Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of aloperine derivatives as potential anticancer agents.

Modifications at different positions on the aloperine molecule were performed to improve its anticancer activity and develop anticancer drugs. The in vitro anticancer activities of 44 synthesized compounds were evaluated. The effect of modification positions on anticancer activity was discussed and a structure-activity relationship analysis was established. A novel series of compounds with modifications at the N12 position showed much higher cytotoxicity than aloperine. Among them, compound 22 displayed promising in vitro anticancer activity against PC9 cells with a median inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 1.43 µM. The mechanism studies indicated that compound 22 induced cell apoptosis and cell cycle arrest in PC9 cells. These results demonstrate the potential of aloperine thiourea derivatives in anticancer activity.

LiCl-promoted amination of ß-methoxy amides (γ-lactones).

An efficient and mild method has been developed for the amination of ß-methoxy amides (γ-lactones) including natural products michelolide, costunolide and parthenolide derivatives by using lithium chloride in good yields. This reaction is applicable to a wide range of substrates with good functional group tolerance. Mechanism studies show that the reactions undergo a LiCl promoted MeOH elimination from the substrates to form the corresponding α,ß-unsaturated intermediates followed by the Michael addition of amines.