Concise synthesis and antiproliferative activity evaluation of ellipticine quinone and its analogs.

We developed a concise protocol for the synthesis of ellipticine quinone from the appropriate 3-iodoindole-2-carbaldehydes in four steps. The key step is the construction of carbazole-1,4-quinone through tandem Ring-Closing Metathesis (RCM) and dehydrogenation under oxygen atmosphere. Therefore, the ellipticine quinone analogs possessing substitution at the 8- and/or 9-positions were synthesized using this method. In total, 14 compounds were evaluated for antiproliferative activity against HCT-116 and HL-60 cell lines; 9-nitroellipticine quinone was found to have superior activity compared to calothrixin B.

Concise synthesis of carbazole-1,4-quinones and evaluation of their antiproliferative activity against HCT-116 and HL-60 cells.

We report a convenient synthesis of carbazole-1,4-quinone alkaloid koeniginequinones A and B using a tandem ring-closing metathesis with the dehydrogenation reaction sequence under an O2 atmosphere as an important step. Using this method, carbazole-1,4-quinones substituted at the 5-, 6-, 7-, and/or 8-positions have been synthesized. Moreover, 24 compounds, including koeniginequinones A and B, have been evaluated for their antiproliferative activity against HCT-116 and HL-60 cells, and the 6-nitro analog exhibited the most potent activity against both tumor cell types.

Simple indole alkaloids and those with a nonrearranged monoterpenoid unit.

This review covers the literature on simple indole alkaloids and those with a nonrearranged monoterpenoid unit from the beginning of 2012 up to the end of 2013, which includes newly isolated alkaloids, structure determinations, total syntheses and biological activities.

Effect of the orthoquinone moiety in 9,10-phenanthrenequinone on its ability to induce apoptosis in HCT-116 and HL-60 cells.

9,10-Phenanthrenequinone (9,10-PQ) is one of the most abundant quinones among diesel exhaust particulates. Recent data have suggested that quinones induce apoptosis in immune, epithelial and tumor cells, leading to respirator illness; however, the mechanisms by which quinones induce apoptosis and the structure required for this remain unknown. We studied the antitumor activity of 9,10-PQ analogs against two human tumor cell lines, HCT-116 colon tumor cells and HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells. The loss of the cis-orthoquinone unit in 9,10-PQ abrogated its ability to induce apoptosis in the two tumor cell lines, and the LC50 values of these analogs were indicated over 10 µM. An analog of 9,10-PQ in which the biaryl unit had been deleted displayed a reduced ability to induce tumor cell apoptosis, while the analogs 1,10-phenanthroline-5,6-dione (9) and pyrene-4,5-dione (10), which also had modified biaryl units, exhibited increased tumor cell apoptotic activity. The cis-orthoquinone unit in 9,10-PQ was identified as essential for its ability to induce apoptosis in tumor cells, and its biaryl unit is also considered to influence orthoquinone-mediated apoptotic activity.

One-pot construction of 3,3'-bisindolylmethanes through Bartoli indole synthesis.

A one-pot approach to 3,3'-bisindolylmethane derivatives from nitrobenzene derivatives through the Bartoli indole synthesis was developed, in which the acid used to quench the reaction markedly affected its outcome. Quenching the reaction with concd HCl produced 3,3'-bisindolylmethane in contrast to the formation of 7-substituted indole by quenching with NH4Cl.

Cleavage of carbon-carbon triple bond: direct transformation of alkynes to nitriles.

A new cleavage reaction of carbon-carbon triple bonds proceeds efficiently with NIS and TMSN3, giving the corresponding nitriles in moderate to good yields.

Simple indole alkaloids and those with a non-rearranged monoterpenoid unit.

Covering: 2010-2011. Previous review: Nat. Prod. Rep. 2010, 27, 1630-1680This review covers the literature on simple indole alkaloids and those with a non-rearranged monoterpenoid unit from the beginning of 2010 up to the end of 2011, which includes newly isolated alkaloids, structure determinations, total syntheses and biological activities.

Synthesis and antimalarial activity of calothrixins A and B, and their N-alkyl derivatives.

We synthesized calothrixin B using our developed biomimetic method and derived N-alkyl-calothrixins A and B. The in vitro antimalarial activity of the calothrixin derivatives, including calothrixins A and B, against the Plasmodium falciparum FCR-3 strain was evaluated. All test compounds exhibited antimalarial activity over a concentration range of 6.4×10(-6)-1.2×10(-7) M.

One-pot approach to 2,3-disubstituted-2,3-dihydro-4-quinolones from 2-alkynylbenzamides.

Concise and efficient syntheses of various trans-2,3-disubstituted-2,3-dihydro-4-quinolones have been achieved via tandem Hofmann-type rearrangement of 2-alkynylbenzamides, nucleophilic addition of alcohols to the isocyanate intermediates, intermolecular [2+2]-cycloaddition with carbon-carbon triple bonds and aldehydes, and intramolecular aminocyclization of nitrogen of carbamates to the α,ß-unsaturated ketones.

Concise total synthesis of calothrixins A and B.

The concise total synthesis of calothrixins A and B has been accomplished by utilizing the one-pot formation of hexatriene as a key intermediate via the palladium-catalyzed tandem cyclization/cross-coupling reaction of triethyl(indol-2-yl)borate. In another key transformation, the indolo[3,2-j]phenanthridine core was prepared in high yield via Cu(I)-mediated 6π-electrocyclization.

Indium(III)-catalyzed tandem reaction with alkynylbenzaldehydes and alkynylanilines to heteroaromatic compounds.

Starting from ortho-alkynylbenzaldehydes and ortho-alkynylanilines, In(OTf)3-catalyzed synthesis of ring-condensed heteroaromatic compounds was developed via a domino intramolecular nucleophilic attack/intermolecular cycloaddition/dehydration reaction.

First synthesis of 2',3'-epimino-carbocyclic nucleosides.

The preparation of 2',3'-epimino-carbocyclic analogues of adenosine is reported. The reaction of p-tosyl azide with N-substituted 2-azabicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-en-3-one (ABH) (1a) provided aziridine-fused ABH (2), which was converted to 2',3'-epimino-carbocyclic nucleosides (11).

A novel C-C bond formation reaction with 1-methoxymethylindolylborate.

The reaction of 1-methoxymethylindolylborates 2 with electrophiles in the presence of benzaldehyde enabled the novel construction of tri-substituted indoles in a 'one-pot' procedure.