Sulfur(VI) Fluoride Exchange (SuFEx)-Enabled High-Throughput Medicinal Chemistry.
Kitamura, S., Zheng, Q., Woehl, J.L., Solania, A., Chen, E., Dillon, N., Hull, M.V., Kotaniguchi, M., Cappiello, J.R., Kitamura, S., Nizet, V., Sharpless, K.B., Wolan, D.W.(2020) J Am Chem Soc 142: 10899-10904
- PubMed: 32479075 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1021/jacs.9b13652
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
6UQD - PubMed Abstract: 
Optimization of small-molecule probes or drugs is a synthetically lengthy, challenging, and resource-intensive process. Lack of automation and reliance on skilled medicinal chemists is cumbersome in both academic and industrial settings. Here, we demonstrate a high-throughput hit-to-lead process based on the biocompatible sulfur(VI) fluoride exchange (SuFEx) click chemistry. A high-throughput screening hit benzyl (cyanomethyl)carbamate ( K i = 8 μM) against a bacterial cysteine protease SpeB was modified with a SuFExable iminosulfur oxydifluoride [RN═S(O)F 2 ] motif, rapidly diversified into 460 analogs in overnight reactions, and the products were directly screened to yield drug-like inhibitors with 480-fold higher potency ( K i = 18 nM). We showed that the improved molecule is active in a bacteria-host coculture. Since this SuFEx linkage reaction succeeds on picomole scale for direct screening, we anticipate our methodology can accelerate the development of robust biological probes and drug candidates.
- Laboratory of Advanced Food Process Engineering, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-2, Gakuen-cho, Nakaku, Sakai, Osaka 599-8570, Japan.
Organizational Affiliation: 















