US Patent 7566765 Heterocyclic compounds containing a nine-membered carbon-nitrogen ring

The present invention provides heterocyclic compounds having a nine-membered ring of three repeating C—C—N subunits covalently bound to each other through amide bonds, and variable side groups linked to a central C of each subunit. Also described herein are cells containing the cyclic compounds, methods of screening those cells to identify a cyclic compound of interest, and libraries of cyclic compounds and their encoding nucleic acids. The subject compounds may be employed in a variety of research and medical applications, including methods of treating a patient for hepatitis C infection.