A new synthesis of the ajoene pharmacophore core is presented involving the regioselective radical addition of a thiyl radical to a terminal alkyne as the key step. The synthesis allows structural variation of the two end groups on sulfur, and a range of novel derivatives varying the R1 group (sulfoxide end) has been prepared and tested against CT-1 transformed fibroblast cells for anti-cancer activity. The results indicate comparable or even improved ...
