Synthesis of 2‐ and 3‐substituted‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydrodibenzo[f,h]isoquinolines

Abstract

Some 2‐ and 3‐substituted‐1,2,3,4‐tetrahydrodibenzo[f,h]isoquinolines were prepared by a synthetic scheme involving a selective Borch reduction of an amide to the corresponding amine and a Friedel‐Crafts cyclization to obtain the dibenzo[f,h]isoquinoline system. The title compounds, which have a similarity to the cell growth inhibitory alkaloid cryptopleurine, failed to exhibit significant protein synthesis inhibitory activity.