Stereoselective Solid-State Synthesis of Biologically Active Cyclobutane and Dicyclobutane Isomers via Conformation Blocking and Transference.

Conformations in the solid state are typically fixed during crystallization. Transference of "frozen" C=C conformations in 3,5-bis((E)-2-(pyridin-4-yl)vinyl)methylbenzene (CH(3)-3,5-bpeb) by photodimerization selectively yielded cyclobutane and dicyclobutane isomers, one of which (Isomer 2) exhibited excellent in vitro anti-cancer activity towards T-24, 7402, MGC803, HepG-2, and HeLa cells.