The phytoalexin resveratrol and its 4'-ester analogs have been prepared with a decarbonylative Heck reaction. The deprotecting step has been modified and improved to increase yield and avoid chromatography. A set of resveratrol analogs and resveratrol have been tested with melanoma and pancreatic cell assays.;The 8, 9-amido Geldanamycin analog has been synthesized with a convergent route, involving 28 simplified steps in its longest linear sequence. Synthetic methodologies, such as Andrus auxiliary controlled asymmetric anti-glycolate Aldol and selective p-Quinone formation, were employed.;The total synthesis of Englerin A starts from (R)-carvone, passed through the modified Farvoskii ring-contraction and ring closing metathesis to get the ring skeleton. Other routes involving isopropyl group installation before closure of the seven-member ring failed. Although there are still problems to build the isopropyl moiety and the bridged ether, several reasonable alternative routes to address the problems have been designed.;Key words: Resveratrol, Geldanamycin, Englerin A, total synthesis, analog. |