Ruthenium-Mediated [2 + 2 + 2] Cyclization: A Route to Forge Indane and Isoindoline Core and Its Application in DNA-Encoded Library Technology

Indane and isoindoline are attractive bicyclic systems in biologically active compounds but are rarely reported in DNA-encoded libraries. In this paper, we reported an efficient and versatile approach for assembling indane and isoindoline scaffolds via a ruthenium-catalyzed [2 + 2 + 2] cyclotrimerization reaction. This method exhibits a broad substrate scope and has been successfully applied to construct a 53K-membered DNA-encoded library (DEL). In order to test its application, we carried out a preliminary selection of this DEL against Aurora A protein and identified a hit compound with 9.3 μM inhibition activity.