Synthetic approach to hypoxyxylerone, novel inhibitor of topoisomerase I.

[reaction: see text] A potential route to the topoisomerase I inhibitor hypoxyxylerone is demonstrated by a highly convergent synthesis of the penta(O-methyl) derivative. The key step in the approach is an anionic homo-Fries rearrangement, little used to date in natural product synthesis and employed here for the first time with a dinaphthalenic substrate, to access the pentacyclic system of hypoxyxylerone.