Micellar Brønsted Acid Mediated Synthesis of DNA-Tagged Heterocycles

The translation of well-established molecular biology methods such as genetic coding, selection, and DNA sequencing to combinatorial organic chemistry and compound identification has made extremely large compound collections, termed DNA-encoded libraries, accessible for drug screening. However, the reactivity of the DNA imposes limitations on the choice of chemical methods for encoded library synthesis. For example, strongly acidic reaction conditions must be avoided because they damage the DNA by depurination, i.e. the cleavage of purine bases from the oligomer. Application of micellar catalysis holds much promise for encoded chemistry. Aqueous micellar dispersions enabled compound synthesis under often appealingly mild conditions. Amphiphilic block copolymers covalently functionalized with sulfonic acid moieties in the lipophilic portion assemble in water and locate the Brønsted catalyst in micelles. These acid nanoreactors enabled the reaction of DNA-conjugated aldehydes to diverse substituted tetrahydro­quinolines and aminoimidazo­pyridines by Povarov and Groebke–Blackburn–Bienaymé reactions, respectively, and the cleavage of tBoc protective groups from amines. The polymer micelle design was successfully translated to the Cu/Bipyridine/TEMPO system mediating the oxidation of DNA-coupled alcohols to the corresponding aldehydes. These results suggest a potentially broad applicability of polymer micelles for encoded chemistry.