aQueen's University Belfast, School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, David Keir Building, Stranmillis Road, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK
bCentre for Cancer Research and Cell Biology, 97 Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
Abstract:
Telomeric DNA is a potential selective target for cancer therapy since the tumour-associated enzyme telomerase regulates telomere maintenance in most cancer cells. The 3′ single-stranded ends of telomeric DNA can be folded into quadruplex structures by appropriate small molecules. We describe the preparation of a new class of 2,7-disubstituted 10H-indolo3,2-b]quinolines with enhanced selectivity for the stabilisation of quadruplex DNA compared to duplex DNA, and also the preparation of a key intermediate for the synthesis of trisubstituted quindolines.