β-Carboline compounds and their derivatives have attracted strong interest in medicinal chemistry due to their biological and pharmacological properties. Many bioactive β-carboline-based natural products have been found to be an important source of drugs and drug leads. β-Carboline has major players in natural products chemistry, which plays an important role in drug discovery. β-Carboline represents the core unit of several natural products, alkaloids, and bioactive compounds. The unusual and complex molecular architectures of natural products pose significant challenges to organic chemists and are a source of inspiration for the development of new organic reactions and innovative synthetic strategies. However, in many cases, β-carboline natural products are isolated in only minute quantities, and their constant supply from natural sources is problematic or virtually impossible. In addition, chemoselective derivatization of natural products themselves is usually quite difficult because of their sensitive and elaborate molecular structures, and access to their structural analogs is severely restricted in many cases. Since chemical synthesis is expected to be the only way to overcome these shortcomings, β-carboline natural products are rewarding synthetic targets for organic chemists. This chapter assimilates the reports pertaining to the synthetic applications of some β-carbolines for the synthesis of substituted and fused β-carbolines.
Part of the book: Organic Synthesis