ChemInform Abstract: Versatile Synthesis of New Cytotoxic Agents Structurally Related to Hemiasterlins.

A series of structural analogues of the antimitotic tripeptides hemiasterlins is synthesized by a flexible approach using α-bromoacid, e.g. (I), as starting material and an Ag2O-promoted nucleophilic substitution as the key step Variation of (I), which is available from any diazotizable α-amino acid and of the nucleophiles allows the generation of hemiasterlin libraries.