Diastereoselective Synthesis of Biologically Active Cyclopenta[b]indoles

The cyclopenta­[b]­indole motif is present in several natural and synthetic biologically active compounds, being directly responsible for the biological effects some of them present. We described herein a three step sequence for the synthesis of cyclopenta­[b]­indoles with a great structural diversity. The method is based on an oxidative Michael addition of suitable indoles on the double bond of Morita–Baylis–Hillman adducts mediated by a hypervalent iodine reagent (IBX) to form β-ketoesters, which were chemoselectively reduced with NaBH4 in THF to give the corresponding β-hydroxy-esters. The diastereoisomeric mixture was then treated with a catalytic amount of triflic acid (20 mol %) to give cyclopenta­[b]­indoles with overall yields ranging from 8 to 73% (for 2 steps). The acid-catalyzed cyclization step gave the required heterocycles, via an intramolecular Friedel–Crafts reaction, with high diastereoselectivity, where only the trans product was observed. A mechanistic study monitored by ESI-(+)-MS was also conducted to collect evidence about the mechanism of this reaction. The new molecules herein synthesized were also evaluated against a panel of human cancer cells demonstrating a promising antitumoral profile.