Synthesis, biology, and modeling of a C-4 carbonyl C,D-seco-taxoid

Recent advances in the study of the bioactive conformation of taxol

Paclitaxel is one of the most important chemotherapeutic drugs in the fight against cancer. This minireview covers the recent advances in the study of the bioactive conformation of paclitaxel in tubulin/microtubules. The tubulin-bound structure of paclitaxel has been studied by means of photoaffinity labeling, cryo-electron microscopy, solid-state NMR, molecular modeling, MD simulations and the synthesis of conformationally restrained analogues and paclitaxel mimics. The bioactive conformation of paclitaxel is important since it could provide critical information that would allow the design of novel analogues with simpler structures and/or increased potency against cancer.

Natural products as leads to anticancer drugs

Throughout history, natural products have afforded a rich source of compounds that have found many applications in the fields of medicine, pharmacy and biology. Within the sphere of cancer, a number of important new commercialised drugs have been obtained from natural sources, by structural modification of natural compounds, or by the synthesis of new compounds, designed following a natural compound as model. The search for improved cytotoxic agents continues to be an important line in the discovery of modern anticancer drugs. The huge structural diversity of natural compounds and their bioactivity potential have meant that several products isolated from plants, marine flora and microorganisms can serve as "lead" compounds for improvement of their therapeutic potential by molecular modification. Additionally, semisynthesis processes of new compounds, obtained by molecular modification of the functional groups of lead compounds, are able to generate structural analogues with greater pharmacological activity and with fewer side effects. These processes, complemented with high-throughput screening protocols, combinatorial chemistry, computational chemistry and bioinformatics are able to afford compounds that are far more efficient than those currently used in clinical practice. Combinatorial biosynthesis is also applied for the modification of natural microbial products. Likewise, advances in genomics and the advent of biotechnology have improved both the discovery and production of new natural compounds.

Cyclopentanone Ring Expansion Leading to Functionalized δ-Lactams: Short Synthesis of Simple Sedum Alkaloids

Monosubstituted epoxides react with (cyclopentenyloxy)trimethylsilane to afford, after subsequent oxidative fragmentation, a pair of diastereomeric 8-membered iodolactones. When these lactones are separately treated with sodium azide, followed by reduction over Lindlar's catalyst, lactone ring contraction yields 6-membered monosubstituted lactams. When (R)-1,2-epoxypentane is used in this 5 + 3 - 2 overall ring expansion sequence, one final step involving delta-lactam to piperidine reduction yields natural (-)-halosaline and (-)-epihalosaline in five steps and 12% and 23% overall yields, respectively.