Preparation of triazole-linked glycosylated α-ketocarboxylic acid derivatives as new PTP1B inhibitors

The synthesis of triazole-linked glycosyl acetophenone, benzoic acid, and α-ketocarboxylic acid derivatives was readily achieved via Cu(I)-catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (‘click’ reaction) in excellent yields of 93–97%. Among the synthesized glycoconjugates, the triazolyl α-ketocarboxylic acids were identified as the most potent protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) inhibitors with micromole-ranged IC50 values and moderate-to-good selectivity over a panel of homologous PTPs including TCPTP (4.6-fold), LAR (>30-fold), SHP-1 (>30-fold) and SHP-2 (>30-fold). Moreover, a docking simulation was conducted to propose a plausible binding mode of the glucosyl α-ketocarboxylic acid triazole with the enzymatic target.