Abstract Hydrogenation of the anthracyclines daunorubicin (1) and doxorubicin (2) gave selective deoxygenation at position 5. Hydride reduction of (1) and (2) gave complementary regiocontrol, leading to 12-deoxygenation or 5, 12-bisdeoxygenation. This chemistry allows retention of the 7-glycoside and the side-chain carbonyl groups. It has led to new anthracycline families possessing all of the stereochemical and most of the spatial ...
