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• 403-43-0 4-fluorobenzoyl chloride 
• 503551-53-9 parthenolide 

Relevant academic research and scientific papers

Discovery of potent parthenolide-based antileukemic agents enabled by late-stage P450-mediated C - H functionalization

The sesquiterpene lactone parthenolide has recently attracted considerable attention owing to its promising antitumor properties, in particular in the context of stem-cell cancers including leukemia. Yet, the lack of viable synthetic routes for re-elaborating this complex natural product has represented a fundamental obstacle toward further optimization of its pharmacological properties. Here, we demonstrate how this challenge could be addressed via selective, late-stage sp3 C-H bond functionalization mediated by P450 catalysts with tailored site-selectivity. Taking advantage of our recently introduced tools for high-throughput P450 fingerprinting and fingerprint-driven P450 reactivity prediction, we evolved P450 variants useful for carrying out the highly regioselective hydroxylation of two aliphatic sites (C9 and C14) in parthenolide carbocyclic backbone. By chemoenzymatic synthesis, a panel of novel C9- and C14-modified parthenolide analogs were generated in order to gain initial structure-activity insights on these previously inaccessible sites of the molecule. Notably, some of these compounds were found to possess significantly improved antileukemic potency against primary acute myeloid leukemia cells, while exhibiting low toxicity against normal mature and progenitor hematopoietic cells. By identifying two 'hot spots' for improving the anticancer properties of parthenolide, this study highlights the potential of P450-mediated C-H functionalization as an enabling, new strategy for the late-stage manipulation of bioactive natural product scaffolds.

Discovery of potent parthenolide-based antileukemic agents enabled by late-stage P450-Mediated C-H functionalization

The sesquiterpene lactone parthenolide has recently attracted considerable attention owing to its promising antitumor properties, in particular in the context of stem-cell cancers including leukemia. Yet, the lack of viable synthetic routes for re-elaborating this complex natural product has represented a fundamental obstacle toward further optimization of its pharmacological properties. Here, we demonstrate how this challenge could be addressed via selective, late-stage sp3 CH bond functionalization mediated by P450 catalysts with tailored site-selectivity. Taking advantage of our recently introduced tools for high-throughput P450 fingerprinting and fingerprint-driven P450 reactivity prediction, we evolved P450 variants useful for carrying out the highly regioselective hydroxylation of two aliphatic sites (C9 and C14) in parthenolide carbocyclic backbone. By chemoenzymatic synthesis, a panel of novel C9- and C14-modified parthenolide analogs were generated in order to gain initial structureactivity insights on these previously inaccessible sites of the molecule. Notably, some of these compounds were found to possess significantly improved antileukemic potency against primary acute myeloid leukemia cells, while exhibiting low toxicity against normal mature and progenitor hematopoietic cells. By identifying two 'hot spots' for improving the anticancer properties of parthenolide, this study highlights the potential of P450-mediated CH functionalization as an enabling, new strategy for the late-stage manipulation of bioactive natural product scaffolds.

PARTHENOLIDE DERIVATIVES, METHODS FOR THEIR PREPARATION AND THEIR USE AS ANTICANCER AGENTS

Methods are provided for the generation of parthenolide derivatives functionalized at carbon atoms C9 and C14. Natural cytochrome P450 enzymes, and engineered variants of these enzymes, are used to carry out the hydroxylation of these sites in parthenolide. These P450-catalyzed C-H hydroxylation reactions are coupled to chemical interconversion of the enzymatically introduced hydroxyl group to install a broad range of functionalities at these otherwise unreactive sites of the molecule. The methods can also be used to produce bifunctionalized parthenolide derivatives, which in addition to modifications at the level of carbon atom C9 or C14, are also functionalized at the level of carbon atom C13.