ORGN 513

Asperdiol (1), a potent anticancer compound, was found as the major component in the chloroform extract of the gorgonian coral Eunicea knighti. This compound was previously isolated from Eunicea asperula and Eunicea tourneforti. It was the first non-lactonic cembrane isolated from gorgonians to display in vitro anticancer activity against PS, KB and LE cell lines. The antitumor actvity displayed by this compound has elicited the interest to synthesize this compound as well as several asperdiol derivatives. A series of derivatives have been synthesized not only to provide material to be tested against a panel of 60 human cancer cell-lines but also to obtain information about structure-activity relationship. The structures of these compounds were elucidated using 1D and 2D NMR spectral data, in combination with IR, HREIMS, FABMS, and UV.