Quorum sensing (QS) is a population-dependent signaling process bacteria use to control multiple processes including virulence, critical for establishing infection. There are two major pathways of QS systems. Type 1 is species specific or intra-species communication in which N-acylhomoserine lactones (Gram-negative bacteria) or oligopeptides (Gram-positive bacteria) are employed as signaling molecules (autoinducer one). Type 2 is inter-species communication in which S-4,5-dihydroxy-2,3-pentanedione (DPD) or its borate esters are used as signaling molecules. The DPD is biosynthesized by LuxS enzyme from S-ribosylhomocysteine (SRH). Recent increase in prevalence of bacterial strains resistant to antibiotics emphasizes the need for the development of new generation of antibacterial agents. Interruption of QS by small molecules is one of the viable options as it does not affect bacterial growth but only virulence, leading to less incidence of microbial resistance. Thus, in this work, inhibitors of both N-acylhomoserine lactone (AHL) mediated intra-species and LuxS enzyme, involved in inter-species QS are targeted. The γ-lactam and their reduced cyclic azahemiacetal analogs, bearing the additional alkylthiomethyl substituent, were designed and synthesized targeting AHL mediated QS systems in P. aeruginosa and Vibrio harveyi. The γ-lactams with nonylthio or dodecylthio chains acted as inhibitors of las signaling in P. aeruginosa with moderate potency. The cyclic azahemiacetal with shorter propylthio or hexylthio substituent were found to strongly inhibit both las and rhl signaling in P. aeruginosa at higher concentrations. However, lactam and their azahemiacetal analogs were found to be inactive in V. harveyi QS systems. The 4-aza-S-ribosyl-L-homocysteine (4-aza-SRH) analogs and 2-deoxy-2-substituted-S-ribosyl-L-homocysteine analogs were designed and synthesized targeting Bacillus subtilis LuxS enzyme. The 4-aza-SRH analogs in which oxygen in ribose ring is replaced by nitrogen were further modified at anomeric position to produce pyrrolidine, lactam, nitrone, imine and hemiaminal analogs. Pyrrolidine and lactam analogs which lack anomeric hydroxyl, acted as competitive inhibitors of LuxS enzyme with KI value of 49 and 37 µM respectively. The 2,3-dideoxy lactam analogs were devoid of activity. Such findings attested the significance of hydroxyl groups for LuxS binding and activity. Hemiaminal analog of SRH was found to be a time-dependent inhibitor with IC50 value of 60 µM.

Les N-tert-butanesulfinamides, des auxiliaires chiraux développés par Ellman il y a une vingtaine d’années, sont à l’heure actuelle de plus en plus sollicités pour la préparation d’amines chirales fonctionnalisées, et ce, du fait de la disponibilité des deux énantiomères à faible coût et de leurs conditions de déprotection faciles à mettre en œuvre. Cependant, leur utilisation dans le cadre de la synthèse de dérivés trifluorométhylés quaternaires à partir des N-tert-butanesulfinylalkyl- ou arylcétimines correspondantes, connues pour leur faible hydrostabilité, reste à ce jour très limitée. Les éthers d’hémiaminals trifluorométhylés dérivés de l’auxiliaire d’Ellman constituent des analogues stables de ces cétimines. Ils permettent de générer in situ la cétimine correspondante, qui peut subir l’addition de l’espèce nucléophile présente. Ce manuscrit relate les différentes réactions étudiées sur ces éthers d’hémiaminals, donnant ainsi accès à des synthons azotés α-trifluorométhylés quaternaires de façon énantiopure : d’une part, les amines homoallyliques obtenues par l’addition d’allylalanes, qui, après quelques étapes, permettent de fournir les azétidines trifluorométhylées correspondantes, et d’autre part, les β3,3-aminoacides trifluorométhylés, préparés via une réaction de Reformatsky hautement diastéréosélective. Les acides β-aminés ainsi préparés ont été réinvestis dans des couplages peptidiques en solution pour la préparation d’une gamme d’α/β- et de β-di- et tripeptides, sur lesquels des études conformationnelles préliminaires ont été menées à l’état solide et/ou en solution.Mots-clés : Auxiliaire d’Ellman, Addition nucléophile, Couplage peptidique en solution, Dérivé azoté α-trifluorométhylé, Éther d’hémiaminal, Synthèse asymétrique. / Chiral N-tert-butansulfinamides, developped by Ellman 20 years ago, have been increasingly applied for the preparation of chiral functionnalized amines, because of the affordability of both enantiomers and of their mild conditions of cleavage. However, the use of theses auxiliaries for the synthesis of quaternary trifluoromethyl derivatives remains quite limited, the corresponding trifluoromethyl ketoimines being highly unstable.Chiral N-tert-butanesulfinyl alkyl(aryl) trifluoromethyl hemiaminal ethers have been developped to be used as bench-stable surrogates of these ketoimines : once under reaction conditions, they afford the corresponding ketoimine in situ, which can be subject to a nucleophilic addition.In this manuscript, different reactions led on these hemiaminal ethers are described, affording valuable and optically pure trifluoromethylated quaternary building-blocks : on the one hand, homoallylic amines, obtained by the addition of allylalane species, and which can afford, after a few steps, teh corresponding trifluoromethyl azetidines, and on the other hand, chiral trifluoromethyl β3,3-amino acids, afforded by a highly diastereoselective Reformatsky reaction.These β 3,3-amino acids have been then involved in solution-phase peptide couplings in order to synthetise a wide range of α/β- and β-di- and tripeptides, whose conformation have been the object of preliminary studies in the solid state and/or in solution.Key-words : Ellman auxiliary, Nucleophilic addition, Solution-phase peptide coupling, α-trifluoromethylated nitrogen derivative, Hemiaminal ether, asymmetric synthesis.