A Two-Phase Approach to Fusicoccane Synthesis To Uncover a Compound That Reduces Tumourigenesis in Pancreatic Cancer Cells.

Alterbrassicicene D (1) and 3(11)-epoxyhypoestenone (2) were synthesised via a two-phase approach featuring concise construction of the 5-8-5 tricyclic intermediate and a tandem base-mediated epoxide opening-transannular oxa-Michael addition cascade to forge the complex skeleton of 2. The route is scalable and we generated 15 g of the tricyclic intermediate in 8 steps from (R)-limonene and 720 mg of the penultimate bioactive intermediate in a protecting-group-free manner. Our synthesis enabled the structural determination of 2 and provided materials for preliminary anticancer evaluation. The penultimate intermediate showed therapeutic potential in terms of its ability to dramatically reduce the tumourigenic potential of PANC-1 pancreatic cancer cells according to a limiting dilution tumour-initiating assay. Our synthetic approach will facilitate unified access to naturally occurring fusicoccanes and their derivatives for anticancer evaluation.

Wavelength-tunable Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser based on a digital micromirror device.

A wavelength-tunable Q-switched erbium-doped fiber laser based on a digital micromirror device (DMD) is experimentally demonstrated. The Q-switched pulses are generated by incorporating a saturable absorption device made of graphene oxide. Stable Q-switched pulses at 1.5 µm band are obtained at a low threshold of 20 mW, corresponding to the pulse width of 7.1 µs and the repetition rate of 43.3 kHz. The maximum output power and the maximum pulse energy of the Q-switched pulses are 260.1 µW and 3.97 nJ, respectively. By controlling the DMD, the center wavelength of the Q-switched pulses can be tuned from 1528.2 to 1559.3 nm, with a tuning range of about 31 nm. The fine tunable accuracy can reach 0.08 nm by precisely controlling the DMD. Combining the filtering characteristics of the DMD with the saturable absorption characteristics of nanomaterials, the Q-switched laser with tunable wavelength is realized, which, we believe, is reported for the first time and has broad application prospects.

Hypocretenolides: collective total syntheses and activities toward metastatic colon cancer.

A concise and collective synthetic route to hypocretenolides was developed for the first time. This route features one-pot addition-alkylation and intramolecular 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition to efficiently assemble the 5/7/6 ring system. Our syntheses enabled multigram preparation of hypocretenolide which facilitated further biological evaluation. Preliminary CCK-8 cytotoxic results of hypocretenolide indicated its IC50 values within 1 µM against 4 colon cancer cell lines. Wound healing and transwell assays suggested the promising inhibitory activities of hypocretenolide toward the migratory capabilities of colon cancer cells in vitro. The animal results confirmed that hypocretenolide can inhibit metastasis of colon cancer cells.