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In this perspective we discuss the recent developments of stereoselective synthesis of substituted pyridines, piperidines, and piperazines from cheap and commercially readily available starting materials. Pyridine N-oxides and pyrazine N-oxides are reacted with alkyl, aryl, alkynyl and vinyl Grignard reagents to give a diverse set of heterocycles in high yields. Optically active substituted piperazines are obtained by an asymmetric reaction from pyrazine N-oxides using sparteine as chiral ligand. In addition, a stereoselective synthesis of dienal-oximes from the reaction between pyridine N-oxides and Grignard reagents is presented, which results in a useful intermediate for the synthesis of a diverse set of compounds.

The infectious ability of uropathogenic Escherichia coli relies on adhesive fibers, termed pili or fimbriae, that are expressed on the bacterial surface. Pili are multi-protein structures that are formed via a highly preserved assembly and secretion system called the chaperone-usher pathway. We have earlier reported that small synthetic compounds, referred to as pilicides, disrupt both type 1 and P pilus biogenesis in E. coli. In this study, we show that the pilicides do not affect the structure, dynamics or function of the pilus rod. This was demonstrated by first suppressing the expression of P pili in E. coli by pilicide treatment and, next, measuring the biophysical properties of the pilus rod. The reduced abundance of pili was assessed with hemagglutination, atomic force microscopy and Western immunoblot analysis. The biodynamic properties of the pili fibers were determined by optical tweezers force measurements on individual pili and were found to be intact. The presented results establish a potential use of pilicides as chemical tools to study important biological processes e.g. adhesion, pilus biogenesis and the role of pili in infections and biofilm formation.

In a time of emerging bacterial resistance there is a vital need for new targets and strategies in antibacterial therapy. Using uropathogenic Escherichia coli as a model pathogen we have developed a class of compounds, pilicides, which inhibit the formation of virulence-associated organelles termed pili. The pilicides interfere with a highly conserved bacterial assembly and secretion system called the chaperone-usher pathway, which is abundant in a vast number of Gram-negative pathogens and serves to assemble multi-protein surface fibers (pili/fimbriae). This class of compounds provides a platform to gain insight into important biological processes such as the molecular mechanisms of the chaperone-usher pathway and the sophisticated function of pili. Pili are primarily involved in bacterial adhesion, invasion and persistence to host defenses. On this basis, pilicides can aid the development of new antibacterial agents.

Optically active bicyclic β-lactams were synthesized, starting from 2-H-Δ2-thiazolines and Meldrum's acid derivatives. Several methods to accomplish an ester hydrolysis without damaging the β-lactam framework were investigated. A rapid CsOH saponification of the β-lactam methyl esters was developed and protonation of the Cs-carboxylates by Amberlite (IR-120 H+) afforded a series of bicyclic β-lactam carboxylic acids. Moreover, a convenient method for the synthesis of 2-H-Δ2-thiazolinecarboxylic acid methyl ester 2 was developed. Bicyclic β-lactam carboxylic acids 7a–g and aldehydes 4a–d were screened for their affinity to the bacterial periplasmic chaperone PapD using a surface plasmon resonance technique. β-Lactams substituted with large acyl substituents showed better binding to the chaperone than the native C-terminal peptide PapG 8, demonstrating that bicyclic β-lactams constitute a new class of potential bacterial chaperone inhibitors.

Addition of Grignard reagents to pyridine N-oxides in THF at low temperature (-78 to -20 degrees C) and treatment with TFAA provides an efficient general procedure for synthesis of substituted pyridines. The method is compatible with a range of functional groups such as esters, halogens and nitriles.

The formylated spirobyclic alcohol 8a was computer modeled to be a mimetic of paclitaxel. In this model, the formyl group was used as a truncated paclitaxel side chain in order to reduce the computational work. Compound 8c, carrying the paclitaxel side chain, was synthesized in six steps from optically active 1,3-diketone 12. Microtubule stabilization was not observed for 8c, indicating that the model needs to be adjusted.