Scalable Synthesis of Sphingomyelins
An Improved, Versatile, and Easily Scalable Synthesis of Sphingomyelins: Application to Stable Isotope Labeling: N. Philippe, S. Pérard, F. Le Strat, J. Blankenstein, S. Roy
Synthesis 2020, 52, DOI: 10.1055/s-0039-1690863
Sphingomyelins are key components of the cell membrane as well as of the myelin sheath in the central nervous system. Their quantification in biological systems is important for a number of pharmacology applications. To this end, the use of sphingomyelins labelled with stable isotopes – such as deuterium – is of great importance. Only a handful of examples of deuterated sphingomyelins have been hitherto described in the literature. Recently, the group of Dr. Nicolas Philippe and Serge Pérard from Sanofi-Aventis R&D (Vitry-sur-Seine, France) have reported a new entry to the title compounds, based on the use of the azido function as a masking group for the reactive amine function.
Dr. Philippe and Dr. Pérard said: “To overcome current synthetic limitations, we developed a robust and versatile stereospecific access to any variant of sphingomyelin, labelled or not with stable isotopes.”
