Privileged substructures are of potentially great importance in medicinal chemistry. These scaffolds are characterized by their ability to promiscuously bind to a multitude of receptors through a variety of favorable characteristics. This may include presentation of their substituents in a spatially defined manner and perhaps also the ability to directly bind to the receptor itself, as well as exhibiting promising characteristics to aid bioavailability of the overall molecule. It is believed that some privileged substructures achieve this through the mimicry of common protein surface elements that are responsible for binding, such as β- and gamma;-turns. As a result, these structures represent a promising means by which new lead compounds may be identified.

The combinatorial synthesis of bicyclic privileged structures or privileged substructures

Modern drug discovery often involves screening small molecules for their ability to bind to a preselected protein target. Target-oriented syntheses of these small molecules, individually or as collections (focused libraries), can be planned effectively with retrosynthetic analysis. Drug discovery can also involve screening small molecules for their ability to modulate a biological pathway in cells or organisms, without regard for any particular protein target. This process is likely to benefit in the future from an evolving forward analysis of synthetic pathways, used in diversity-oriented synthesis, that leads to structurally complex and diverse small molecules. One goal of diversity-oriented syntheses is to synthesize efficiently a collection of small molecules capable of perturbing any disease-related biological pathway, leading eventually to the identification of therapeutic protein targets capable of being modulated by small molecules. Several synthetic planning principles for diversity-oriented synthesis and their role in the drug discovery process are presented in this review.

https://science.sciencemag.org/content/sci/287/5460/1964.full.pdf

Target-oriented and diversity-oriented organic synthesis in drug discovery.

The 3,3'-pyrrolidinyl-spirooxindole unit is a privileged heterocyclic motif that forms the core of a large family of alkaloid natural products with strong bioactivity profiles and interesting structural properties. Significant recent advances in the synthesis of this fused heterocyclic system have led to intense interest in the development of related compounds as potential medicinal agents or biological probes.

Pyrrolidinyl-spirooxindole natural products as inspirations for the development of potential therapeutic agents.

The past 60 years have seen huge advances in many of the scientific, technological and managerial factors that should tend to raise the efficiency of commercial drug research and development (RD). Yet the number of new drugs approved per billion US dollars spent on RD has halved roughly every 9 years since 1950, falling around 80-fold in inflation-adjusted terms. There have been many proposed solutions to the problem of declining RD efficiency. However, their apparent lack of impact so far and the contrast between improving inputs and declining output in terms of the number of new drugs make it sensible to ask whether the underlying problems have been correctly diagnosed. Here, we discuss four factors that we consider to be primary causes, which we call the 'better than the Beatles' problem; the 'cautious regulator' problem; the 'throw money at it' tendency; and the 'basic research-brute force' bias. Our aim is to provoke a more systematic analysis of the causes of the decline in RD efficiency.

/pdf/diagnosing-the-decline-in-pharmaceutical-r-d-efficiency-3lx55l7125.pdf

Diagnosing the decline in pharmaceutical R&D efficiency.

Recent applications of the Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling reaction in organic synthesis

Comprehensive survey of combinatorial library synthesis: 2000.

Comprehensive survey of combinatorial library synthesis: 1998.

P1 Aspartate-Based Peptide .alpha.-((2,6-Dichlorobenzoyl)oxy)methyl Ketones as Potent Time-Dependent Inhibitors of Interleukin-1.beta.-Converting Enzyme

/pdf/comprehensive-survey-of-combinatorial-library-synthesis-1999-vivkmrh8pz.pdf

Comprehensive survey of combinatorial library synthesis: 1999.

The sixth annual review provides an accounting of 388 chemical libraries reported in the year 2002. Libraries are segregated into 10 tables, providing a convenient reference to libraries published with and without accompanying biological data. Three tables inventory solid-phase reagents and scavengers, linkers, and polymer-supported chiral ligands.

Roland E. Dolle

Papers

Comprehensive survey of combinatorial library synthesis: 2000.

Comprehensive survey of combinatorial library synthesis: 1998.

P1 Aspartate-Based Peptide .alpha.-((2,6-Dichlorobenzoyl)oxy)methyl Ketones as Potent Time-Dependent Inhibitors of Interleukin-1.beta.-Converting Enzyme

Comprehensive survey of combinatorial library synthesis: 1999.

Comprehensive survey of combinatorial library synthesis: 2002.