Amidation of the end carboxyl group of eremomycin and vancomycin by pinacolinic 4- or 3-amino methyl phenyl boron acids esters in the presence of the condensing reagent PyBOP resulted in formation of novel carboxamides of the antibiotics (IIIa-VIa). After elimination of the pinacolinic group under mild hydrolysis in weak acid aqueous medium there formed the respective derivatives with a residue of the nonprotected boric acid (III-VI). It was shown that the activity of the 4-substituted derivatives of the borole-containing eremomycin and vancomycin practically was the same as that of the initial antibiotics, while higher than that of the respective 3-substituted derivatives of the borole-containing derivatives against 8 strains of grampositive bacteria.

The coupling reagent (benzotriazole-1-yl)oxy-tris(pyrrolidino)phosphonium hexafluorophosphate (PyBOP) is widely used for the synthesis of different peptides and their amides, particularly carboxamides of glycopeptide antibiotics of the vancomycin or teicoplanin groups. The amidation reaction of the carboxyl group of the seventh amino acid residue (AA7) in antibiotics in the presence of PyBOP is not usually accompanied by the formation of significant amounts of byproducts. However, the amidation of eremomycin (I) with bulky amines (e.g., decyl amine and adamantyl amine) in the presence of PyBOP at pH ∼8.5 (Et3N or (i-Pr)2EtN) yielded N-unsubstituted carboxamide of eremomycin (Ia) as an admixture. The interaction of asparagine-containing antibiotics (eremomycin or vancomycin) with the excess of PyBOP and Et3N (pH ∼8.5) in the absence of amine or ammonia led to the formation of still larger amounts of corresponding unsubstituted AA7-amides (∼20%). Their structure was determined by 1H NMR and ESI MS methods and confirmed by comparing with authentic samples. It is assumed that the amide group of the asparagine residue (AA3) is the source of ammonia in the unususal amidation reaction of Asn-containing antibiotics.

The coupling reagent PyBOP is widely used for the synthesis of different peptides and their amides, particularly for carboxamides of glycopeptide antibiotics of vancomycin or teicoplanin groups. The amidation reaction of the peptide core of the glycopeptide antibiotic eremomycin (I) with highly reactive amines in the presence of PyBOP is usually not accompanied by the formation of side products. However, the amidation of I with bulky amines (e.g., decyl amine and adamantyl amine) in the presence of PyBOP and Et3N or di-(i-Pr)2EtN (pH - 8.5) yielded N-unsubstituted carboxamide of eremomycin (Ia) as an admixture. The reaction of (I) or vancomycin (II) with an excess of PyBOP and Et3N (pH - 8.5) without addition of an amine or ammonia gave a mixture of products which contained higher amounts of the corresponding N-unsubstituted carboxamides (-20%). The structures of the samples of Ia and vancomycin amide (IIa) were proved by 1H NMR and ESI MS methods and confirmed by comparing with the authentic samples.

The relationship between the structure of new semisynthetic derivatives of doxorubicin, daunorubicin, and carminomycin and their ability to inhibit topoisomerase I were studied. The new derivatives inhibit the activity of topoisomerase I at low concentrations, induce the death of K-562 leukemia cells in culture, and produce an antitumor effect in experimental animals bearing P388 leukemia.

New semisynthetic derivatives of eremomycin containing 15 N or F atoms were obtained for studying the antibiotic-target interaction in intact cells of Gram-positive bacteria by REDOR NMR method. Interaction of the terminal carboxyl group of amino acid 7 (AA7) of eremomycin with amines in the presence of PyBOP and TBTU reagents resulted in the corresponding [ 15 N]-amide, p -fluorobenzylamide, p -fluorophenylpiperazide, and 6- N -( p -fluorobenzyl)aminohexylamide. A selective method of [ 15 N]-amidation of carboxyl group of amino acid 3 (AA3) of carboxyeremomycin was developed, and the amide of eremomycin containing [ 15 N] in AA3 amide group near the antibiotic binding pocket was obtained. Carboxyeremomycin bisamides substituted at AA3 and AA7 and containing two atoms of [ 15 N] or F were obtained from carboxyeremomycin and [ 15 N]NH 4 Cl or the corresponding p -fluorobenzylamine hydrochloride in the presence of PyBOP at pH ∼8. The Edman degradation of eremomycin p -fluorobenzylamide gave de-( D -MeLeu)-eremomycin p -fluorobenzylamide, a hexapeptide derivative incapable of the antibiotic binding with- D -Ala- D -Ala fragment of growing cell wall peptidoglycan. Among the compounds studied, carboxyeremomycin bis- p -fluorobenzylamide showed the best activity against both the glycopeptides-sensitive and glycopeptides-resistant strains of staphylococci and enterococci.

The main achievements in the development of methods for the design of semisynthetic antibiotics of a new generation belonging to the group of polycyclic glycopeptides directed against infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria and dangerous human and animal viruses are reviewed. The review is focused on the results obtained at the Gauze Institute in the area of chemical modification of natural antibiotics (eremomycin, vancomycin, teicoplanin, etc.) directed toward modification of their antibacterial and/or antiviral activity. A special emphasis is placed on the study of the mechanisms of action of these antibiotics, which could be the basis of a rational approach to their chemical modification involving the transformation of the inner binding pocket and the peripheral regions of the molecules that participate in the formation of their complexes with targets. The recently discovered antiviral activity of modified glycopeptides antibiotics is also discussed. A possibility of obtaining new highly active anti-HIV-1 and anti-HIV-2 preparations on the basis of hydrophobic derivatives of the aglycones of glycopeptide antibiotics was demonstrated. New semisynthetic derivatives of antibiotics that exhibit a high antibacterial activity in vivo, have good pharmacological characteristics, and are promising for practical use are described.

The main achievements in the development of methods for the design of semisynthetic antibiotics of a new generation belonging to the group of polycyclic glycopeptides directed against infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria and dangerous human and animal viruses are reviewed. The review is focused on the results obtained at the Gauze Institute in the area of chemical modification of natural antibiotics (eremomycin, vancomycin, teicoplanin, etc.) directed toward modification of their antibacterial and/or antiviral activity. A special emphasis is placed on the study of the mechanisms of action of these antibiotics, which could be the basis of a rational approach to their chemical modification involving the transformation of the inner binding pocket and the peripheral regions of the molecules that participate in the formation of their complexes with targets. The study of the recently discovered antiviral activity of modified glycopeptide antibiotics is also discussed. A possibility of obtaining new highly active anti-HIV-1 and anti-HIV-2 preparations on the basis of hydrophobic derivatives of the aglycones of glycopeptide antibiotics was demonstrated. New semisynthetic derivatives of antibiotics that exhibit a high antibacterial activity in vivo, have good pharmacological characteristics, and are promising for practical use are described.

Eremomycin derivatives with benzylated amino groups of both residues of eremosamine and with ( R ) or ( S )-2-amino-4-methylpentyl substituted for N -methyl- D -Leu, the first amino acid residue of its heptapeptide, were synthesized in order to study the role of the peptide bond between the first and second amino acid residues of the heptapeptide moiety of the antibiotic in its interaction with the precursors of the bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan and the exhibition of its antibacterial activity. Comparison of the antibacterial activities of N ", N ""-dibenzyleremomycin, de-( N -methyl- D -Leu)- N ", N ""-dibenzyleremomycin, and its N -(2-amino-4-methylpentyl)-derivative (1,2-deoxo- N ", N ""-dibenzyleremomycin) demonstrated that cleavage or replacement of the first amino acid residue by the corresponding aminoalkyl residue results in a decrease in its antibacterial activity towards both vancomycin-sensitive and vancomycin-resistant strains of microorganisms.

Eremomycin derivatives with benzylated amino groups of both residues of eremosamine and with (R) or (S)-2-amino-4-methylpentyl substituted for N-methyl-D-Leu, the first amino acid residue of its heptapeptide, were synthesized to study the role of the peptide bond between the first and the second amino acid residues of the heptapeptide moiety of the antibiotic in its interaction with the precursors of the bacterial cell wall peptidoglycan and exhibition of its antibacterial activity. Comparison of the antibacterial activities of N',N"-dibenzyleremomycin, de-(N-methyl-D-Leu)-N',N"-dibenzyleremomycin, and its N-(2-amino-4-methylpentyl)-derivative (1,2-deoxo-N',N"-dibenzyleremomycin) demonstrated that cleavage or replacement of the first amino acid residue by the corresponding aminoalkyl residue results in a decrease in its antibacterial activity towards both vancomycin-sensitive and vancomycin-resistant strains of microorganisms. The English version of the paper.

The dimerization constants for glycopeptide antibiotics vancomycin, ristocetin, and eremomycin and nine semisynthetic eremomycin derivatives were determined by the electrospray ionization mass spectrometry; the constants for natural antibiotics turned out to be close to those previously determined by NMR. No correlation between these dimerization constants and antibacterial activities of all the compounds toward the clinical strains of Gram-positive bacteria was found.

The structures of the most important antibacterial glycopeptide antibiotics and the mechanisms of their activity and resistance to them are examined. Researches on the total synthesis of antibiotics and model compounds are discussed. The chemical modification of antibiotics (changing the amino acid composition) and also the modification of fragments of the molecule that do not take part in interaction with the target but make it possible to overcome the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics of this group are discussed.

The reaction of formaldehyde and benzaldehyde with the glycopeptide antibiotic eremomycin in the presence of NaBH3CN yielded a number of methyl and benzyl derivatives substituted at the amino groups. Some of the benzyl derivatives have a high antibacterial activity, but it is somewhat less than that of the parent compounds.

Doxorubicin and 14-hydroxycarminomycin 14-O-hemiadipates and 14-O-hemipimelates, synthesized from 14-bromo derivatives of daunorubicin and carminomycin and monosodium adipate and pimelate, were converted to the corresponding N-trifluoroacetylated compounds. 13-(4-Methylpiperazine-1-yl)imino derivatives of the anthracycline antibiotics were also obtained. The cytostatic activity of the compounds synthesized was studied using a panel of human and animal tumor cell lines sensitive or resistant to doxorubicin. N-Trifluoroacetylation of the antibiotics resulted in a decrease in the cytostatic activity. The activity of the water-soluble 13-(4-methylpiperazine-l-yl)imino derivatives is close to that of the corresponding parent antibiotics.

The present review (for the previous part, see Bioorganicheskaya Khimia. 1990. V. 16. No 11. P. 1445-1464) describes the most important studies in the chemical modifications of the sugar moiety of anthracycline antibiotics and their analogues during last ten years.

Methyl, benzyl and diphenylmethyl esters of the glycopeptide antibiotic eremomycin were obtained by its treatment with corresponding diazoalkanes. The esters have high antibacterial activity but are less active than the parent antibiotic.