Concise synthesis of 22-hydroxyacuminatine, cytotoxic camptothecinoid from Camptotheca acuminata, by pyridone benzannulation

Abstract

A short, efficient synthesis of 22-hydroxyacuminatine, starting from a readily accessible hydroxy pyridone, is presented; key steps include a Heck coupling with methyl pentadienoate, a flash vacuum pyrolytic cyclization, and a Friedländer condensation.