Role of the Hydrophobic Moiety of Tumor Promoters. Synthesis and Activity of Benzolactams with Alkyl Substituents at Various Positions.

We synthesized benzolactams with hydrophobic substituents at various positions as analogs of (-)-benzolactam-V8-310 ((-)-BL-V8-310, 1) which reproduces the active conformation and biological activity of teleocidins. Structure-activity data indicate that the existence of a hydrophobic region between C-2 and C-9, and the steric factor at C-8 play critical roles in the appearance of biological activities.