Solid-phase syntheses of two 14-membered ring peptidomimetics were done to determine whether or not a beta-turn structure can facilitate macrocyclization. NMR methods, together with CD and QMD calculations, do not fully support this assumption. However, cyclizations of more ordered structures like those of compounds 2 were more efficient than those for highly strained ring systems like 1. A small library of 18-membered ring peptidomimetics that accommodate an extra amino acid residue was synthesized on resin. Their syntheses were not complicated by head-to-tail dimer impurity, unlike those for previously synthesized 14-membered systems. These larger macrocycles exhibit beta-turn structures as verified by NMR, CD and QMD techniques. Moreover, two compounds in this series (3a and 3g) were shown to have agonistic properties for TrkC in cell survival assays. Dimerization of monovalent mimics was achieved first by modifying the organic template so that monovalent mimics with requisite functional groups can be synthesized. Second, the monovalent units were dimerized using sequential nucleophilic substitutions on fluorescently labeled dichlorotriazine. Our rationale to make bivalent compounds out of monovalent ones was justified when compound 4 was shown to bind TrkA with a 20 nM affinity. Reactions of amino acids with NH4SCN under acylating conditions produced 2-thiohydantoins in which the nitrogen of the amino acid (N1) was acylated. This was proven by 2-D NMR which showed no cross-peak between the NH signal observed and the C?+--H of the amino acid. When the compound was deacylated, a new NH signal appeared and the corresponding cross-peak with the C?+--H was observed. Solution-phase syntheses of non-peptidic mimics were achieved by doing a double substitution on a dihalogenated nitrobenzene scaffold. Sonogashira and SNAr reactions were done to install the required side-chains to give the desired compounds. These non-peptidic compounds can be easily adapted to our DTAF-Inp dimerization protocol since the nitro groups can be easily reduced. Attempts to make a spirotetracyclic peptidomimetic with three side chain mimics were done by synthesizing the spirocyclic diketopiperazine precursor. The synthesis of the DKP was achieved by making the cyclic quaternary amino acid that was coupled to another amino acid via the HOAt-EDC method. This protocol gave dipeptides in high yields. These dipeptides were deprotected and cyclized to the DKP under mildly acidic conditions in toluene.
