Scaffold Remodelling of Diazaspirotricycles Enables Synthesis of Diverse sp 3 -Rich Compounds With Distinct Phenotypic Effects.

A 'top down' scaffold remodelling approach to library synthesis was applied to spirotricyclic ureas prepared by a complexity-generating oxidative dearomatisation. Eighteen structurally-distinct, sp 3 -rich scaffolds were accessed from the parent tricycle through ring addition, cleavage and expansion strategies. Biological screening of a small compound library based on these scaffolds using the cell-painting assay demonstrated distinctive phenotypic responses engendered by different library members, illustrating the functional as well as structural diversity of the compounds.