The present invention discloses new and novel substituted anthracyclines with modified alkyl-aromatic ring substitutions on the C-3' of the sugar moiety or modified or unmodified alkyl-aromatic ring substitutions at the C-4' of the sugar moiety. It also discloses novel methods for the preparation of sugar substrates and methods for the preparation of anthracycline antibiotics. These anthracycline analogs show high cytotoxicity in vitro against several tumor cell lines.