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Although considered as a poison for long time, the importance of selenium as an essential trace element is now well recognized. In proteins, the redox active selenium moiety is incorportated as selenocysteine (Sec), the 21st amino acid. In mammals, selenium exerts its redox activities through several selenocysteine-containing enzymes, which include glutathione peroxidase (GPx), iodothyronine deiodinase (ID) and thioredoxin reductase (TrxR). Although these enzymes have Sec in their active sites, they catalyze completely different reactions and their substrate specificity and cofactor or co-substrate systems are significantly different. The most widely studied selenoenzyme GPx protects various organisms from oxidative stresses by catalyzing the reduction of hydroperoxides by using glutathione (GSH) as cofactor. The chemical aspects of the reduction of hydroperoxide by GPx have been extensively studied with the help of synthetic selenium and tellurium compounds. For example, 2-phenyl, 1, 2-benzoisoselenazol-3(2H)-one, commonly known as ebselen exhibits significant GPx activity by using GSH as cofactor. The anti-inflammatory, antiatherosclerotic and cytoprotective properties of ebselen have led to the design and synthesis of nex GPx mimics for potential therapeutic applications. In the first chapter, the importance of selenium in biochemistry in general and the function of selenoenzyme GPx and its synthetic mimics in particular are discussed. In the second chapter, the importance of ebselen as a GPx mimic and how thiol exchange reaction in the selenenyl sulfide intermediate deactivates its catalytic cycle and the possible ways to overcome thiol exchange reaction are described. The third chapter deals with the first synthetic chemical model that effectively mimics the unusual cyclization of sulfenic acid to a sulfenyl amide in protein Tyrosien Phosphatase 1B(PTP1B). PTP1B is a cysteine containing enzyme where the sulfenic acid (PTP1B-SOH) intermediate produced in response to its oxidation by H2O2 is rapidly converted into a sulfenyl amide species, in which sulfur atom of the catalytic cysteine is covalently bonded to the main chain nitrogen of an adjacent serine residue. This unusual protein modification in PTP1B has been proposed to protect the sulfur centre from irreversible oxidation to sulfinic acid and and sulfonic acids. In the fourth chapter, it is shown that not only the catalytic efficiency of ebselen but also its phosphatase like behavior is important for its antioxidant activity. Ebselen is regenerated from selenenic acid (R-SeOH) under a verity of conditions, which protects its selenium centre from irreversible oxidation and thus reduces its toxicity. The fifth chapter deals with spirodizaselenurane and Spirodiazatellurane. Although the chemistry of spirodioxyselenuranes and spirodiazasulfuranes has been studied extensively due to their interesting structural and stereochemical properties, there is no example of stable spirodiazaselenurane and its tellurium analogues. In the fifth chapter, the synthesis, structure and GPx-like activity of the spirodizzaselenurane and spirodiazatellurane are discussed. In summary, the synthetic sulfenic acids and seleneric acids undergo cyclization to their corresponding sulfenyl amides and selenenyl amides and thus protect their sulfur and selenium centers from irreversible inactivation. We have also observed that selenoxides and telluroxides with nearby amide moieties undergo cyclization to their corresponding cyclic spiro compounds. This unusual transformation of sulfenic acids has been recently discovered in PTP1B. As the redox regulation cycle of PTP1B and the catalytic cycle of GPx are similar we believe that GPx may involve a selenenyl amide intermediate in its catalytic cycle.

The thesis entitled “Chemistry of Tetrathiomolybdate: Applications in Organic Synthesis” is divided in to six chapters Chapter 1: Synthesis of -amino disulfides, cystines and their direct incorporation into peptides mediated by tetrathiomolybdate In this chapter, we report a simple method for direct access to β-amino disulfides by regioselective ring opening of sulfamidates with benzyltriethylammonium tetrathiomolybdate [BnEt3N]2MoS4. The versatility of this reaction has been shown by preparing a number of β-amino disulfides having different N-protecting groups and the stability of these protecting groups under the reaction conditions has been evaluated. This methodology is also extended to the synthesis and direct incorporation cystine and 3, 3′-dimethyl cystine derivatives into peptides. Chapter 2: Unusual reactivity of tetrathiomolybdate: A new entry to the synthesis of b-aminothiols In this chapter, we disclose a simple and highly efficient method for the synthesis of β and γ-amino thiols via regioselective ring opening of sulfamidates with tetrathiomolybdate 1. The scope and generality of this methodology has been exemplified by synthesizing a carbohydrate derived β-aminothiol. This methodology has also been extended to the synthesis of isocysteine derivatives in optically pure form. Chapter 3: Part 1: Synthesis of β-aminodiselenides via sequential one-pot, multistep reactions mediated by tetrathiomolybdate In this chapter, we have demonstrated that a variety of N-alkyl-β-aminodiselenides can be synthesized in high yield from appropriate sulfamidates under mild reaction conditions using potassium selenocyanate and tetrathiomolybdate [BnEt3N]2MoS4 via a sequential one-pot multistep process. The compatibility of different protecting groups under the reaction conditions has been discussed. Chapter: 3 Part 2: Synthesis of unnatural seleno amino acids and their direct incorporation into peptides In this chapter, we have demonstrated the first and general method for the synthesis of selenocystine, 3, 3'-dialkylselenocystine, isoselenocystine and their direct incorporation into peptides using a one-pot multistep reaction strategy mediated by tetrathiomolybdate. Chapter 4: Synthesis and functionalization of cysteine, selenocysteine and their derivatives via the formation of unsymmetrical disulfide and sulfur-selenium bond. In this chapter, we present a novel one-pot multi component strategy for the synthesis and functionalization of cysteine, selenocysteine and their derivatives via unsymmetrical disulfides and sulfur-selenium bond formation. Chapter 5: Part 1: A novel method for the synthesis of thioacetates employing benzyltriethylammonium tetrathiomolybdate and acetic anhydride In this chapter, we report a simple and efficient methodology for the synthesis of thioacetates using benzyltriethylammonium tetrathiomolybdate [BnEt3N]2MoS4 and acetic anhydride as the key reagents, starting from alkyl halides in a multi step, tandem reaction process. The application of this methodology for the synthesis of orthogonally protected cysteine derivatives and anomeric β-thioglycosides has also been demonstrated. Chapter 5: Part 2: One-pot synthesis of β-aminothioacetates using benzyltriethyl-ammonium tetrathiomolybdate and acetic anhydride. In this chapter, we have demonstrated a simple and efficient method for the synthesis of β-amino thioacetates and pseudo thioinositol derivatives, via ring opening of aziridines and aziridino epoxides using tetrathiomolybdate 1 and acetic anhydride as key reagents. Chapter 6: Simple and efficient synthesis of allo and threo-3, 3'-dimethylcystine derivatives in optically pure form In this chapter, we have presented a simple and efficient methodology for the synthesis of allo-3,3'-dimethylcystine and threo-3,3'-dimethylcystine derivatives in optically pure form using L-threonine as the chiral pool and benzyltriethylammonium tetrathiomolybdate 1 as the key reagent. (For structural formula pl see the pdf file)

Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) catalyzes the conversion of angiotensin I (Ang I) to angiotensin II (AngII). ACE also cleaves the terminal dipeptide of vasodilating hormone bradykinin (a nonapeptide) to its inactive form. Therefore, inhibition of ACE is one of the treatments of hypertension. A number of ACE inhibitory antihypertensive drugs are known. ‘Oxidative stress’ is another disease state caused by an imbalance in the production of oxidants and antioxidants in the body. A number of studies suggest that hypertension and oxidative stress are interdependent. Therefore, ACE inhibitors having antioxidant property are considered beneficial for the treatment of hypertension. Generally, selenium compounds exhibit better antioxidant behavior than their sulfur analogues. Therefore, we have synthesized a number of selenium analogues of captopril, an ACE inhibitor used as antihypertensive drug. Similar to captopril, the selenium analogues of captopril exhibited excellent ACE inhibition property. It was observed that these compounds are very good scavengers of peroxynitrite (PN), a strong oxidizing as well as nitrating agent found in vivo. The orientation of the chiral centers in these compounds was found to be very important for their ACE inhibition behavior. A number of selenocysteine- and cysteine-containing dipeptides and tripeptides were synthesized as inhibitors of ACE. It was observed that the ACE inhibition properties of these compounds depend on various factors such as orientation of the amino functionality, substitution at the C-terminal of the inhibitor, ring size of the proline moiety or the availability of the terminal acid group in carboxylate form etc. A structure-function correlation was drawn for the ACE inhibition properties of the peptide-based selenium-or sulfur-containing compounds. These studies reveal that the antioxidant properties do not depend on the side-chain functional groups, but they depend on the availability of selenium or sulfur centers. Selenium-based compounds were found to be better antioxidants than those containing sulfur moieties. In conclusion, the present study reveals that the replacement of sulfur atom in captopril and its analogues by selenium enhances the antioxidant activity. The reaction products of lactoperoxidase (LPO)-catalyzed iodination of Ang II were separated and characterized. It was observed that LPO-catalyzed iodination of Ang II takes place preferentially at the tyrosine residue. LPO-catalyzed iodination of Ang II is inhibited by commonly used antithyroid drugs such as MMI, MTU, PTU and also by antihypertensive drug captopril. It was also observed that the monoiodo Ang I is a better substrate for ACE compared to the natural substrate Ang I. The site of nitration of Ang II by PN was also determined by MS-MS analyses. This study reveals that the nitration takes place at the tyrosine residue.