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June 27, 2011 - Volume 89, Number 26
- p. 31
Science & Technology Concentrates
More Science & Technology Concentrates
- Histamine Receptor Structure Revealed
- Protein's structure may help researchers develop better antihistamine drugs
- A Rodent-Repelling Odor
- 2-Phenylethylamine in carnivores' urine sends prey scurrying
- Smoke Awakens Some Seeds With Cyanohydrins
- Glyceronitrile in smoke spurs germination needed to bring burnt forests back to life
- Bifunctional Solid Catalyst
- Metal oxide nanoparticles convert ethanol to isobutene
- Complementary Routes Fashion Anticancer Natural Product
- Polyketide natural product kibdelone C made for first time
- Herpes-Related Octasaccharides Inhibit Infection
- Sugars block virus' entry into host cells and could lead to new drugs
- New Focus On Mercury
- New spacecraft data upend planetary models, strengthen case for water ice
- Isotopes Track Contaminant Breakdown
- Pollutants' degradation processes reveal themselves in nitrogen isotope ratios
Topics Covered

For the first time, chemists have made kibdelone C, a polyketide with intriguing anticancer activity from a rare Australian soil microbe. The work was carried out by two teams that shared some information and arranged for their chemistry to be published back-to-back (J. Am. Chem. Soc., DOI: 10.1021/ja203642n and 10.1021/ja204040k). Both Joseph M. Ready of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and John A. Porco Jr. of Boston University were drawn to kibdelone C’s densely functionalized six-ring structure, as well as to the possibility that it might kill cancer cells in a new way. But they tackled the molecule differently. Ready’s team made use of a Shi epoxidation and a palladium-mediated intramolecular C–H arylation, while Porco’s group opted for a platinum-catalyzed intermolecular arylation and a tandem oxa-Michael reaction/Friedel-Crafts cyclization. Ready says he learned about Porco’s work when Porco published a preliminary effort, and Ready shared his own team’s strategy when Porco visited UT Southwestern. “Joe’s group and my group were sharing a lot of information toward the end, especially with respect to purification,” because kibdelone C is unstable, Porco says.
- Chemical & Engineering News
- ISSN 0009-2347
- Copyright © 2011 American Chemical Society
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