Cyclic homooligomers of furanoid sugar amino acids

Cyclic homooligomers of mannose-derived furanoid sugar amino acid 1 [H-Maa(Bn(2))-OH] were synthesized by using BOP reagent in the presence of DIPEA under dilute conditions that converted the sugar amino acid monomer directly into its cyclic homooligomers 3a and 4a. The glucose-based sugar amino acid 2 [H-Gaa(Bn(2))-OH] under the same reaction conditions gave a bicyclic lactam 5a as the major product. Cyclic homooligomers of 2 were prepared by cyclizing their linear precursors 6 and 7 leading to the formation of cyclic peptides 8a and 9a, respectively. Conformational analysis by NMR and constrained MD studies revealed that all the cyclic products, 3, 4, 8, and 9, had symmetrical structures. The deprotected cyclic trimer of Maa 3b displayed a conformation in which all the C=O and the N-H bonds of the molecule point in opposite directions. In the deprotected cyclic tetramer of Maa 4b, the COs and NHs were in the plane of the ring with the former pointing to outside and the latter inside the ring. The structure of the cyclic Gaa dimer 8b displayed an unusual six-membered intramolecular hydrogen bond between NH(i)() --> C3-O(i)()(-)(1) and a syn orientation between the C2-H and CO. In this molecule, the C2-hydrogens and the COs can be seen on one side of the ring while the NHs point to the other side. Addition of the bicyclic lactam 5b resulted in the influx of Na(+) ions across the lipid bilayer leading to the dissipation of valinomycin-mediated K(+) diffusion potential.