Novel convenient synthesis of biologically active esters of hydroxylamine

Alkylation of ethyl N-hydroxyacetimidate with readily available methanesulfonates of functionally substituted alcohols and subsequent deprotection of aminooxy group is a novel and convenient method to prepare functionally substituted esters of hydroxylamine with high overall yield. This approach is a good alternative to well-known reaction of N-hydroxyphthalimide with alcohols under the Mitsunobu conditions. The properties of ethoxyethylidene protection of aminooxy group on the contrary to that of N-alkoxyphthalimide group allow to perform a wide spectra of the transformations in the radical of N-protected hydroxylamine derivatives. This is essential for synthetic strategies consisting in the introduction of N-protected aminooxy group at one of the first steps of synthesis and subsequent transformations of the radical. The inhibitory effect of one of the newly synthesized compound, 1-guanidinooxy-3-aminopropane (GAPA), was compared with that of well-known inhibitors of ornithine decarboxylase namely, α-difluoromethylornithine (DFMO) and 1-aminooxy-3-aminopropane (APA) on Leishmania donovani, a protozoan parasite that causes visceral leishmaniasis. GAPA, on the contrary with APA and DFMO, in micromolar concentrations, inhibited the growth of both amastigotes and promastigotes of sodium antimony gluconate-resistant forms of L. donovani.