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CAS Registers 40 Millionth Substance 

rel-(1R,2aR,5aR,7S,10bR,10cR)-1,2a,3,4,5,5a,6,7,8,9,10,10b-dodecahydro-1-phenyl-7,10c-epoxy-10cH-azuleno[4,5,6-cd]benzofuran

On November 21, CAS Registry Number 1073662-18-6 was assigned to the azulenobenzofuran derivative at right.  CAS REGISTRY, the world's most authoritative collection of disclosed chemical substance information, now includes 40 million organic and inorganic substances.  More than 100 million CAS Registry Numbers have been assigned to organic and inorganic substances and biosequences.

The 40 millionth substance was identified by CAS scientists in a journal article published in Angewandte Chemie International Edition:

• Oh, C.H.; Lee, J.H.; Lee, S.J.; Kim, J.I.; Hong, C.S. Intramolecular Huisgen-Type Cyclization of Platinum-Bound Pyrylium Ions with Alkenes and Subsequent Insertion into a Benzylic C-H Bond. Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 7505-7507.

The article describes a novel method for the synthesis of polycyclic substances with "a central seven-membered carbocycle", including the 40 millionth substance.  Such polycyclic substances are core structural components in certain naturally occurring chemicals, including Taxol^(R) (CAS Registry Number 33069-62-4), a chemotherapeutic drug derived from the bark of the Pacific yew tree.  More efficient methods to synthesize these polycyclic substances, such as the method described in this article, may lead to improved synthesis of Taxol, its analogs, and other potentially important pharmaceuticals.

If your organization is enabled to use the web version of SciFinder, you can directly access the substance and reference details for the 40 millionth substance.  Look for more of these SciFinder links in future CAS - Science Connections.

Contributed by
Peter S. Carlton, Ph.D.
CAS Communications

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