Abstract
Two routes toward the synthesis of rucaparib, an FDA-approved drug used for the treatment of ovarian and prostate cancers, have been developed from commercially available starting materials utilizing the cyanide-catalyzed imino-Stetter reaction as the key step for the construction of the indole motif bearing all the desired substituents in their correct positions. In the first-generation synthesis, meta-fluorobenzoate, the starting material currently used in the process chemistry route of rucaparib, was converted into 4,6-disubstituted 2-aminocinnamic acid derivatives (ester or amide). The cyanide-catalyzed imino-Stetter reaction of aldimines derived from the resulting 2-aminocinnamic acid derivatives and a commercially available aldehyde afforded the desired indole-3-acetic acid derivatives. The final azepinone formation completed the total synthesis of rucaparib in 27% overall yield. To resolve the issues raised in the first-generation synthesis, we further developed a second-generation synthesis of rucaparib. The Heck reaction of a commercially available ortho-iodoaniline derivative with acrylonitrile provided 4,6-disubstituted 2-aminocinnamonitrile, which was subjected to the imino-Stetter reaction with the same aldehyde to provide the desired indole-3-acetonitrile product. Subsequent construction of the azepinone scaffold completed the total synthesis of rucaparib in 59% overall yield over three separation operations. The synthetic strategy reported herein can provide a highly practical route to access rucaparib from commercially available starting materials (5.2% overall yield in the current process chemistry route vs. 59% overall yield in the second-generation synthesis).
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 21172-21180 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | RSC Advances |
Volume | 12 |
Issue number | 33 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2022 Aug 1 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grants funded by the Korean Government (NRF-2021R1A2C1012984, NRF-2021R1A5A6002803 (Center for New Directions in Organic Synthesis).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Royal Society of Chemistry.
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Chemistry(all)
- Chemical Engineering(all)