Micellar Buchwald-Hartwig Coupling of Aryl and Heteroarylamines for the Synthesis of DNA-Encoded Libraries

DNA-encoded libraries are a very efficient means of identifying ligands for protein targets in high throughput. To fully maximize their use, it is essential to be able to carry out efficient reactions on DNA-conjugated substrates. Arylamines are privileged motifs in druglike molecules, and methods for their incorporation into DNA-encoded libraries are highly desirable. One of the preferred methods for their preparation, the Buchwald-Hartwig coupling, does not perform well on DNA conjugates using current approaches. We report the application of our recently developed micellar technology for on-DNA chemistry to the Buchwald-Hartwig reaction. Optimization of conditions led to a robust, high-yielding method for the synthesis of DNA-conjugated aryl and heteroarylamines, which is broad in substrate scope for both the arylamine and the DNA-conjugated aryl halide and is fully compatible with DNA-encoding and decoding procedures. This method will enable the preparation of diverse, high-fidelity libraries of biarylamines.