| Abstract: | At present anthracycline antibiotics have proven to be the most exciting agents in cancer chemotherapy. Both adriamycin and
daunomycin are proven to be effective against a variety of human tumour cells, despite their cardiotoxicity. However, some
synthetic analogues, such as 4-demethoxydaunomycin, are shown to be better therapeutic ratios compared to adriamycin or daunomycin.
Various approaches have been successfully made for the total synthesis of (±) 4-demethoxydaunomycinone, the aglycone of (±)
4=demethoxydaunomycin, starting from benzoquinone, napthalene or anthraquinone precursors. Finally an elegant approach for
the stereoconvergent synthesis of (+) 4-demethoxydaunomycinone has been worked out.
New methods involving both Diels-Alder and Friedal-Crafts acylation, have been developed for the total synthesis of daunomycinone
and 11-deoxydaunomycinone. The synthesis of L-daunosamine, the amino sugar unit present in the antitumor anthracyclines has
been successfully elaborated starting either from D-glucose or D-glucosamine. |
