Intramolecular Aryne-Furan Cycloadditions for the Synthesis of Anticancer Naphthalimides

An intramolecular aryne Diels–Alder reaction with a furan moiety was applied to the synthesis of dihydrobenzo­[<i>de</i>]­isochromenes as intermediates toward naphthalimides. After oxidation, this method offers an efficient approach for the synthesis of substituted naphthalimides, which showed potent cytotoxic activity against HT-29 human cancer cell line