Design and synthesis of nonpeptide mimetics of jaspamide

Jaspamide is a novel metabolite of mixed peptide/polyketide biosynthesis that was isolated from sponges of the genus Jaspis, and that has been reported to exhibit both insecticidal and antifungal activity. We have evaluated three nonpeptide mimetic designs, and have synthesized a nonpeptide mimic of the proposed bioactive region to investigate the structure activity relationship. Structural investigations of potential mimetics, utilizing molecular modeling in conjunction with spectroscopic and crystallographic data, indicate that positioning of the critical functional groups in two mimetics corresponds closely to that observed in jaspamide, and that the flexibility of mimetic 4 approximates that of jaspamide. Initial biological evaluation suggests that lactam mimetic 4 exhibits a biological profile similar to jaspamide.