Professor Kim In Su's research team publishes a paper in 'Angewandte Chemie'
- 약학대학
- Hit3148
- 2021-07-15
A research team led by Professor Kim In-Su at the School of Pharmacy of Sungkyunkwan University has developed a synthetic methodology to selectively transform nucleoside analogs, known as the core structure of antiviral drugs. The findings were published in the September issue of the online edition of Angewandte Chemie (IF = 12.959), a world-renowned journal in the field of chemistry.
A nucleoside analog is a compound that is designed with an aim to resemble a structural unit of DNA or RNA by modifying the sugar or base which are the basic units of DNA and RNA. Due to inherent characteristics of nucleoside analogs, they could be absorbed into viral cells and control genomic synthesis and so could be used as an antiviral drug. So far, more than 20 nucleoside analogs have been used to treat various viral infections such as Herpes (HSV), AIDS (HIV), and hepatitis B/C (HBV/HCV). In particular, Remdesivir, which is in the spotlight as new COVID-19 treatment, is also known to contain a nucleoside analog.
In this study, Professor Kim In-Su's research team developed the first synthetic method for selective alkylation of a nucleobase in nucleoside analogue by utilizing easily available sulfur ylide. Previously reported alkylation methods of nucleobase require organic solvents and complex processes involving multiple steps with low chemical reactivity, in turn, resulting in additional production costs and limitations for application in the pharmaceutical industry.
Sulfur ylide is a reagent developed in 1960 by Nobel Prize-winning professor E. J. Corey, which has been used only in the manufacture of trigonal cyclic compounds. Professor Kim In-Su's research team has created an opportunity to showcase the importance of sulfur ylide as an effective reagent to alkylate nucleoside analogs. In this newly developed synthetic method, water or alcohol is used as a reaction solvent that is considered as environmentally green and can largely reduce the production cost.
Professor Kim In-Su said, "The results are new discovery of the reactivity of sulfur ylides for direct functionalization of carbon-hydrogen bonds. In particular, the study has presented a new signal to aid the development of antiviral drugs for human suffering from the new viral infection, and can drastically improve the manufacturing method for nucleoside alkylation compared to the existing multi-stage synthetic process."
The research was supported by Basic Research Laboratory Program (BRL), Mid-career Researcher Program and Original Bio & Medical Technology Development Program, funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea and the Ministry of Science and ICT (MSIT).