Improved Synthesis of Indirubin Derivatives by Sequential Build‐Up of the Indoxyl Unit: First Preparation of Fluorescent Indirubins

Indirubin, present in extracts of Isatis tinctoria and some other plant species, has promising cytotoxicity against a variety of cell lines by inhibition of cyclin‐dependent kinases. Chemical synthesis of its derivatives relies on the combination of isatins and 2,3‐dihydro‐1H‐indol‐3‐one (‘indoxyl’) derivatives and usually yields indigo as well as other by‐products. Inspection of the hydrolysis of the long‐known condensation products of 2‐thioxothiazolidin‐4‐one with isatins gave useful hints for an improved synthesis of indirubins: this reaction does not yield quinoline derivatives but 2‐(2,3‐dihydro‐2‐oxo‐1H‐indol‐3‐ylidene)‐2‐sulfanyl acetic acids. By substitution of the sulfanyl group in this oxindoles with anilines and straightforward cyclization under Nazarov conditions, a broad variety of indirubins substituted in the indoxyl ring system are thus available, usually in very good purity and yield. Use of naphthylamines in this reaction sequence yields various fluorescent substances with λ_fl at ca. 630 nm.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Organosilicon Substituted Fluorenyl Derivatives

Friedel‐Crafts cycloalkylation of biphenyl with 2,3‐dichlorobutyltrichlorosilane(Cl₃Si‐CH₂CHClCHClCH₃) at a temperature of 100°C in the presence of anhydrous aluminum chloride catalyst gave cyclized product, 9‐methyl‐9‐(2‐trichlorosilylethyl)fluorene 1a , in 33% yield. Methylation of 1a with nucleophilic reagent such as methyl magnesium chloride, gave 9‐methyl‐9‐(2‐trimethylsilylethyl)fluorene 2 while bromination of 2 with excess amount of bromine in DMF resulted in 2,7‐dibromo‐9‐methyl‐9‐(2‐trichlorosilyl)fluorene 3 in good yield. All the compounds were structurally identified by GC/MS, ¹H and ¹³C‐NMR spectroscopy.     

Synthesis of Substituted Terphenyl Derivatives

Several substituted terphenyl derivatives were prepared following two synthetic routes with five steps. Condensation of 4‐amino‐3‐bromo‐benzotrifluoride with 4‐(methylthio) phenyl boronic acid in the presence of sodium carbonate and palladium triphenylphosphine in toluene gave 4‐amino‐3‐(4‐methylthiophenyl)‐benzotrifluoride. Treatment of this compound with osmium tetroxide in the presence of 4‐methyl morpholine‐N‐oxide yielded the corresponding sulfone, which was converted into the iodo derivative using sodium nitrite. The iodo derivative thus obtained was treated first with propylmagnesium chloride and triethylborane and subsequently with hydroxylamine‐O‐sulfonic acid to furnish the target compounds.     

Efficient and Chemoselective Methods for the Synthesis of Some Isobenzofuran and Spiro[isobenzofuran‐1,2′‐pyrrole] Derivatives

An efficient and practical one‐pot procedure for the direct chemoselective synthesis of isobenzofuran and spiro[isobenzofuran‐1,2′‐pyrrole] derivatives is developed via oxidative cleavage of 3a,8b‐dihydroxyindeno[1,2‐b]pyrrol‐4‐ones with Pb(OAc)₄ at room temperature.