Category Archives: Interesting Patents

Trippy Synthesis of Salvinorin A Analog

September 15, 2017

Scripps and USC researchers report a 10-step synthesis of 20-norsalvinorin A.

Improved synthesis should help chemists to invent new salvinorin A analogs to sidestep its psychoactive effects while preserving its analgesic effects. Salvinorin A, a hallucinogen produced by the plant Salvia divinorum, is promising for treating itch and pain by activating the kappa-opioid receptor while avoiding the mu-opioid receptor, which has been associated with opioid abuse.

So far Scripps has a few patents and applications directed to other classes of Kappa Opioid ligands.

US9,682,966 Kappa Opioid Ligands
US9,345,703 Kappa Opioid Receptor Effectors and Uses Thereof
US2016/0257685 Kappa Opioid Receptor Effectors and Uses Thereof
US2015/0210673 Kappa Opioid Ligands

Probably a few new patent applications are in the works. I haven’t seen any patent publications yet.

Salvinorin A & 20-Norsalvinorin

Salvinorin A & 20-Norsalvinorin

Link to C&E News Science Concentrated Article:

“Synthetic simplification of hallucinogen pays off” 

Carbon Black

For the Interesting Patents file:

C&EN recently published an interesting article on Orion Engineered Carbons GbmH and its strategy of making and selling the most sophisticated grades of carbon black it can.

Carbon Black is a is a material produced by the incomplete combustion of heavy petroleum products. It is widely used as reinforcing filler material for rubber.   [Tires, tire treads, cable sheathing, hoses, drive belts, conveyor belts, roll coverings, shoe soles, sealing rings, profiles, and damping elements.]  Carbon black is also used as a pigment. That’s not surprising given its name.

A recent carbon black patent issued to Orion is US 8,735,488.

US 8,735,488

Claim 1.  A carbon black, characterized in that the CTAB surface area is from 100 to 160 m2/g, the quartile ratio is greater than 1.60, and the FP index is >0.

Nucleophilic Covalent Drugs

May 1, 2017

Prof. Kate Carroll of Scripps Research Institute extended covalent drug discovery to cysteine-oxidized proteins by developing a library of nucleophilic drug candidates. For example, Prof. Carroll provided pyrolidinedione nucleophiles that react with protein tyrosine phosphatases.

See J.AmChem.Soc. 2017, DOI:10.1021/jacs.7b01791

http://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/cen-09517-notw7

US 2016/0195532 “Targeted Covalent Probes and Inhibitors of Proteins Containing Redox-Sensitive Cysteines”

 

 

Analogues of Poison Dart Frog Toxins 

C&EN’s article on Dr. Du Bois’s synthesis of (-)-Batrachotoxin caught my Eye. I once took care of a few poison dart frogs for a friend while he was travelling. Feeding them fruit flies was actually fun. Naturally I checked to see what patents have issued.

Check out: “Batrachotoxin analogues, compositions, uses, and preparation thereof”
US 9090627 B2