (Scheme 1). We report their charac-
1
terisation by H and 195Pt NMR spectroscopy and high-reso-
lution mass spectrometry, along with the disadvantages and
merits of the alternative synthetic methods.
trans-[PtCl
N
N
of the polyamide, after OH-anion exchange, then gave the
platinum complex.
Solid-phase synthesis of HLSP-6: The solid-phase synthesis
of the polyamide was initially attempted by using the Fmoc-
b-alanine-OH-WANG resin (Fmoc: 9-fuorenylmethoxycar-
bonyl); however, despite multiple attempts, the synthesis
was unsuccessful. We hypothesise that the free aromatic
amines on the heterocyclic rings interact with the WANG
resin to form a diketopiperizine, although characterisation
of the product was not attempted. The synthesis was instead
attempted by using Fmoc-b-alanine-chlorotrityl resin, which
yielded the desired polyamides in high yields (Scheme 3).
The chlorotrityl resin was prepared from 2-chloro-chlorotri-
tyl resin and Fmoc-b-alanine-OH in the presence of diiso-
propylethylamine (DIEA).
Prior to the synthesis of HLSP-6, platination was attempt-
ed on single imidazole and pyrrole rings in order to optimise
the reaction conditions. In the first attempt, activated trans-
Scheme 1. Two hairpin polyamide platinum complexes synthesised in this
study. HLSP-6 (top) was made by solid-phase synthesis and HLWC-8
(bottom) was made by standard wet chemistry.
platin (trans-[Pt(Cl)
N
N
treated with resin-b-alanine-pyrrole-g-aminobutyric acid in
the presence of triethylamine (TEA, 3.5 molar equiv) over a
period of 20 h. The reaction afforded the product in high
yield (90%) with a single 195Pt NMR resonance observed at
ꢁ2415 ppm. Activated transplatin was also added to resin-b-
alanine-imidazole-g-aminobutyric acid under the same con-
ditions as those used for the pyrrole monomer. The 195Pt
NMR spectrum revealed the presence of two peaks at
ꢁ2414 and ꢁ2436 ppm corresponding to 89 and 11% of the
reaction products, respectively. The major peak corresponds
to the desired product, while the minor peak is thought to
correspond to a complex in which the platinum group is co-
ordinated to the imidazole through the aromatic nitrogen
atom. From these results, it appears that coordination of
platinum to the amine groups is more favourable than coor-
dination to the imidazole nitrogen atom; the latter may be
eliminated by using a shorter reaction time or a smaller
excess of platinum.
Results
Wet synthesis of HLWC-8: Synthesis of the polyamide
framework was achieved through the coupling of two tetra-
peptide subchains, which were prepared from the corre-
sponding dipeptides. The synthesis of each dipeptide in-
volved the use of the key building blocks methyl 4-[(tert-bu-
toxycarbonyl)amino]-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylate (2,
Scheme 2) and methyl 4-[(tert-butoxycarbonyl)amino]-N-
methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxylate (4). Removal of the Boc
protecting group with acid (HCl or trifluoroacetic acid
(TFA)) yielded the amine component, while generation of
the carboxyl component was achieved by base hydrolysis
(LiOH or NaOH). Amide bond formation was facilitated
primarily with the organophosphorus reagent 3-(diethoxy-
phosphoryloxy)-1,2,3-benzotriazin-4(3H)-one
with the products obtained in good yield with suppressed
(DEPBT),
The monomers 4-(Fmoc-amino)-N-methyl-1H-imidazole-
2-carboxylic acid (20), 4-(Fmoc-amino)-N-methyl-1H-pyr-
3178
www.chemeurj.org
ꢀ 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 3177 – 3186

Hairpin Polyamide Platinum Complexes
FULL PAPER
Scheme 2. Standard wet chemistry synthesis of HLWC-8. Boc: tert-butoxycarbonyl; DMF: N,N’-dimethylformamide.
Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 3177 – 3186
ꢀ 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.chemeurj.org
3179

J. R. Aldrich-Wright et al.
Scheme 3. Solid-phase synthesis of HLSP-6. Each step (except the addition of the platinum) represents the removal of the Fmoc protecting group with
20% piperidine followed by coupling of the rings or linker.
3180
www.chemeurj.org
ꢀ 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 3177 – 3186

Hairpin Polyamide Platinum Complexes
FULL PAPER
role-2-carboxylic acid (24) and 4-(Fmoc-amino)butyric acid
(25) were coupled together through a series of amide bonds
to obtain HLSP-6. The synthesis of HLSP-6 was achieved in
77% yield, through standard Fmoc deprotection and cou-
pling to the activated acid. The Fmoc protecting groups
were removed by using piperidine, while the acids were acti-
vated by using the coupling agent 2-(1H-benzotriazol-1-yl)-
1,1,3,3-tetramethyluronium hexafluorophosphate (HBTU).
N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was used to aid the dissolu-
tion of 20 and 24. The coupling times were determined by
using a ninhydrin test that monitors the disappearance of
free amines from the resin. The optimal coupling time for
the heterocyclic rings and linkers was found to be 3.5 h,
except when the coupling included an imidazole ring in
which case the amide bond formation required 10 h. Acti-
vated transplatin (1.1 molar equiv) was initially mixed with
the resin in the presence of TEA for 20 h. The reaction pro-
duced a mixture of two products including the desired com-
pound. It is believed that the other product is starting mate-
rial with the free amine. A second attempt in which activat-
ed transplatin (2.5 molar equiv) was mixed with the resin in
the presence of TEA for 12 h yielded the desired product.
The product was cleaved from the resin by using acetic acid
and trifluoroethanol (TFE).
Characterisation of the platinum hairpin complexes: HLSP-
6, HLWC-8 and the intermediate compounds synthesised
1
through wet chemistry were characterised by using H NMR
spectroscopy and high-resolution mass spectrometry. The
platinum complexes were also characterised by 195Pt NMR
spectroscopy.
The characterisation of HLSP-6 is provided here as an ex-
1
ample of how the H NMR spectroscopy and ESI-MS data
were assigned for both compounds. Unfortunately, a lack of
proton connectivity between the heterocyclic rings either by
NOESY or g-DQCOSY excludes the assignment of the indi-
vidual proton resonances. In the spectrum of HLSP-6, six
groups of resonances are observed, a result that is consistent
with other heterocyclic hairpin molecules (Figure 1).[15] The
five resonances between 9.4–10.4 ppm integrate for six pro-
tons and correspond to the secondary amine protons. The
two broad triplets at 8.21 and 7.96 ppm are the amide pro-
tons of the g-aminobutyric acid and b-alanine residues. The
nine singlet resonances between 6.6–7.6 ppm are the aro-
matic protons of the heterocyclic rings. The broad resonance
at 5.18 ppm is that of the terminal amine protons. This reso-
nance is approximately 0.6 ppm downfield of where the res-
onance is observed in the absence of platinum. The six large
singlet resonances between 3.6 and 4.2 ppm correspond to
the protons of the heterocyclic methyl groups. Finally, the
resonances between 1.6–3.6 ppm, which integrate for 16 pro-
tons, are the CH2 protons of the g-aminobutyric acid and b-
alanine residues.
1
Figure 1. 195Pt NMR spectrum (top), H NMR spectrum (middle) and ESI
mass spectrum (bottom) of HLSP-6.
theoretical pattern predicted for the platinum-containing
hairpin. Daughter ions are also observed. The peak at
m/z 603.3 is consistent with fragmentation of the parent
ion2+ minus the coordinated chloride ion and one ammine
group; the peak at m/z 649.2 is consistent with fragmenta-
tion of the parent ion2+ in which the coordinated chloride
ion is displaced by dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO). Finally, the
peak at m/z 995.4 is consistent with the parent ion minus the
trans-platinum group.
In the 195Pt NMR spectra, HLWC-8 and HLSP-6 show
single platinum resonances at ꢁ2424 and ꢁ2420 ppm, re-
spectively (Figure 1). These chemical shifts are consistent
with similar metal complexes with PtN3Cl coordination
spheres, where N=two trans-ammine ligands and one pri-
mary amine ligand.[16,17]
In the ESI mass spectrum of HLSP-6 the most prominent
ion peak occurs at m/z 1259.4 (Figure 1), which corresponds
to the metal complex, with the loss of the chloride counter-
ion. The isotopic pattern of these peaks matched exactly the
Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 3177 – 3186
ꢀ 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.chemeurj.org
3181

J. R. Aldrich-Wright et al.
Discussion
spite this, we believe that solid-phase synthesis is still the
preferred method.
Two hairpin polyamide platinum complexes, HLSP-6 and
HLWC-8, have been synthesised. HLSP-6 contains a b-ala-
nine residue which is selective for A or T DNA bases, three
imidazole and three pyrrole rings which are selective for
GGG DNA sequences and a g-aminobutyric acid turn
which is selective for A or T bases. This compound is there-
fore expected to bind selectively to regions of DNA that are
True DNA-binding specificity to mutant genes or telo-
mere regions will be achieved when these compounds are
able to recognise DNA sequences of between 10 and 15
base pairs.[9] The linking of two six-ring hairpins will create
a hairpin polyamide that will bind DNA with selectivity for
eight to ten DNA base pairs. In addition, it is generally ac-
knowledged that for high cytotoxicity compounds need to
contain either one platinum group with two available DNA
coordination sites or two platinum groups each with at least
one DNA coordination site,[2,3] although some monofunc-
tional platinum complexes have been reported that display
cytotoxicity. Attachment of two transplatin like platinum
groups to the hairpin polyamides will produce multinuclear
complexes that should be effective in preventing DNA tran-
scription and replication. One downside of both HLSP-6
and HLWC-8 is that they are only soluble in DMSO and
DMF. In DMSO, both complexes show degradation after a
short period of time (ꢀ30 min). The ESI mass spectrum of
HLSP-6 dissolved in DMSO shows a 95% decrease in the
intensity of the parent ion peak at m/z 1259.4 after five days,
while the peak at m/z 995.4, which corresponds to the
parent ion minus the trans-platinum group, remains at
around the same intensity. Several other peaks were also ob-
served at m/z values of 595.2, 603.3, and 611.7; these corre-
spond, respectively, to fragmentation of the parent ion2+
minus the coordinated chloride ion and both ammine
groups, the parent ion2+ minus the coordinated chloride ion
and one ammine group and the parent ion2+ minus the coor-
dinated chloride ion.
five bases in length and comprise (A/T)GGG
ces. Similarly, HLWC-8 is expected to bind selectively to six
base-pair regions of (A/T)CCTG(A/T) sequences. In
(A/T) sequen-
AHCTREUNG
HLWC-8 the alkylamino linker between the polypeptide
and the platinum moiety is attached to the amido group of a
peptidic bond, whereas in HLSP-6 it is attached to the car-
bonyl group of a peptidic bond (Scheme 1).
After analysis of the alternative synthetic methods, it was
determined that solid-phase synthesis is a far more effective
and efficient method for the preparation of hairpin polyam-
ide platinum complexes. Firstly, solid-phase synthesis produ-
ces the final product in much higher yield. The total yield
for the solid-phase synthesis was 77% based on the amount
of initial resin, whereas the total yield for the wet synthesis
was 3.8% based on the amount of initial monomer 1. Sec-
ondly, while both methods require approximately the same
number of synthetic steps (10–12), excluding the preparation
of monomers, solid-phase synthesis is far more efficient with
regard to time. From the attachment of the b-alanine to the
chlorotrityl resin, the total synthesis time is just three days,
and the protein synthesiser can be automated, thereby re-
moving the need for operator involvement. By contrast, wet
chemistry synthesis typically takes three to four months to
achieve the final polyamide complex and includes laborious
purification of each intermediate before proceeding to the
next step.
One advantage of wet synthesis over solid-phase synthesis
is that of synthetic method development. By using wet syn-
thesis, the desired final compounds can be attained in a vari-
ety of different synthetic combinations. In this work we
chose to construct the compound from dimers to tetramers
to the octamer, but we could have chosen a sequential syn-
thetic method. In solid-phase synthesis, only sequential syn-
thesis can be employed. Also, the compound prepared by
solid-phase synthesis consists of two terminal linking groups,
a b-alanine on one end of the hairpin across from a g-ami-
nobutyric acid on the opposing end of the hairpin. It is not
known if the presence of the g-aminobutyric acid will affect
the normal b-alanine selectivity for A/T DNA bases. If it
does, a longer linker such as g-aminohexanoic acid or g-ami-
nooctanoic acid may be employed in the future to link the
platinum centre to the hairpin. In addition, for wet chemis-
try, either Boc protecting groups (removed with acid) or
Fmoc protecting groups (removed with base) can be em-
ployed; however, the use of acids in solid-phase synthesis
will cleave the compounds from the resin prematurely, and
therefore only base-labile protecting groups (or other pro-
tecting groups such as benzyl carbamate) can be used. De-
The results of this work provide a foundation for the syn-
thesis of hairpin polyamides with multiple platinum groups.
When multiple hairpins are combined with two or more
platinum groups, we predict that this will hopefully create a
highly DNA-sequence-selective complex that demonstrates
good water solubility (from the multiple positive charges)
and possibly very high cytotoxicity.
Conclusion
We have prepared two hairpin polyamide platinum com-
plexes by different methods. HLWC-8, an eight-ring polyam-
ide, was made by standard wet chemistry techniques and
HLSP-6, a six-ring polyamide, was made by solid-phase syn-
thesis. The latter technique is more effective and efficient in
synthesising the final compound, in terms of yield, purity
and time, and is therefore the preferred method for produc-
ing these types of complexes. The results of this study pro-
vide a basis for the synthesis of more complex molecules,
such as single hairpins with multiple platinum groups or
multiple linked hairpins with one or more platinum groups.
3182
www.chemeurj.org
ꢀ 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 3177 – 3186

Hairpin Polyamide Platinum Complexes
FULL PAPER
(0.33 mL, 2.38 mmol). The solution was stirred under Ar(gas) for 17 h, di-
luted with EtOAc and washed with cold HCl (1m), saturated NaHCO3(aq)
and brine. The organic layer was dried (anhydrous MgSO4) and evaporat-
ed under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by flash chromatog-
raphy (silica gel, 0.2–1% MeOH/CH2Cl2) to yield 8 (0.15 g, 83%) as a
brown solid, which was dried under vacuum. 1H NMR (400 MHz,
[D6]DMSO): d=9.85 (s, 1H), 9.12 (s, 1H), 7.44 (d, 1H, J=1.8 Hz), 6.88
(d, 2H, J=1.8 Hz), 6.82 (s, 1H), 3.82 (s, 3H), 3.78 (s, 3H), 3.72 (s, 3H),
1.44 ppm (s, 9H); 13C NMR (100.6 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=162.55, 161.48,
158.84, 153.41, 123.20, 121.82, 121.69, 120.87, 119.78, 118.29, 108.16,
103.45, 80.28, 51.08, 36.73, 28.35 ppm; ESI-MS: m/z: calcd for
C18H24N4O5+Na: 399.17; found: 399.00 [M+Na]+.
Experimental Section
Materials: N-Methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxylic acid was purchased from
Bachem.
chloroform
Methyl-1H-imid
4-(Fmoc-amino)butyric
ate and Fmoc-b-alanine were purchased from Fluka. N-
azole, transplatin, and di-tert-butyl dicarbonate were pur-
acid,
(9H-fluoren-9-yl)methyl
ACHTREUNG
ACHTREUNG
chased from the Sigma–Aldrich Chemical Company. 2-Chloro-chlorotri-
tyl resin and HBTU were purchased from Auspep. Boc-l-2,4-diamino-
butyric acid-Fmoc was purchased from PepTech Corporation. N-Methyl-
1H-pyrrole was purchased from Alfa Aesar. All other reagents and sol-
vents were used as received unless otherwise stated. Compounds 4-nitro-
acetyl-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole (1), 2, 2-trichloroacetyl-N-methyl-
1H-imidazole (3), 4, (Boc-amino)-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid
A
2-trichloro
G
Methyl
4-(N-methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxamido)-N-methyl-1H-imid-
ACHTREUNG
AHCTREUNG
(6), (Boc-amino)-N-methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxylic acid (7), tert-butyl
4-nitro-N-methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxylate (21), 4-(Fmoc-amino)-N-
methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxylic acid (17), 2-trichloroacetyl-N-methyl-
1H-pyrrole (23), tert-butyl 4-nitro-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylate
(24), tert-butyl 4-(Fmoc-amino)-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylate (25),
and 4-(Fmoc-amino)-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylic acid (18) were
synthesised as previously reported.[18]
gassed with Ar(gas) for 5 min. TFA/CH2Cl2 1:1 (20 mL) and H2O
(0.40 mL) were added and the solution was stirred for 1 h. The solvent
was removed under reduced pressure and the residue was co-evaporated
with CH3CN to give a yellow solid, which was dried under vacuum for
1 h. The solid was dissolved in EtOAc (7 mL) and TEA (1.65 mL,
11.75 mmol) was added, followed by 3 (0.89 g, 3.92 mmol). The mixture
was stirred for 6 h and the resulting solid was collected, washed with
EtOAc and air dried. The title compound was obtained as a yellow solid
(0.72 g, 70%). 1H NMR (400 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=10.07 (s, 1H), 7.68
(s, 1H), 7.42 (s, 1H), 7.05 (s, 1H), 3.98 (s, 3H), 3.94 (s, 3H), 3.81 ppm (s,
3H); 13C NMR (100.6 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=158.79, 156.11, 137.84,
136.18, 131.22, 127.60, 126.92, 115.49, 51.77, 35.59, 35.06 ppm; ESI-MS:
m/z: calcd for C11H13N5O3+Na: 286.10; found: 286.07 [M+Na]+.
General methods: Reactions were monitored by thin-layer chromatogra-
phy (TLC) with 0.25 mm thick pre-coated UV-sensitive silica gel plates.
Compounds were visualised with short-wave ultraviolet light at 254 nm.
Flash chromatography was carried out by using Kieselgel 60 (230–400)
mesh. NMR spectra were recorded on either a 300 MHz Varian Mercury
or 400 MHz Varian Unityplus NMR spectrometer at 358C, with commer-
cially available solvents referenced to tetramethylsilane (an internal stan-
dard). 195Pt NMR experiments were run on either a 400 MHz Varian Uni-
typlus or a Bruker Advance 400 MHz NMR spectrometer externally ref-
erenced to K2PtCl4 (d=ꢁ1631 ppm).[19,20] Positive-ion ESI mass spectra
were acquired by using a Micromass (Wyntheshawe, UK) Quattro Micro
spectrometer equipped with a Z-spray probe. Solutions containing con-
centrations ranging between 10–50 mm were injected into the instruments
at a flow rate of 10 mLminꢁ1. The source and desolvation temperatures
were 150 and 1208C, respectively. The capillary tip potential and cone
voltage were 2500 and 50 V, respectively. Between 10–50 acquisitions
were summed to obtain the spectra, which were calibrated against a stan-
dard CsI solution (750 mm) over the same m/z range.
Ethyl g-({4-[(tert-butoxycarbonyl)amino]-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carbox-
amido}-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamido)butyrate (10): Pd/C (10%,
0.70 g) was added to a cold solution of 5 (7.14 g, 0.03 mol) in MeOH
(400 mL). The mixture was stirred at room temperature under H2(gas)
(1 atm) for 5 h. The catalyst was removed by filtration through celite and
the solvent was then removed under reduced pressure. The residue was
dissolved in THF (100 mL) and added to
a solution of 6 (5.51 g,
0.02 mol), DEPBT (7.25 g, 0.03 mol) and TEA (6.4 mL, 0.05 mol) in THF
(200 mL) under Ar(gas). The solution was stirred for 24 h, diluted with
CH2Cl2 and washed with cold HCl (1m), saturated NaHCO3(aq) and brine.
The organic layer was dried (anhydrous MgSO4) and removed under re-
duced pressure. The residue was purified by flash chromatography (silica
gel, 0.5–2% MeOH/CH2Cl2) to yield 10 (6.28 g, 58%) as a brown solid,
which was dried under vacuum. 1H NMR (400 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=
9.75 (s, 1H), 9.01 (s, 1H), 7.95 (t, 1H, J=5.2 Hz), 7.14 (d, 1H, J=
1.6 Hz), 6.85 (d, 2H, J=2.0 Hz), 6.80 (s, 1H), 4.05 (q, 2H, J=7.2,
14.4 Hz), 3.79 (s, 3H), 3.78 (s, 3H), 3.19 (q, 2H, J=6.0, 12.8 Hz), 2.31 (t,
2H, J=7.6 Hz), 1.73 (m, 2H), 1.45 (s, 9H), 1.17 ppm (t, 3H, J=7.2 Hz);
ESI-MS: m/z: calcd for C23H34N5O6: 476.24; found: 476.3 [M+H]+.
Activation of transplatin trans-[Pt(Cl)2(NH3)2]: AgNO3 (0.11 g,
A
0.63 mmol) was added to transplatin (0.21 g, 0.70 mmol) in DMF
(4.2 mL) and the solution was stirred in the dark under N2(gas) for 12 h.
The mixture was passed through a 0.45 mm cartridge filter to obtain
trans-[Pt(Cl)
N
N
Ethyl g-(4-nitro-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamido)butyrate (5): TEA
(31.3 mL, 0.22 mol) was added to a cold mixture of 1 (20.00 g, 0.07 mol)
and ethyl 4-aminobutyrate hydrochloride (13.68 g, 0.08 mol) in EtOAc
(160 mL), and the mixture was stirred at room temperature for 1 h. The
solution was diluted with CH2Cl2 and washed with HCl (1m), saturated
NaHCO3(aq) and brine. The organic layer was dried and evaporated to
dryness to yield 5 (20.77 g, 99%) as a green solid. 1H NMR (400 MHz,
[D6]DMSO): d=8.35 (t, 1H, J=4.8 Hz), 8.07 (d, 1H, J=2.0 Hz), 7.41 (d,
1H, J=2.0 Hz), 4.02 (q, 2H, J=7.2, 14.4 Hz), 3.89 (s, 3H), 3.21 (m, 2H),
2.32 (t, 2H, J=7.6 Hz), 1.74 (m, 2H), 1.16 ppm (t, J=7.2 Hz); ESI-MS:
m/z: calcd for C12H18N3O5: 284.12; found: 284.20 [M+H]+.
Methyl
4-{4-[(tert-butoxycarbonyl)amino]-N-methyl-1H-imidazole-2-
carboxamido}-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylate (11): Compound
A
2
(1.10 g, 4.32 mmol) in CH2Cl2 (20 mL) was degassed with Ar(gas) for
5 min. TFA/CH2Cl2 1:1 (20 mL) and H2O (0.4 mL) were added and the
solution was stirred for 1 h. The solvent was removed and the residue
was co-evaporated with CH3CN to give a yellow solid, which was dried
under vacuum for 1 h. The solid was dissolved in DMF (20 mL) and 7
(1.04 g, 4.30 mmol) was added, followed by (N-ethyl-N’-(3-dimethylami-
nopropyl)carbodiimide hydrochloride (EDCI, 1.67 g, 8.71 mmol), 4-
Methyl 4-{4-[(tert-butoxycarbonyl)amino]-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carb-
oxamido}-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxylate (8): LiOH (1m, 2.38 mL)
dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP, 1.32 g, 10.8 mmol) and TEA (1.81 mL,
U
12.9 mmol). The solution was stirred under Ar(gas) for 17 h, diluted with
EtOAc and washed with cold HCl (1m), saturated NaHCO3(aq) and brine.
The organic layer was dried (anhydrous Na2SO4) and evaporated under
reduced pressure to yield 13 (1.05 g, 64%) as a brown solid, which was
dried under vacuum. 1H NMR (400 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=10.06 (s, 1H),
9.28 (s, 1H), 7.50 (s, 1H), 7.20 (s, 1H), 7.00 (s, 1H), 3.91 (s, 3H), 3.83 (s,
3H), 3.72 (s, 3H), 1.44 ppm (s, 9H); 13C NMR (100.6 MHz, [D6]DMSO):
d=162.76, 161.44, 155.88, 152.63, 136.72, 133.71, 121.12, 120.75, 119.88,
112.50, 108.39, 80.91, 51.04, 36.67, 28.20 ppm; ESI-MS: m/z: calcd for
C17H23N5O5+Na: 400.17; found: 399.95 [M+Na]+.
was added to 2 (0.15 g, 0.60 mmol) dissolved in THF/MeOH (3:1, 8 mL),
and the solution was stirred at 608C for 5 h. The solution was cooled and
diluted with EtOAc/H2O 1:1, then the aqueous layer was acidified with
HCl (1m, pHꢀ3). The product was extracted with EtOAc, then the or-
ganic layer was dried (anhydrous Na2SO4) and evaporated under reduced
pressure. The brown solid was dried under vacuum for 1 h. Separately, 2
(0.12 g, 0.48 mmol) in CH2Cl2 (2 mL) was degassed with Ar(gas) for 5 min.
TFA/CH2Cl2 (1:1, 4 mL) and H2O (0.08 mL) were added and the solution
was stirred for 30 min. The solvent was removed and the residue was co-
evaporated with CH3CN to give a yellow solid, which was dried under
vacuum for 1 h. The solid was dissolved in CH2Cl2 (5 mL), then the crude
acid was added, followed by DEPBT (0.29 g, 0.95 mmol) and TEA
Ethyl b-(4-{4-[(tert-butoxycarbonyl)amino]-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-car-
boxamido}-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamido)alanate (12): LiOH (1m,
Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 3177 – 3186
ꢀ 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.chemeurj.org
3183

J. R. Aldrich-Wright et al.
10.7 mL) was added to 8 (1.00 g, 2.66 mmol) dissolved in THF/MeOH 3:1
(80 mL) and the solution was stirred at 608C for 5 h. The solution was
cooled and diluted with EtOAc/H2O 1:1. The aqueous layer was cooled
and acidified with HCl (1m, pHꢀ3) before it was extracted with EtOAc;
the organic layer was then dried (anhydrous Na2SO4) and evaporated
under reduced pressure. The product was dried under vacuum for 1 h.
The solid was dissolved in CH2Cl2 (70 mL) and b-alanine hydrochloride
(0.82 g, 5.31 mmol) was added, followed by DEPBT (1.59 g, 5.31 mmol)
and TEA (2.24 mL, 15.94 mmol). The solution was stirred under Ar(gas)
for 17 h, diluted with EtOAc and washed with cold HCl (1m), saturated
NaHCO3(aq) and brine. The organic layer was dried (anhydrous Na2SO4)
and evaporated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by
flash chromatography (silica gel, 1–2% MeOH/CH2Cl2) to yield 12
1.6 Hz), 4.07 (q, 2H, J=7.2, 14.4 Hz), 3.93 (s, 3H), 3.85 (s, 3H), 3.84 (s,
3H), 3.79 (s, 3H), 3.40 (q, 2H, J=6.4, 12.8 Hz), 2.52 (t, 2H, J=7.2 Hz),
1.45 (s, 9H), 1.18 ppm (t, 3H, J=7.2 Hz); 13C NMR (100.6 MHz,
[D6]DMSO): d=171.35, 162.27, 161.27, 158.42, 155.76, 136.34, 134.14,
123.00, 122.74, 122.64, 122.15, 122.08, 121.18, 118.61, 118.44, 117.91,
113.72, 104.87, 104.70, 104.27, 78.97, 59.85, 36.13, 36.05, 35.91, 35.75,
34.92, 34.78, 34.01, 30.73, 28.08, 14.07 ppm; ESI-MS: m/z: calcd for
C33H42N10O8+Na: 729.32; found: 729.17 [M+Na]+.
Compound 15: NaOH (0.6m, 5.8 mL) was added to 13 (0.70 g,
1.15 mmol) in EtOH (30 mL) and the mixture was stirred overnight. The
mixture was diluted with EtOAc/H2O 1:1, then the aqueous layer was
acidified with concentrated HCl (pH 2) and extracted with CHCl3. The
organic layer was dried (anhydrous MgSO4) and evaporated under re-
duced pressure. The crude acid was dried under vacuum for 1 h. Sepa-
rately, 4m HCl/EtOAc (2 mL) was added to 14 (0.57 g, 0.81 mmol) in
EtOAc (5 mL) and the solution was stirred under Ar(gas) for 30 min. The
solvent was removed and the residue was co-evaporated with CH3CN to
give a yellow solid, which was dried under vacuum for 1 h. The solid was
dissolved in DMF (20 mL) and the acid was added, followed by penta-
fluorophenyl diphenylphosphinate (FDPP, 0.93 g, 2.44 mmol) and DIEA
(0.67 mL, 4.1 mmol). The solution was stirred under Ar(gas) for 36 h, the
solvent was removed under reduced pressure and the residue was puri-
fied by flash chromatography (silica gel, 1–10% MeOH/CH2Cl2) to yield
15 (0.42 g, 42%) as a brown solid, which was dried under vacuum.
1H NMR (400 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=10.33 (s, 1H), 10.25 (s, 1H), 9.96 (s,
1H), 9.93 (s, 1H), 9.92 (s, 1H), 9.88 (s, 1H), 9.70 (s, 1H), 8.03 (t, 1H, J=
5.6 Hz), 7.56 (s, 1H), 7.46 (d, 1H, J=2.4 Hz), 7.27 (s, 4H), 7.23 (d, 1H,
J=1.6 Hz), 7.17 (d, 2H, J=2.0 Hz), 7.14 (s, 2H), 7.07 (d, 1H, J=1.6 Hz),
7.04 (d, 1H, J=1.6 Hz), 6.90 (d, 1H, J=1.6 Hz), 6.84 (d, 1H, J=1.6 Hz),
4.07 (q, 2H, J=7.2, 14.0 Hz), 4.00 (s, 6H), 3.95 (s, 3H), 3.85 (s, 3H), 3.84
(s, 6H), 3.80 (s, 3H), 3.79 (s, 3H), 2.66 (m, 2H), 2.36 (m, 2H), 2.17 (t,
2H, J=8.4 Hz), 1.90 (m, 2H), 1.79 (t, 2H, J=6.8 Hz), 1.18 ppm (t, 3H,
J=7.2 Hz); ESI-MS: m/z: calcd for C54H63N20O11: 1167.49; found:
1167.70 [M+H]+.
1
(1.02 g, 83%) as a brown solid, which was dried under vacuum. H NMR
(400 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=9.80 (s, 1H), 9.07 (s, 1H), 8.01 (t, 1H, J=
5.6 Hz), 7.15 (d, 1H, J=1.6 Hz), 6.87 (s, 2H), 6.83 (d, 2H, J=1.6 Hz),
6.80 (s, 2H), 4.06 (q, 2H, J=7.5, J=14.4 Hz), 3.79 (s, 3H), 3.77 (s, 3H),
3.39 (q, 2H, J=5.6, J=14.4 Hz), 2.51 (t, 2H, J=6.8 Hz), 1.44 (s, 9H),
1.17 ppm (t, 3H, J=7.2 Hz); 13C NMR (100.6 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=
171.38, 161.30, 158.36, 152.85, 122.79, 122.63, 122.30, 122.16, 117.89,
116.98, 104.28, 103.74, 78.27, 59.88, 36.88, 36.05, 34.79, 34.02, 28.20,
14.09 ppm; ESI-MS: m/z: calcd for C22H31N5O6+Na: 484.23; found:
484.07 [M+Na]+.
Ethyl g-(4-{4-[4-(N-methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxamido)-N-methyl-1H-
imidazole]-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamido}-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-
carboxamido)butyrate (13): LiOH (1m, 26.6 mL) was added to 9 (1.75 g,
0.01 mol) dissolved in THF/MeOH 3:1 (80 mL) and the solution was stir-
red at 608C for 2 h. The solution was cooled, the solvent was removed
and the residue was acidified with concentrated HCl (pH 2). The crude
acid was dried under vacuum for 2 h. Separately, 10 (3.48 g, 0.01 mol) in
CH2Cl2 (40 mL) was degassed with Ar(gas) for 5 min. TFA/CH2Cl2 (1:1,
20 mL) and H2O (0.8 mL) were added and the solution was stirred for
1 h. The solvent was removed and the residue was co-evaporated with
CH3CN to give a red solid, which was dried under vacuum for 1 h. The
solid was then dissolved in DMF (20 mL) and the acid was added, fol-
lowed by DEPBT (2.19 g, 0.01 mol) and TEA (4.7 mL, 0.03 mol). The so-
lution was stirred under Ar(gas) for 17 h, diluted with CHCl3 and washed
with cold H2O, HCl (1m), saturated NaHCO3(aq) and brine. The organic
layer was dried (anhydrous MgSO4) and the solvent was removed under
reduced pressure. The residue was purified by flash chromatography
(silica gel, 0.5–3% MeOH/CH2Cl2) to yield 13 (1.60 g, 40%) as a light
brown solid. 1H NMR (400 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=10.27 (s, 1H), 9.86 (s,
1H), 9.68 (s, 1H), 7.97 (t, 1H, J=4.8 Hz), 7.56 (s, 1H), 7.44 (s, 1H) 7.27
(s, 1H), 7.17 (d, 1H, J=1.6 Hz), 7.13 (d, 1H, J=2.0 Hz), 7.07 (s, 1H),
6.87 (t, 1H, J=6.8 Hz), 4.04 (q, 2H, J=7.2, 14.4 Hz), 4.01 (s, 6H), 3.84
(s, 3H), 3.79 (s, 3H), 3.19 (q, 2H, J=6.4, 13.6 Hz), 2.31 (t, 2H, J=
7.6 Hz), 1.74 (m, 2H), 1.17 ppm (t, 3H, J=6.8 Hz); ESI-MS: m/z: calcd
for C28H35N10O6: 607.27; found: 607.40 [M+H]+.
Compound 16: NaOH (0.6m, 1.8 mL) was added to 15 (0.42 g,
0.36 mmol) in EtOH (16 mL) and the mixture was stirred overnight. The
solvent was removed under reduced pressure, then the residue was acidi-
fied with HCl (1m, pHꢀ3) and co-evaporated with CH3CN. The yellow
solid was dried under vacuum for 2 h and dissolved in DMF (7 mL), then
tert-butyl 3-aminopropylcarbamate (0.11 g, 0.61 mmol) was added, fol-
lowed by FDPP (0.42 g, 1.08 mmol) and DIEA (0.18 mL, 1.08 mmol).
The mixture was stirred under Ar(gas) for 36 h, the solvent was removed
under reduced pressure and the residue was purified by flash chromatog-
raphy (silica gel, 2–10% MeOH/CH2Cl2) to yield 16 (0.23 g, 49%) as a
brown solid, which was dried under vacuum. 1H NMR (400 MHz,
[D7]DMF): d=10.37 (s, 1H), 10.35 (s, 1H), 10.09 (s, 2H), 10.02 (s, 1H),
9.56 (s, 1H), 8.12 (s, 1H), 7. 95 (s, 1H), 7.57 (s, 1H), 7.50 (s, 1H), 7.49 (s,
1H), 7.42 (s, 1H), 7.37 (s, 1H), 7.34 (s, 1H), 7.31 (s, 4H), 7.21 (s, 1H),
7.18 (s, 2H), 7.10 (s, 1H), 7.07 (s, 1H), 6.98 (s, 1H), 6.68 (s, 1H), 4.12 (s,
3H), 4.10 (s, 3H), 4.06 (s, 3H), 3.98 (s, 3H), 3.97 (s, 3H), 3.94 (s, 3H),
3.91 (s, 3H), 3.89 (s, 3H), 3.51 (m, 2H), 3.37 (m, 2H), 3.20 (m, 2H), 3.07
(m, 2H), 2.51 (t, 2H, J=7.2 Hz), 2.46 (t, 2H, J=7.2 Hz), 1.93 (t, 2H, J=
6.4 Hz), 1.61 (t, 2H, J=6.4 Hz), 1.38 ppm (s, 9H); ESI-MS: m/z: calcd
for C60H75N22O12: 1296.37; found: 1296.90 [M+H]+.
Compound 14: LiOH (1m, 9.1 mL) was added to 11 (0.86 g, 2.27 mmol)
dissolved in THF/MeOH 3:1 (60 mL) and the solution was stirred at
608C for 5 h. The solution was cooled and diluted with EtOAc/H2O 1:1.
The aqueous layer was acidified with HCl (1m, pH ꢀ3) and extracted
with EtOAc, then the organic layer was dried (anhydrous Na2SO4) and
concentrated. The product was dried under vacuum for 1 h. Separately,
12 (0.89 g, 1.93 mmol) in CH2Cl2 (50 mL) was degassed with Ar(gas) for
5 min. TFA/CH2Cl2 1:1 (7 mL) and H2O (0.08 mL) were added and the
solution was stirred for 1 h. The solvent was removed and the residue
was co-evaporated with CH3CN to give a red solid, which was dried
under vacuum for 1 h. The solid was dissolved in DMF (80 mL) and the
acid was added, followed by DEPBT (1.16 g, 3.87 mmol) and Ar(gas)
(1.63 mL, 11.60 mmol). The solution was stirred under Ar(gas) for 36 h, di-
luted with CHCl3 and washed with cold HCl (1m), saturated NaHCO3(aq)
and brine. The organic layer was dried (anhydrous Na2SO4) and evapo-
rated under reduced pressure. The residue was purified by flash chroma-
tography (silica gel, 1–4% MeOH/CH2Cl2) to yield 14 (0.83 g, 61%) as a
red solid, which was dried under vacuum. 1H NMR (400 MHz,
[D6]DMSO): d=9.92 (s, 2H), 9.89 (s, 1H), 9.32 (s, 1H), 8.04 (t, 1H, J=
5.6 Hz), 7.27 (d, 1H, J=1.2 Hz), 7.23 (d, 1H, J=1.6 Hz), 7.18 (d, 2H, J=
1.6 Hz), 7.14 (d, 1H, J=1.2 Hz), 7.04 (d, 1H, J=2.0 Hz), 6.84 (d, 1H, J=
trans-Chlorodiamino[3-(propanamido)amino-3-{4-[4-(4-{4-[4-(4-{4-[4-(N-
methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxamido)-N-methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carbox-
A
oxamido)-butyrylamino]-N-methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxamido}-N-
methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamido)-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxami-
do]-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamide}]platinum(II) nitrate (HLWC-
8): 4m HCl/EtOAc(0.25 mL) was added to 16 (0.05 g, 0.04 mmol) and the
G
mixture was stirred for 30 min. The yellow solid was co-evaporated with
CH3CN and dried under vacuum. The solid was dissolved in MeOH and
stirred with DOWEX 550A OH-anion exchange resin for 1 h. The solu-
tion was decanted and the solvent was removed under reduced pressure.
The solid was dried under vacuum. Activated transplatin (0.007 g,
0.02 mmol) in DMF (1.5 mL) was added to 16 in DMF (3 mL) and the
solution was stirred in the dark overnight, before the solvent was re-
3184
www.chemeurj.org
ꢀ 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 3177 – 3186

Hairpin Polyamide Platinum Complexes
FULL PAPER
moved under reduced pressure. Acetone was added and the mixture was
cooled at 48C overnight. The resultant orange precipitate (0.029 g, 80%)
was collected and dried under vacuum. 1H NMR (400 MHz, [D7]DMF):
d=10.38 (s, 1H), 10.33 (s, 1H), 10.09 (s, 2H), 10.07 (s, 1H), 9.56 (s, 1H),
8.33 (s, 1H), 8.11 (s, 1H), 8.06 (s, 1H), 7.58 (s, 1H), 7.50 (s, 1H), 7.49 (s,
1H), 7.42 (s, 1H), 7.37 (s, 1H), 7.34 (s, 2H), 7.31 (s, 4H), 7.23 (s, 1H),
7.19 (s, 2H), 7.10 (s, 1H), 7.07 (s, 1H), 7.03 (s, 1H), 4.12 (s, 3H), 4.10 (s,
3H), 4.06 (s, 3H), 3.98 (s, 3H), 3.97 (s, 3H), 3.94 (s, 3H), 3.91 (s, 3H),
3.90 (s, 3H), 3.70 (s, 6H), 3.37 (m, 2H), 3.32 (m, 2H), 3.07 (m, 2H), 2.94
(m, 2H), 2.77 (m, 2H), 2.51 (t, 2H, J=7.6 Hz), 1.94 (t, 2H, J=6.4 Hz),
1.27 ppm (m, 2H); 195Pt NMR (85 MHz, [D7]DMF): d=ꢁ2424 ppm.
0.56 mmol) was added, followed by DIEA (0.31 mL, 1.78 mmol), and the
solution was stirred for 10 min.
Activation of 4-(Fmoc-amino)butyric acid: Compound 25 (0.20 g,
0.62 mmol) was dissolved in DMF (5 mL). HBTU (0.21 g, 0.56 mmol)
was added, followed by DIEA (0.31 mL, 1.78 mmol), and the solution
was stirred for 10 min.
trans-Chlorodiammino-{4-(butyrylamido)amino-4-[{2-(2-[2-{4-(2-[2-{3-
(propanamido)-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamido}-N-methyl-1H-pyr-
role-2-carboxamido]-N-methyl-1H-pyrrole-2-carboxamido)-butyrylami-
no}-N-methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxamido]-N-methyl-1H-imidazole-2-
carboxamido)-N-methyl-1H-imidazole-2-carboxamido}]}platinum(II)
Solid-phase synthesis
A
Automated protocols: The automated synthesis was performed on a Sym-
phony Quartet 3.21 protein synthesiser on a 0.28 mmol scale. Each cycle
of monomer addition involved a CH2Cl2 wash, a DMF wash, deprotec-
tion with 20% piperidine/DMF for 3 min, draining of the reaction vessel,
a DMF wash, deprotection for 17 min, a CH2Cl2 wash, two DMF washes,
draining of the reaction vessel, coupling for 3.5 h (10 h when coupling to
an imidazole ring), addition of DMSO (1 mL), coupling for 1 h, and final-
ly draining of the reaction vessel. The activated transplatin was coupled
to the resin in the presence of TEA (0.137 mL, 0.98 mmol) for 12 h in
the dark. The resin was washed with DMF (1ꢁ), brine (2ꢁ), H2O (2ꢁ),
DMF (2ꢁ), and CH2Cl2 (3ꢁ), then dried for 1 h. The activated acids
were added manually to the reaction vessel at the end of every deprotec-
tion cycle. The cycle was interrupted, the reaction vessel was vented, the
activated acid was added and the cycle was resumed.
thesis protocols. Once synthesised, it was cleaved from the resin by addi-
tion of a solution of CH2Cl2 (4.2 mL), TFE (1.2 mL) and CH3COOH
(0.6 mL) to the resin before the mixture was shaken very gently for 1.5 h.
The resin was removed by filtration and washed with TFE/CH2Cl2 1:4
(6 mL). The yellow/brown filtrate was collected and the solvent was re-
duced in volume under pressure to ꢀ2 mL. Cold diethyl ether (4 mL)
was added and the mixture left in the fridge for 1.5 h. The solvent was
decanted and water (3 mL) was added to the solid, before the solution
was lyophilised to yield HLSP-6 (0.27 g, 77.1%) as a brown/yellow solid.
1H NMR (300 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=10.38 (s, 1H), 9.83 (s, 1H), 9.81 (s,
1H), 9.76 (s, 1H), 9.55 (br, 2H), 8.21 (t, 1H, J=5.8 Hz), 7.96 (t, 1H, J=
5.4 Hz), 7.63 (s, 1H), 7.51 (s, 2H), 7.21 (d, 1H, J=1.4 Hz), 7.17 (d, 1H,
J=1.4 Hz), 7.15 (d, 1H, J=1.4 Hz), 7.01 (d, 1H, J=1.4 Hz), 6.86 (d, 1H,
J=1.4 Hz), 6.83 (d, 1H, J=1.6 Hz), 5.18 (t, 2H), 4.03 (s, 3H), 4.00 (s,
3H), 3.96 (s, 3H), 3.84 (s, 3H), 3.83 (s, 3H), 3.80 (s, 3H), 3.33 (m, 6H),
2.47 (t, 2H, J=7.1 Hz), 2.38 (t, 2H, J=7.5 Hz), 2.29 (t, 2H, J=7.4 Hz),
1.82 ppm (m, 4H, J=7.1 Hz); 195Pt NMR (85 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=
ꢁ2420 (brs); ESI-MS: m/z: calcd for C44H60ClN20O10Pt: 1259.4; found:
1259.4 [MꢁClꢁ].
Fmoc-b-alanine-chlorotrityl resin: 2-Chloro-chlorotrityl resin (0.50 g,
0.5 mmol) was suspended in anhydrous CH2Cl2 (5 mL). Separately,
Fmoc-b-alanine-OH (0.16 g, 0.5 mmol) was stirred for 5 min in anhydrous
CH2Cl2 (4 mL) and DIEA (0.26 g, 0.348 mL, 2 mmol). The Fmoc-b-ala-
nine-OH solution was added to the resin mixture and shaken for 5 h.
MeOH (2.5 mL) was added and the mixture was shaken for 30 min. The
resin was filtered and washed with CH2Cl2, then the organic layer was
dried. A yield of 0.60 g (0.622 mmolgꢁ1) was obtained.
4-Nitro-2-trichloroacetyl-N-methyl-1H-imidazole (17): Fuming HNO3
(14 mL, 0.3 mol) and then H2SO4 (0.56 mL) were added to acetic anhy-
dride (160 mL) at ꢁ58C. 3 (20.00 g, 0.09% mol) was added slowly over a
period of 1 h. The solution was allowed to warm to room temperature
and stirred overnight. CHCl3 (180 mL) was added and the solution was
extracted with NaHCO3 (3ꢁ50 mL, 1m) and brine (3ꢁ50 mL). The or-
ganic layers were dried with anhydrous MgSO4 and evaporated under re-
duced pressure to obtain a red/brown oil. The oil was mixed with hexane/
EtOAc 1:1 (24 mL) and sonicated. The mixture was left at ꢁ208C for 1 h
and the precipitate was filtered to obtain 17 (10.32 g, 64.4%) as a yellow
powder. M.p. 139–1418C; 1H NMR (300 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=8.82 (s,
1H), 4.06 ppm (s, 3H).
Acknowledgements
We thank Dr. Chris Chandler from Auspep for his help in solid-phase
synthesis and the University of Western Sydney for providing scholar-
ships, grants and funding for the protein synthesiser. Special thanks go to
Craig Brodie, Warren Howard and Marc van Holst for their continuous
support and help.
[1] E. Wong, C. M. Giandomenico, Chem. Rev. 1999, 99, 2451.
[2] N. J. Wheate, J. G. Collins, Coord. Chem. Rev. 2003, 241, 133.
[3] N. J. Wheate, J. G. Collins, Curr. Med. Chem. Anti-Cancer Agents
2005, 5, 267.
tert-Butyl
4-[(9-fluorenylmethoxycarbonyl)amino]-N-methyl-1H-imid-
ACHTREUNG
[4] M. S. Bali, D. P. Buck, A. J. Coe, A. I. Day, J. G. Collins, Dalton
Trans. 2006, 5337.
[5] N. J. Wheate, A. I. Day, R. J. Blanch, A. P. Arnold, C. Cullinane,
J. G. Collins, Chem. Commun. 2004, 1424.
in DMF (40 mL) and 10% Pd/C (0.2 g) was added. The mixture was
shaken for 20 h under H2(gas) (34 psi) and then filtered through Celite and
rinsed with DMF (80 mL). Fmoc-Cl (2.22 g, 8.60 mmol) and NaHCO3(aq)
(0.72 g, 8.60 mmol) were added and the suspension was stirred overnight
under N2(gas). The base was filtered and (CH3CH2)2O (60 mL) was added.
The diethyl ether layer was extracted with H2O (10 mL), brine (10 mL)
and H2O (10 mL). The product was then dried with anhydrous MgSO4
and filtered, before the solvent was removed under vacuum to yield
green oil. The oil was purified by flash chromatography (silica gel,
hexane/EtOAc (3:1), Rf =0.16) to yield 19 as a white solid (1.66 g,
45.2%). M.p. 105–1078C; 1H NMR (300 MHz, [D6]DMSO): d=10.39 (s,
1H), 7.89 (d, 2H, J=7.4 Hz), 7.65 (d, 2H, J=7.6 Hz), 7.41 (t, 2H, J=
7.0 Hz), 7.30 (t, 2H, J=7.5 Hz), 7.06 (s, 1H), 4.40 (d, 2H, J=6.9 Hz),
4.28 (t, 1H, J=6.9 Hz), 3.85 (s, 3H), 1.58 ppm (s, 9H).
[6] D. I. Jodrell, T. R. J. Evans, W. Steward, D. Cameron, J. Prendiville,
C. Aschele, C. Noberasco, M. Lind, J. Carmichael, N. Dobbs, G.
Camboni, B. Gatti, F. De Braud, Eur. J. Cancer 2004, 40, 1872.
[7] T. A. Hensing, N. H. Hanna, H. H. Gillenwater, M. G. Camboni, C.
Allievi, M. A. Socinski, Anti-Cancer Drugs 2006, 17, 697.
[8] D. Jaramillo, N. J. Wheate, S. F. Ralph, W. A. Howard, Y. Tor, J. R.
Aldrich-Wright, Inorg. Chem. 2006, 45, 6004.
[9] P. B. Dervan, Bioorg. Med. Chem. 2001, 9, 2215.
[10] J. W. Trauger, E. E. Baird, P. B. Dervan, Nature 1996, 382, 559.
[11] R. P. L. deClairac, B. H. Geierstanger, M. Mrksich, P. B. Dervan,
D. E. Wemmer, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1997, 119, 7909.
[12] S. White, E. E. Baird, P. B. Dervan, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1997, 119,
8756.
Activation of Fmoc-pyrrole acid: Compound 24 (0.23 g, 0.62 mmol) was
dissolved in DMF (2 mL) and NMP (5 mL). HBTU (0.212 g, 0.56 mmol)
was added, followed by DIEA (0.31 mL, 1.78 mmol), and the solution
was stirred for 10 min.
[13] H. Li, X. Jiang, H. Ye, C. Fan, T. Romoff, M. Goodman, Org. Lett.
1999, 1, 91.
Activation of Fmoc-imidazole acid: Compound 20 (0.26 g, 0.62 mmol)
was dissolved in DMF (4 mL) and NMP (4 mL). HBTU (0.212 g,
[14] E. Nishiwaki, S. Tanaka, H. Lee, M. Shibuya, Heterocycles 1988, 27,
1945.
Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 3177 – 3186
ꢀ 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
www.chemeurj.org
3185

J. R. Aldrich-Wright et al.
[15] U. Ellervik, C. C. Wang, P. B. Dervan, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2000, 122,
9354.
[19] N. J. Wheate, B. J. Evison, A. J. Herlt, D. R. Phillips, J. G. Collins,
Dalton Trans. 2003, 3486.
[16] H. Rauter, R. Di Domenico, E. Menta, A. Oliva, Y. Qu, N. Farrell,
Inorg. Chem. 1997, 36, 3919.
[20] N. J. Wheate, C. Cullinane, L. K. Webster, J. G. Collins, Anti-Cancer
DrugDes. 2001, 16, 91.
[17] M. E. Oehlsen, Y. Qu, N. Farrell, Inorg. Chem. 2003, 42, 5498.
[18] D. Jaramillo, Q. Liu, J. Aldrich-Wright, Y. Tor, J. Org. Chem. 2004,
69, 8151.
Received: October 19, 2006
Published online: January 17, 2007
3186
www.chemeurj.org
ꢀ 2007 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
Chem. Eur. J. 2007, 13, 3177 – 3186