Total synthesis of kinamycins C, F, and J

The kinamycins are a series of naturally occurring compounds endowed with intriguing molecular architectures and potent biological properties, including antibiotic and antitumor activities. These novel diazofluorene-containing compounds defied chemical synthesis since their initial disclosure by Omura et al. in 1970 until the first total synthesis of kinamycin C by Porco et al. in late 2006, and of methyl-kinamycin C by the Kumamoto-Ishihawa group in 2007. We now report our enantioselective total synthesis of kinamycins C, F, and J through a convergent strategy that is both enantioselective and expedient.