Total Synthesis of the Antimalarial Ascidian Natural Product Albopunctatone.

The first approaches to the 10'-anthronyl-2-anthraquinone skeleton have been devised, allowing two syntheses of the marine natural product albopunctatone. Both routes involve regioselective addition of a nucleophilic masked anthraquinone to a protected chrysazin derivative; the best affords albopunctatone in five steps and 35% overall yield. Albopunctatone exhibits potent inhibitory activity against Plasmodium falciparum and negligible toxicity to a range of other microbial pathogens and mammalian cells.