School of Pharmacy, Kitasato University, 5-9-1 Shirokane, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8641, Japan.
Abstract:
Acetylcholinesterase inhibitor (-)-homogalanthamine 3 was synthesized from μ opioid antagonist naltrexone (2) in 16% total yield. The synthesis features Grob fragmentation as a key reaction, which was especially accelerated in the presence of 15-crown-5.