Total Synthesis of Isoprenoid Quinone Natural Products and Their Biological Examination

Abstract

The synthetic efforts covered in this thesis were embarked upon not just for their opportunity as challenging targets but also for their relevance to other fields. Molecular biology and biosynthesis motivated the pursuit of the merochlorins and promising antitumor activity inspired our work towards antroquinonol A. Both of these molecules belong to or derive from the isoprenoid quinone class of natural products. The merochlorin route purposefully pursued biolsynthetically inspired intermediates while the antroquinonol route attempted to be amenable to analogue synthesis. The results of both synthetic efforts lent knowledge and understanding to biology while also delivering interesting syntheses of complex molecules.