Methyl esters of 2-( N -hydroxycarbamimidoyl)benzoyl-substituted α -amino acids as promising building blocks in peptidomimetic synthesis: a comparative study

An efficient and simple synthetic protocol for the synthesis of a number methyl esters of 2-(N-hydroxycarbamimidoyl)benzoyl-substituted (S)-α-amino acids via subsequent coupling and hydroxyamination of 2-cyanobenzamide derivatives has been developed. Comparative analysis of three pseudopeptide series based on 2-cyano- and 2-amidoxime-substituted benzoic acid and its pyridine and pyrazine counterparts has been provided and it has revealed a practical advantage of the benzoic acid derivatives due to their greater availability. The impact of the nitrogen atom in the aromatic ring on the trans/cis-amide equilibrium in the proline derivatives is discussed.