Synthesis of vitamin D3 and calcitriol dimers as potential chemical inducers of vitamin D receptor dimerization

The design and synthesis of vitamin D3 dimers and 1alpha,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3(calcitriol) dimers are described with a view to doubly bind the vitamin D receptor (VDR) and inducting homodimerization. By using Wittig-Horner approach to construct the vitamin D triene system and prepare the dimers with a linker of modulated length with the purpose of optimizing the vitamin D3-VDR interaction is also discussed.