Hiroki Oguri

Inspired by the skeletal diversity of naturally occurring indole alkaloids and the rich potential of chemistry developed by Padwa and co-workers, we conceived a pathway entailing six modes of intramolecular reactions leading to indole alkaloid-like skeletons. In this context, an efficient folding pathway via a rhodium-catalyzed tandem cyclization-cycloaddition involving three of the modes has been developed (two of which are shown above) that affords densely functionalized compounds with three d

Ciguatoxins are the major causative toxins of ciguatera seafood poisoning. Limited availability of ciguatoxins has hampered the development of a reliable and specific immunoassay for detecting these toxins in contaminated fish. Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) specific against both ends of ciguatoxin CTX3C were prepared by immunization of mice with protein conjugates of rationally designed synthetic haptens, 3 and 4, in place of the natural toxin. Haptenic groups that possess a surface area larger t

While metal-promoted activation of tertiary alkyl halides often causes elimination and hydrodehalogenation, we have developed a nickel-catalyzed reductive dimerization that allows the generation of a potently reactive tertiary radical equivalent to form a very congested C(sp(3))-C(sp(3)) bond even below room temperature. The catalytic protocol is applicable to the dimerization of several pyrrolidinoindoline scaffolds through an appropriate choice of catalyst to accommodate different substrate re

To access high-quality small-molecule libraries to screen lead candidates for neglected diseases exemplified by human African trypanosomiasis, we sought to develop a synthetic process that would produce collections of cyclic scaffolds relevant to an assortment of natural products exhibiting desirable biological activities. By extracting the common structural features among several sesquiterpenes, including artemisinin, anthecularin, and transtaganolides, we designed six types of scaffolds with s

Covering: 2000 to 2019Rapid access to genomic data has facilitated the identification of the biosynthetic enzyme genes of alkaloid natural products and elucidation of their biosynthetic pathways. Enzymes for the rapid construction of molecular scaffolds and versatile modifications during the late-stage biosynthesis of complex molecular skeletons constitute unique features of biosynthetic machineries. For example, enzymes involved in an alkaloid biosynthesis. In this review, we discuss three type

The antitumor tetrahydroisoquinoline (THIQ) alkaloids share a common pentacyclic scaffold that is biosynthesized by nonribosomal peptide synthetases involving unique enzymatic Pictet-Spengler cyclizations. Herein we report concise and divergent chemo-enzymatic total syntheses of THIQ alkaloids by merging precise chemical synthesis with in vitro engineered biosynthesis. A recombinant enzyme SfmC responsible for the biosynthesis of saframycin A was adapted for the assembly of these natural product

Copper-catalyzed 6-endo cyclization of N-propargylic β-enaminocarbonyls was developed for the synthesis of oxidation-labile 1,6-dihydropyridines. This synthetic method allows flexible and regio-defined assembly of various substituents at the N1, C2, C3, C4, and C6 positions of 1,6-dihydropyridines under mild conditions.