Several 3-aminobenzylphthalides have been prepared by reactions of 3- (2-oxo-1-phenylpropyl)-phthalides with hydrazoic acid or by the Beckmann rearrangement. The corresponding reactions with 3-(2- oxoindanyl)phthalides showed limited success but led to a new synthesis of phthalide-isoquinoline alkaloids. Preliminary biological testing of some of these derivatives indicates that they only have weak central nervous system activity.
Fragment-based screening of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV) integrase revealed several aromatic carboxylic acid fragment hits, some of which bound weakly at the site on the HIV-integrase catalytic core domain that binds the lens epithelium-derived growth factor (LEDGF). Virtual screening of an internal database identified an analogue that bound with higher affinity and in an isomerised form to the LEDGF binding site. The starting lactone was stable in CDCl3; however, an unexpected isomerisation process occurred in [D6]DMSO to give the same isomer found in the LEDGF binding site. This hit led directly to a series of low-micromolar LEDGF inhibitors and, via a scaffold hop, to a series of allosteric binding site inhibitors.