DESCRIPTION: The long-term objective of this research project is to develop a particular organic synthetic method that shows significant promise as a means of preparing analogues of some well-known antitumor antibiotics. The project will focus on the preparation of analogues of quinocarcin, which has shown significant activity against a variety of solid mammalian carcinomas. The synthetic method utilizes a convergent approach that allows considerable variation in the structure of each component. After coupling these components, a one-pot procedure involving three distinct transformations produces the desired product without the isolation of any intermediates.