Insights into the structure–activity relationship of the anticancer compound ZJ-101, a derivative of marine natural product superstolide A: A role played by the lactone moiety

Compound ZJ-101, a structurally simplified analog of the marine natural product superstolide A, was previously developed in our laboratory. In the subsequent structure–activity relationship study, a new analog ZJ-109 was designed and synthesized to probe the importance of the lactone moiety of the molecule by replacing the lactone in ZJ-101 with a lactam. The biological evaluation showed that ZJ-109 is about 8–12 times less active against cancer cells in vitro than ZJ-101, suggesting that the lactone moiety of the molecule is important for its anticancer activity.