title: Synthesis of cytotoxic palmerolides.
abstract: The chemical synthesis of the palmerolides is the subject of this review. The palmerolides are a family of Antarctic marine natural products, many of which display potent and selective cytotoxicity against melanoma cells. The confluence of promising bioactivities, limited natural supplies, and complex structures makes the palmerolides exciting targets for chemical synthesis. To date, several approaches have been reported, and a consensus strategy based on convergent fragment assembly has emerged. Collective wisdom from myriad approaches reviewed here may enable hybrid strategies capable of delivering larger amounts of synthetic palmerolides to support continued biological studies. Considering the relative lack of options for melanoma chemotherapy and the intriguing activity profile of the palmerolides, efforts aimed at developing an efficient, gram-scale synthesis of palmerolide A and congeneric structures should be given a high priority.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Florida State University, 95 Chieftan Way, Tallahassee FL 32306-4390 (USA), Fax: (+1) 850-644-8281.
authors.forename: Marilda P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Lisboa
authors.forename: Gregory B
authors.initials: GB
authors.lastname: Dudley
mesh_terms: D000864:Antarctic Regions; D000970:Antineoplastic Agents / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D001688:Biological Products / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D006801:Humans; D018942:Macrolides / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology; D008386:Marine Biology
chemical_list: D000970:Antineoplastic Agents; D001688:Biological Products; D018942:Macrolides; C522534:palmerolide A
keywords: fragment assembly; marine natural products; melanoma; natural product synthesis; palmerolide