The short way to chiral compounds with hexahydrofluoreno[9,1-bc]furan framework: synthesis and cytotoxic activity.

A simple and efficient method for synthesizing chiral heterocyclic compounds with the hexahydrofluoreno[9,1-bc]furan framework via interaction between trans-4-hydroxymethyl-2-carene and aromatic aldehydes containing methoxy and hydroxyl moieties in the presence of montmorillonite clay was found. One of the synthesized compounds exhibited a high cytotoxic activity against lymphoblastoid cell line MT-4 (CTD50 0.9μM), which was higher than that of the comparative drug Doxorubicin. Death of cancer cells in this case substantially occurs via induction of apoptosis.