Abstract:For the purpose of preparing docetaxel with a high yield, a mild and convenient semi-synthetic process of docetaxel is adopted. The target compound is prepared in four steps. 10-deacetyl baccatin III, the starting material, is reacted with benzyl chloroformate to form C-7 and C-10-protected 10-deacetyl baccatin III, which is then reacted with (3R,4S)-1-tert-butoxy-carbonyl-3-(1-ethoxy-ethyloxy)-4-phenylaz-etidin-2-one and followed by hydrogenolysis to form a 2'-(1-ethoxy-ethyloxy)-N-off benzoyl-N-tert-butyl carbonyl oxy-gen-10-deacetyl taxol, and then, the target compound is finally obtained by the acid hydrolysis. The key step is the selective protection of C-7 and C-10 hydroxyl groups of 10-deacetyl baccatin III. The effects of main factors on every reaction process are analyzed, to establish the optimized reaction conditions of every step. The target molecules and intermediates are characterized by MS and NMR. The results indicate that the synthetic process is of low cost, easy for handling and with an overall yield of 50% from 10-deacetyl baccatin III.