Selective alkylation/acylation of di- or trianions: Expeditious derivatization of endothelin antagonists

Sitaxsentan sodium (1, TBC11251Na) is an ETA selective endothelin antagonist under clinical development for pulmonary arterial hypertension and congestive heart failure. Second generation compounds, as exemplified by TBC2576 (2) are currently under development in our laboratories. To rapidly access analogs of 1 and 2, a route was developed for the selective alkylation or acylation of the corresponding di- or trianions derived from these two highly functionalized compounds. We report here on this straightforward, yet effective, procedure consisting of treating the di- or trianions with an excess amount of electrophiles, followed by a rapid quench. In this manner, selective alkylation or acylation of 1 and 2 was achieved with satisfactory yields.