3,4'-Linked bis(piperidines) related to the haliclonacyclamine class of marine alkaloids: synthesis using crossed-aldol chemistry and preliminary biological evaluations

Compounds 2-5, incorporating various elements of the 3,4'-bis(piperidine) core associated with the sponge-derived alkaloid haliclonacyclamine A (HA, 1), have been prepared through, inter alia, aldol-type reactions of N-substituted piperidin-4-ones and certain derivatives. Screening of these compounds in various assays, including an ecological one, reveals that compound 5 exhibits allelochemical properties similar to those associated with HA itself.