Towards the Synthesis of 1,3-Azaborines as Potential Inhibitors of HIV-1 Protease

Currently, approximately 33.3 million people are living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and each year an additional 2.1 million people become infected. The goal of this research is to develop 1,3-azaborines that could potentially inhibit HIV-1 protease. HIV-1 protease is an enzyme involved in the protein processing step of the replication cycle. By inhibiting HIV-1 protease, the drug would slow the progression of HIV into AIDS. The target compounds are expected to have both competitive and associative inhibition and may inhibit mutated HIV viruses as well. To synthesize these compounds, boronic acids were coupled with a chiral directing/ protecting group. A homologation was then performed to insert a chlorinated carbon. The chlorine was then replaced with hexamethyldisilazane. Attempts are being made toward cyclization which would result in 1,3-azaborines, which can be coupled with tripeptides to yield potential HIV-1 protease inhibitors