Oxygen heterocycles are one of the most common heterocycles in drugs and natural products. Oxetene has high polarity and is also a good acceptor for hydrogen bond, which contributes to the metabolism and chemical stability of its host molecules. When substituted for commonly used functional groups such as gem dimethyl or carbonyl, oxetane units can induce profound changes in water solubility, lipophilicity, metabolic stability and conformational preference. Four of the FDA-approved drugs contain oxetenes: Orlistat, Paclitaxel, and two of its derivatives, Docetaxel and Cabazitaxel. Currently, oxetane-containing building blocks are flourishing in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery.
Silanes are a series of silicon substitutes for carbon alkanes, which consisting of multiple silicon atoms linked to each other as the main chain and hydrogen atoms or other chemical elements linked with the main chain. Silanes are versatile chemicals used in the modification of SPR sensor surfaces. In particular, the silane molecules, such as 3-mercaptopropyl trimethoxy silane, are convenient for use as linkers in surface modification of SPR sensors.