title: A practical synthesis of nitrocefin.
abstract: Nitrocefin is a key reagent for high and low throughput assays of the activities of penicillin-binding proteins (PBPs) and beta-lactamases, the former used for discovery of antibiotics and the latter for inhibitors of resistance determinants for beta-lactam antibiotics. This compound is commercially available but is prohibitively expensive because of the circuitous routes to its synthesis. We describe herein a three-step synthesis of nitrocefin that gives an overall yield of 44%. This is a practical route to the synthesis of this key reagent for drug discovery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA.
authors.forename: Mijoon
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Dusan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hesek
authors.forename: Shahriar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mobashery
mesh_terms: D002384:Catalysis; D002511:Cephalosporins / Q000138:chemical synthesis*; D015394:Molecular Structure; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular; D013237:Stereoisomerism
chemical_list: D002511:Cephalosporins; C021720:nitrocefin