A cross-metathesis approach to the synthesis of new etretinate type retinoids, ethyl retinoate and its 9Z-isomer

Synthesis of 9-CD3-9-cis-Retinal Cofactor of Isorhodopsin

We report the synthesis of 9-CD₃-9-cis-retinal via a six-step procedure from β-ionone. The steps involve an initial deuteration of the methyl ketone of β-ionone followed by two consecutive Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) coupling reactions and their corresponding DIBAL reductions. A final oxidation of the allylic alcohol of the retinol leads to the target compound. This deuterium labeled retinoid is an important cofactor for studying protein-retinoid interactions in isorhodopsin.

Synthesis of Aromatic Retinoids and Curcuminoids and Evaluation of their Antiproliferative, Antiradical, and Anti-inflammatory Activities

Natural retinoids and curcuminoids are known for their broad spectrum of biological properties, such as antioxidant, anti‐inflammatory, antitumor, and so forth. In this work, a convenient synthesis of aromatic retinoids and curcuminoids from vinyl or allyl ketones, and the corresponding alcohols, using olefin metathesis as a key reaction, was elaborated. The best yields and diastereoselectivities were obtained from allylic or homoallylic alcohols by employing the two‐step cross‐metathesis/oxidation procedure. The synthesized analogues were tested for their antiproliferative activity on human cancer cell lines of various origin (leukemia CEM, adenocarcinoma MCF7, cervical carcinoma HeLa) as well as for their antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory activity in vitro. All examined derivatives exhibited strong anti‐inflammatory activity in vitro without affecting cell viability. They also showed strong cytotoxicity against leukemia cell line CEM, except for 18 and 35. The antioxidant activity of the tested compounds was rather weak.