Synthetic Studies on Duocarmycin. 1. Total Synthesis of dl-Duocarmycin A and Its 2-Epimer

Article abstract of DOI:10.1016/S0040-4020(01)86993-3

The title synthesis was first achieved by employing novel methoxycarbonylation of the C4-position of the 5-aminoindoline by way of the isatin and subsequent Dieckmann cyclization to the methyl 2-methylindoxyl-2-carboxylate as key steps.In vitro cytotoxicity assay against P388 murine leukemia obviously disclosed that cytotoxicities of the synthesized compounds are comparable and almost half of that of natural (+)-duocarmycin A. - Key Words: dl-duocarmycin A, dl-2-epi-duocarmycin A, total synthesis, antitumor antibiotic, cytotoxicity