Ellipticine strategy

Gribble et al. also reported a new annulation strategy for the total synthesis of ellipticine (228) (527). This methodology utilizes a Diels-Alder reaction between... 

Mai et al. reported a formal total synthesis of ellipticine (228) starting from the furoindolone 649 (583,724). In this strategy, the key step is the anionic [4+2] cycloaddition of furoindolone 649 with 3,4-pyridyne (1193). Reaction of compound 1270 with 3,4-pyridyne (1193) in the presence of LDA gave ellipticine quinone (1272)... 

A further extension of this strategy has been employed as a route to carbazoles, as illustrated by the synthesis of the system 116 from the 2-nitrobiphenyl derivative 117 (Equation 30) <20040L533>. A substituted 2-nitrobiphenyl derivative has been cyclized to a carbazole using P(OEt)3 en route to the pyridocarbazole alkaloid ellipticine <2006HCA111>. It should also be mentioned that annulation of o-(alkynyl)nitrobenzene precursors with TBAF or pyridine gave access to indol-3-one-l-oxides (isatogens) <2003T2497>. 

In two papers, Miller and co-workers (45,46) have extended their intramolecular ring B cyclization strategy (47) to the use of aryl nitrenes in the synthesis of pyridocarbazoles. Thus, in the first paper, isoquinoline azide 39 was heated at 180-200°C to aiford ellipticine (1) as the minor product (20%) (Scheme 7). The major product was the isomeric pyrido[3,4-a]carbazole 40 (60%). This result is consistent with the relative nucleophilicities of C-6 and C-8 of isoquinoline. The isomeric azido isoquinoline 41 exhibited comparable re-gioselectivity in the cyclization of the corresponding nitrene to yield isoellipticine (27) as the minor product (Scheme 7). 

The total synthesis of ellipticine by Miller el al. [11] is one of the first syntheses of naturally occurring indole alkaloids using Pd(OAc), via the oxidative cyclization mechanism (Scheme 2). Exposure of 6-anilino-5,8-dimethylisoquinoline (9) to two equivalents of Pd(OAc)j in TFA/AcOH facilitated the oxidative cyclization to the desired ellipticine (10). Recently, the same indole formation strategy that uses the Pd(OAc),-mediated oxidative cyclization has been the cornerstone of several synthetic approaches directed toward ellipticine analogs. For instance, oxidative cyclization of diphenylamine 11 was carried out with Pd(OAc), in acetic acid to provide... 

---