Recent Advances in the Synthesis of 3,n-Fused Tricyclic Indole Skeletons via Palladium-Catalyzed Domino Reactions.

3,n-fused ( n = 4-7) tricyclic indoles are pervasive motifs, embedded in a variety of biologically active molecules and natural products. Thus, numerous catalytic methods have been developed for the synthesis of these skeletons over the past few decades. In particular, palladium-catalyzed transformations have received much attention in recent years. This review summarizes recent developments in the synthesis of these tricyclic indoles with palladium-catalyzed domino reactions and their applications in the total synthesis of representative natural products.