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Updated: Nov 8, 2025

Functionalized Spirocyclic Heterocycle Synthesis and Cytotoxicity Assay
Published on: February 9, 2021
Synthesis of fused 1,2-naphthoquinones with cytotoxic activity using a one-pot three-step reaction
Anton A Nechaev1, Pratap R Jagtap1, Ema BaŽíková1
1Department of Organic Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Charles University, Hlavova 8, 128 00 Praha 2, Czech Republic. eliska.matousova@natur.cuni.cz.
Abstract:
A method for the synthesis of fused 1,2-naphthoquinones, as analogues of biologically active natural terpene quinones, is described. The intermediate polycyclic naphthalenes were prepared by a one-pot palladium-catalysed process from simple alkynes, one of which was made from an optically pure biomass-derived levoglucosenone. The prepared methoxy-substituted naphthalenes were subsequently transformed in one step to 1,2-naphthoquinones by a trivalent-iodine-mediated oxidation. The naphthoquinone products were found to have cytotoxic properties.
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