Kinamycins are a group of bacterial

polyketide Polyketides are a class of natural products derived from a precursor molecule consisting of a chain of alternating ketone (or reduced forms of a ketone) and methylene groups: (-CO-CH2-). First studied in the early 20th century, discovery, biosynth ...

secondary metabolite Secondary metabolites, also called specialised metabolites, toxins, secondary products, or natural products, are organic compounds produced by any lifeform, e.g. bacteria, fungi, animals, or plants, which are not directly involved in the norm ...

s containing a

diazo The diazo group is an organic moiety consisting of two linked nitrogen atoms ( azo) at the terminal position. Overall charge neutral organic compounds containing the diazo group bound to a carbon atom are called diazo compounds or diazoalkanes ...

group. Kinamycins are known for their

cytotoxicity Cytotoxicity is the quality of being toxic to cells. Examples of toxic agents are an immune cell or some types of venom, e.g. from the puff adder (''Bitis arietans'') or brown recluse spider (''Loxosceles reclusa''). Cell physiology Treating cells ...

and are considered of interest for potential use in anti-cancer therapies.

Synthesis

In 2006 and 2007 the means to totally and

enantioselective In chemistry, an enantiomer ( /ɪˈnænti.əmər, ɛ-, -oʊ-/ ''ih-NAN-tee-ə-mər''; from Ancient Greek ἐνάντιος ''(enántios)'' 'opposite', and μέρος ''(méros)'' 'part') – also called optical isomer, antipode, or optical anti ...

ly synthesize kinamycins C, F, and J were discovered. In 2010 a method was found to allow easier synthesis of these compounds in fewer steps, making research into their properties more feasible.{{Cite journal , doi = 10.1021/ja910769j , title = Development of a Convergent Entry to the Diazofluorene Antitumor Antibiotics: Enantioselective Synthesis of Kinamycin F , year = 2010 , last1 = Woo , first1 = C. M. , last2 = Lu , first2 = L. , last3 = Gholap , first3 = S. L. , last4 = Smith , first4 = D. R., last5 = Herzon , first5 = S. B. , journal = Journal of the American Chemical Society , volume = 132 , pages = 2540–1, pmid = 20141138 , issue = 8

References

External links

*EMBL-EBI listing—includes links to structural formula and other properties of group member
Description of Porco(2006) and Nicolaou(2007) synthesis on University of Pittsburgh site
Polyketide antibiotics Diazo compounds Nucleic acid inhibitor antibiotics