Qigui Nie; Shuting Zhong; Yangfeng Li; Gong Zhang; Yizhou Li
Chin. Chem. Lett., 2022, 33(5), 2559-2563
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cclet.2021.09.041

Abstract

DNA-encoded chemical library (DEL) represents an emerging drug discovery technology to construct compound libraries with abundant chemical combinations. While drug-like small molecule DELs facilitate the discovery of binders against targets with defined pockets, macrocyclic DELs harboring extended scaffolds enable targeting of the protein–protein interaction (PPI) interface. We previously demonstrated the design of the first-generation DNA-encoded multiple display based on a constant macrocyclic scaffold, which harvested binders against difficult targets such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Here, we developed a novel strategy which utilized four orthogonal amine-protecting groups on DNA, to explore larger chemical combinations on the same constant macrocyclic scaffold, following the parallel paradigm to mimic the versatile antibody-like multivalent epitope recognition patterns. We successfully integrated these orthogonal protecting groups with acylation and made a mock second-generation DNA-encoded display combination. This work illustrates a strategy to produce larger encoded multiple display on a constant macrocyclic scaffold, which could potentially discover binders with enhanced affinity to clinically significant PPI targets.