Dibenzothiaphosphonium P,I-ylides: synthesis, properties, biological activity

A series of phosphonium derivatives of cyclic 10-phenyl-10H-dibenzo[b,e][1,4]thiaphosphinine were synthesized, which included phosphonium-iodonium ylides stabilized by electron-withdrawing substituents of various types, along with their synthetic precursors such as phosphonium salts and ylides. A series of phosphonium-substituted furans were synthesized through the involvement of the novel P,I-ylide stabilized by a benzoyl group into heterocyclization reactions with aryl alkynes. The resulting dibenzothiaphosphonium P,I-ylides and furans were shown to have antiproliferative activity in vitro against several human cancer cell lines.