388566-85-6Relevant articles and documents
Novel syntheses of cis and trans isomers of combretastatin A-4
Gaukroger, Keira,Hadfield, John A.,Hepworth, Lucy A.,Lawrence, Nicholas J.,McGown, Alan T.
, p. 8135 - 8138 (2001)
A high-yielding, two-step stereoselective synthesis of the anticancer drug (Z)-combretastatin A-4 (1) has been devised. The method uses the Perkin condensation of 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylacetic acid and 3-hydroxy-4-methoxybenzaldehyde followed by decarboxylation of the cinnamic acid intermediate using copper and quinoline. The iodine-catalyzed isomerization of the Z isomer 1 results in complete conversion to the E isomer. The Suzuki cross-coupling of an aryl boronic acid and vinyl bromide has also been successfully employed to produce both Z and E isomers of combretastatin A-4 stereoselectively. Both methods are far superior to the current five-step Wittig synthesis in which both isomers are produced nonstereoselectively.
