The benzo[cd]pyrene ring system is an uncommon one. A survey' of the literature reveals that chemists have accorded it scant attention, perhaps because Nature evinces a similar disin- terest. In fact, of the thousands of known natural substances, only two embody its carbon framework: the antibiotic resistomycin ( 1)2 and its apparent oxidation product resistoflavin (2).3 A number4 of research groups have launched synthetic assults on resistomycin, but ...
