Total Synthesis of Anthracyclinone [New Synthetic Methods (60)

Abstract

AbstractThe remarkable antitumor properties of anthracycline antibiotics have motivated synthetic chemists, and a large number of groups have been active recently in this field. Initially, there was very little hope for this class of substances due to their extreme toxicity. However, the dividing line between toxicity and desired pharmacological effect has broadened to such an extent, partly through microbiological methods (new strains, mutants) and partly through semisynthetic modifications, that today anthracyclines take number one place (over 20% of the market) in the chemotherapy of (human) cancer. The demands made on modern cytostatica are extremely high, as may be seen from the fact that of the more than 600000 drugs tested in animals, only about 40 are in clinical use. In the meantime, some anthracyclines obtained by total synthesis are also in clinical testing. In this review it will hopefully be demonstrated that all those concerned in the chemotherapeutic use of these substances have also contributed to the general progress made in the solution of regio‐ and stereo‐chemical problems of linearly annelated ring systems.