Synthesis of 2- and 3-substituted-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrodibenzo[f,h]isoquinolines

Some 2- and 3-substituted-1,2,3,4-tetrahydrodibenzof,h]isoquinolines were prepared by a synthetic scheme involving a selective Borch reduction of an amide to the corresponding amine and a Friedel-Crafts cyclization to obtain the dibenzof,h]isoquinoline system. The title compounds, which have a similarity to the cell growth inhibitory alkaloid cryptopleurine, failed to exhibit significant protein synthesis inhibitory activity.