Synthesis and study of 2-acetyl amino-3-[4-(2-amino-5-sulfo-phenylazo)-phenyl]-propionic acid: a new class of inhibitor for hen egg white lysozyme amyloidogenesis

The compounds capable of blocking the aggregation of amyloidogenic proteins may have therapeutic potentials. We report on the synthesis of 2-acetyl amino-3-[4-(2-amino-5-sulfo-phenylazo)-phenyl]-propionic acid as an HEWL (hen egg white lysozyme) amyloid inhibitor starting from phenylalanine. The compounds arrest the monomers and exhibit anti-aggregating activity. Moreover, the acetyl derivative 1 served as a better inhibitor than the trifluoroacetyl derivative 2 against in vitro amyloid fibrillogenesis of the HEWL model system.