Quinol fatty alcohols as promoters of axonal growth

The synthesis of three series of quinol fatty alcohols (QFAs) and their biological activities on the promotion of axonal growth are described. Interestingly, the 15-(2,5-dimethoxyphenyl)pentadecan-1-ol, the QFA bearing 15 carbon atoms on the side chain (n = 15), shows the most potent promotion of axonal growth in the presence of both permissive and non-permissive naturally occurring substrates such as Sema3A and myelin proteins.