Synthesis of (+)-Gliocladin C

Significance

Gliocladin C is a C3-C3′ indole alkal­oid and is cytotoxic against P-388 lymphocytic leukemia cell lines with an ED₅₀ value of 240 ng mL^-¹. The wider hexahydropyrroloindoline alkaloid family, of which gliocladin C is a member, has gained significant synthetic interest. However, there has only been one total synthesis and two approaches to the core that have not been based on a dimeric C3-C3′ bisindole approach. The key step in this non-dimeric approach is the radical coupling mediated by visible-light photoredox catalysis.