Solid-Phase Synthesis of β-Hydroxy Ketones Via DNA-Compatible Organocatalytic Aldol Reactions

One-bead one-compound (OBOC) libraries constructed by solid-phase split-and-pool synthesis are a valuable source of protein ligands. Most OBOC libraries are composed of oligoamides, particularly peptides, peptoids, and peptoid-inspired molecules. Further diversification of the chemical space covered by OBOC libraries is desirable. Toward this end, we report here that the proline-catalyzed asymmetric aldol reaction, developed by List and Barbas for solution-phase synthesis, also works well for coupling immobilized aldehydes and soluble ketones. These reaction conditions do not compromise the amplification of DNA by the polymerase chain reaction. Thus, this chemistry should be useful for the construction of novel DNA-encoded OBOC libraries by solid-phase synthesis.