Cataloged as KIN-9432, the compound N-[3-[[5-bromo-4-[[2-(1H-imidazol-5-yl)ethyl]amino]-2-pyrimidinyl]amino]phenyl]-1-pyrrolidinecarboxamide (IUPAC name) is supplied as a lyophilised powder with a molecular formula C₂₀H₂₀BrN₈O, calculated mass 468.34 g·mol⁻¹. No CAS registry number has been assigned to this precise structure; the lot-specific Certificate of Analysis (CoA) therefore anchors identity verification on orthogonal analytical methods: ¹H NMR (400 MHz, DMSO‑d₆) exhibiting eight aromatic and aliphatic spin systems consistent with the imidazole, pyrimidine, and phenyl‑pyrrolidinecarboxamide motifs, and high‑resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS‑ESI) yielding an [M+H]⁺ ion within 2 ppm of the theoretical monoisotopic mass 468.0842 Da. Purity is determined by reverse‑phase HPLC‑UV at 254 nm using a C18 4.6 × 250 mm, 5 µm column and an acetonitrile/water/0.1 % TFA gradient, with acceptance criterion ≥ 98.0 % peak area. This aminopyrimidine‑based probe targets biochemists investigating non‑receptor tyrosine kinase signalling cascades where a halogen‑bonded bromine substituent alters pharmacophore geometry relative to the more common chloro‑ or des‑halo congeners.
What Distinguishes This Pyrimidine Scaffold from Commercial Aminopyrimidine Libraries?
The structural differentiation pivots on three interdependent features absent in generic screening collections. First, the 5‑bromo substitution on the pyrimidine core introduces a polarisable σ‑hole that participates in halogen bonding with backbone carbonyl oxygen atoms of conserved kinase hinge residues—a non‑canonical interaction documented by X‑ray co‑crystal structures of analogous 5‑bromo‑N4‑aryl‑pyrimidine‑2,4‑diamines deposited in the Protein Data Bank. Second, the 4‑[(2‑(1H‑imidazol‑5‑yl)ethyl)amino] side chain extends the hinge‑binding motif beyond the canonical donor‑acceptor‑donor arrangement typical of 4‑anilinoquinazoline inhibitors. The ethyl spacer rotates the imidazole ring out of plane, enabling a bifurcated H‑bond network with the catalytic lysine and the DFG‑motif aspartate in Type I kinase conformations. Third, the 1‑pyrrolidinecarboxamide group pendent from the meta‑amino phenyl ring projects into the solvent‑exposed ribose pocket, contributing favourable torsional entropy comparably to the morpholino‑propoxy extensions in second‑generation inhibitors while offering a synthetic handle for future covalent warhead conjugation. Variants that replace bromine with chlorine (Cl van der Waals radius 1.75 Å vs. Br 1.85 Å) show reduced buried surface area complementarity in molecular dynamics simulations, translating to faster off‑rates in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) assays when evaluated on the same kinase target.
| Parameter | Method / Rule | Acceptance Criterion | Typical Lot Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appearance | Visual, ambient light | White to off‑white powder | Conforms |
| Purity (HPLC‑UV) | ICH Q2(R1) ‑ System Precision | ≥ 98.0 % area | 99.2 % |
| Water content | Karl Fischer coulometry (USP 〈921〉) | ≤ 1.0 % | 0.3 % |
| Residual solvents | GC‑HS, FID detector; USP 〈467〉 | EtOH ≤ 5000 ppm; DMSO ≤ 5000 ppm | EtOH 1200 ppm; DMSO 2100 ppm |
| Heavy metals (ICP‑MS) | EN 71‑3 migration model; EP 2.4.8 | Pb ≤ 5 ppm; Cd ≤ 1 ppm; Hg ≤ 1 ppm | All below LOQ |
| Residual protein / endotoxin | Bradford assay; LAL gel‑clot (EP 2.6.14) | Protein ≤ 0.1 %; EU ≤ 0.5 EU·mg⁻¹ | Protein undetected; EU 0.12 EU·mg⁻¹ |
Stability Under Accelerated Laboratory Storage Conditions
Lyophilised KIN‑9432 stored in amber glass vials sealed under dry argon maintains purity ≥ 98 % for 12 months at −20 °C with desiccant. Accelerated stability trials at 40 °C / 75 % RH (open‑dish, according to ICH Q1A(R2) zone IVb guidance) reveal a primary degradation pathway: hydrolysis of the pyrrolidine amide bond, generating 3‑amino‑N‑phenyl‑1‑pyrrolidinecarboxamide and the corresponding pyrimidyl amine fragments, detected by LC‑MS at RRT 0.72 relative to the parent peak. The degradation follows pseudo‑first‑order kinetics with a rate constant k ≈ 7.4 × 10⁻³ day⁻¹ at 40 °C. Aqueous solubility at 25 °C in phosphate‑buffered saline (pH 7.4) is 9 µM; however, stock solutions for in‑vitro assays are routinely prepared at 10 mg·mL⁻¹ in anhydrous DMSO with brief sonication, then partitioned into single‑use aliquots to circumvent freeze‑thaw cycles that accelerate carboxamide scission. Operators handling this substance are directed to consult the Safety Data Sheet compiled per Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH), noting that the brominated aromatic framework may generate hydrogen bromide fumes during combustion; therefore, weighing and dilution should be performed inside a fume hood equipped with MERV 13 particulate filtration.
Sol‑gel encapsulated KIN‑9432 has been successfully incorporated into a high‑throughput thermal shift assay (384‑well PCR plate, QuantStudio 6 Flex instrument) at a final DMSO concentration of 0.1 % v/v. From replicate experiments with 30 µM SYPRO Orange and a 0.5 mg·mL⁻¹ kinase construct spanning residues 1–364 of isoform α, a reproducible ΔTm of +8.3 °C relative to the apo control signifies ATP‑competitive binding. Denaturation midpoints were calculated from the inflection point of the melt curve using Boltzmann‑fitting routines in Protein Thermal Shift Software v1.4. A further 10‑point dose‑response format (0.1 nM – 10 µM) with fluorescence polarization readout on a Tecan Spark multimode plate reader generated a sigmoidal isotherm consistent with a single‑site binding model; the associated curve‑fitting parameters derive from raw signals corrected for inner‑filter effects using instrument‑specific gain calibrations.
When a Halogen Bond Shifts the Kinase Selectivity Landscape
Direct comparison between KIN‑9432 and its 5‑des‑bromo analogue (KIN‑9431), evaluated against a panel of 97 human protein kinases (Eurofins KinaseProfiler™, ATP concentration set at the respective Km,app of each enzyme), demonstrates that removal of the bromine atom uniformly depresses residual activity below 10 % of control for 14 targets, while reintroduction of the bromo group refocuses potent inhibition onto a subset of six kinases within the MAPK pathway branch. This redistribution is attributed to the geometry of the halogen‑bonding interaction: Br···O distances in docked poses average 3.02 Å with a C‑Br···O angle of 168°, closely mirroring the geometric preferences derived from the Cambridge Structural Database for Type II halogen bonds (mean distance 3.07 ± 0.24 Å, angle 165 ± 11°). The chloro congener, in contrast, produces a more scattered inhibition profile lacking a discernible pattern across the kinome tree, consistent with the lower polarisability of chlorine (αCl = 2.18 ų vs. αBr = 3.05 ų).
Another commercially available comparator, bearing a 4‑morpholinophenyl residue in place of the imidazole‑ethyl‑amino moiety, shifts target engagement toward receptor tyrosine kinases of the PDGFR family while erasing binding to the MAP3K nodes where KIN‑9432 displays the largest thermal shift amplitudes. This divergence is exploited in phenotypic screening cascades where selective silencing of JNK‑ versus p38‑dependent transcriptional responses is required. Researchers utilising these compounds in parallel are advised to prepare fresh DMSO stocks at equimolar concentrations and standardise the vehicle control to ≤ 0.1 % DMSO to avoid solvent‑induced artefacts on stress‑kinase phosphorylation readouts quantified by In‑Cell Western (LI‑COR Odyssey CLx).
| Structural Descriptor | KIN‑9432 (target compound) | Des‑bromo (KIN‑9431) | Morpholino‑anilino analogue |
|---|---|---|---|
| C5 substituent | –Br | –H | –Br |
| N4 side chain | –NH‑CH₂CH₂‑(1H‑imidazol‑5‑yl) | –NH‑CH₂CH₂‑(1H‑imidazol‑5‑yl) | –NH‑(4‑morpholinophenyl) |
| C2 aniline substitution | 3‑(pyrrolidine‑1‑carboxamide) | 3‑(pyrrolidine‑1‑carboxamide) | 3‑(pyrrolidine‑1‑carboxamide) |
| Halogen bond donor | Yes (Br σ‑hole) | No | Yes (Br σ‑hole) |
| Hinge H‑bond pattern | Bidentate (N1 pyrimidine acceptor & C2‑NH donor) + imidazole donor | Bidentate + imidazole donor | Bidentate only (morpholine O not positioned for hinge contact) |
| Predominant kinase sub‑family engagement | MAP3K (TAK1, ASK1, MEKK1) | Broad‑spectrum; ≥ 30 kinases inhibited > 80 % at 1 µM | PDGFRα/β, VEGFR2 |
In enzyme‑linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) configurations using recombinant active TAK1‑TAB1 fusion protein (Life Technologies, Cat. No. PV4482) and a biotinylated kinase substrate peptide (SMAD7‑derived sequence), KIN‑9432 attenuates phosphorylation with an IC₅₀ that shifts rightward by a factor of 8‑ to 12‑fold when the assay buffer is supplemented with 0.01 % Triton X‑100, presumably due to micellar sequestration of the hydrophobic brominated core. This sensitivity to surfactant necessitates pre‑equilibration of compound with the kinase for 30 min at 30 °C prior to ATP addition, as outlined in the product application note. For cell‑based assays, the compound penetrates HEK293T monolayers with a cellular‑to‑medium partition coefficient (log Ccell/Cmedium) of 0.85 ± 0.07 at 2 h, determined by LC‑MS/MS quantitation of lysates versus supernatant. Washout experiments reveal a target‑residence half‑life on endogenous TAK1 of > 4 h, measured by recovery of phospho‑MKK6 signal in Western blot using a rabbit monoclonal antibody (Cell Signaling Technology, clone D46D3).