Proposal for the Enantioselective Total Synthesis of N-Methylwelwitindolinone C I

描述（由申请人提供）：多重耐药（MDR）癌是人类健康领域一个紧迫且日益严重的问题。由于这些癌症表型对已知化疗药物的治疗反应不佳，因此需要新的细胞毒性试剂来对抗它们。海洋生物碱n -甲基维氏吲哚酮C异硫氰酸酯可以很好地解决这一问题。这种天然产物不仅对耐多药乳腺癌细胞（MCF-7, IC50=130 nM）显示出强大的细胞毒活性，而且还显示出它可以逆转这些细胞系的耐药能力，使它们对紫杉醇等传统抗癌药物的敏感性提高100倍。因为从天然来源中分离它是一个艰苦的过程，提供的材料很少，所以n -甲基威维吲哚酮C异硫氰酸酯的全合成是一种有效的技术，可以获得额外数量的这种有效的生物活性化合物。本文提出了一种新颖、简洁的方法来制备异硫氰酸N-甲基威维吲哚酮C。该项目将涉及开发芳基卤化物与邻羧基酚偶联的对映选择性氧化脱芳反应。这种新方法将提供具有全碳1-季立体中心的富对映体环己二酮产品的途径。通过将该技术应用于n -甲基威维吲哚酮C异硫氰酸酯的合成，可以快速构建天然产物的复杂四环碳支架，从而方便地制备该海洋生物碱。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Multiple drug resistant (MDR) carcinomas represent an urgent and growing problem in the field of human health. Because these cancer phenotypes respond poorly to treatment with known chemotherapeutic agents, there exists a need for novel cytotoxic reagents to combat them. The marine alkaloid N-methylwelwitindolinone C isothiocyanate is well poised to address this situation. Not only has this natural product displayed potent cytotoxic activity against MDR breast cancer cells (MCF-7, IC50=130 nM), but it has also been shown to reverse the drug resistant capacity of these cell lines, making them up to one-hundred fold more susceptible to conventional cancer drugs such as taxol. Because its isolation from natural sources is a painstaking process that affords little material, the total synthesis of N-methylwelwitindolinone C isothiocyanate is poised as an effective technique to access additional quantities of this potent bioactive compound. The research proposed herein describes a novel, concise approach toward the preparation of N- methylwelwitindolinone C isothiocyanate. The project will involve the development of an enantioselective oxidative dearomatization reaction for the coupling of aryl halides with ortho-carboxy phenols. This new method will provide access to enantioenriched cyclohexadienone products bearing all-carbon 1-quaternary stereocenters. By applying this technique to the synthesis of the N-methylwelwitindolinone C isothiocyanate it will be possible to rapidly construct the complex tetracyclic carbon scaffold of the natural product, which will in turn allow expedient preparation of this marine alkaloid.