A concise synthesis of (+)-goniofufurone, (+)-7-epi-goniofufurone, (+)-crassalactones B and C

The concise and efficient synthesis of (+)-goniofufurone, (+)-7-epi-goniofufurone, (+)-crassalactones B and C were achieved in 6 to 7 steps from the known d-glucono-δ-lactone derivative 9. An acid-mediated cascade cyclization was employed to construct the furanofurone bicyclic framework in one-pot.     

Stereoselective total synthesis of styryl-lactones: (+)-crassalactones B and C, (+)-howiionol A, (+)-tricinnamate, (+)-goniofufurone and (+)-dicinnamoyl goniofufurone

The total synthesis of (+)-crassalactone B, (+)-crassalactone C, (+)-howiionol A, (+)-tricinnamate, (+)-goniofufurone, and (+)-dicinnamoyl goniofufurone is achieved by a ‘chiron approach’ starting from diacetone d-glucose (DAG). Mitsunobu inversion, Wittig olefination and ring closing metatheses were used as key steps for (+)-howiionol A and (+)-tricinnamate. Meldrum’s acid was used for the synthesis of (+)-crassalactone C, (+)-goniofufurone, and (+)-dicinnamoyl goniofufurone. Yamaguchi esterification was used for (+)-crassalactone B, while a Grignard reaction followed by concomitant deallylation was first reported in the synthesis of (+)-dicinnamoyl goniofufurone.     

Total synthesis of (+)-cylindricine C

A stereoselective total synthesis of (+)-cylindricine C has been achieved starting with (S)-N-Boc-2-pyrrolidinone. The key elements of this synthesis involve the sequence of reactions including BF₃-mediated addition of the allyl Grignard reagent to the cyclic imine, spirocyclization via enamine formation, and intramolecular Michael addition to form the tricyclic core.     

Total Syntheses of (+)‐Grandilodine C and (+)‐Lapidilectine B and Determination of their Absolute Stereochemistry

Enantioselective total syntheses of the Kopsia alkaloids (+)‐grandilodine C and (+)‐lapidilectine B were accomplished. A key intermediate, spirodiketone, was synthesized in 3 steps and converted into the chiral enone by enantioselective deprotonation followed by oxidation with up to 76 % ee. Lactone formation was achieved through stereoselective vinylation followed by allylation and ozonolysis. The total synthesis of (+)‐grandilodine C was achieved by palladium‐catalyzed intramolecular allylic amination and ring‐closing metathesis to give 8‐ and 5‐membered heterocycles, respectively. Selective reduction of a lactam carbonyl gave (+)‐lapidilectine B. The absolute stereochemistry of both natural products was thereby confirmed. These syntheses enable the scalable preparation of the above alkaloids for biological studies.     

A Short Synthesis of (+)-Brefeldin C through Enantioselective Radical Hydroalkynylation

A very concise total synthesis of (+)-brefeldin C starting from 2-furanylcyclopentene is described. This approach is based on an unprecedented enantioselective radical hydroalkynylation process to introduce the two cyclopentane stereocenters in a single step. The use of a furan substituent allows a high trans diastereoselectivity to be achieved during the radical process and it contains the four carbon atoms C1–C4 of the natural product in an oxidation state closely related to the one of the target molecule. The eight-step synthesis requires six product purifications and it provides (+)-brefeldin C in 18 % overall yield.     

Asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-curcutetraol and (+)-sydonol

The asymmetric total syntheses of (+)-curcutetraol and (+)-sydonol, phenolic bisabolane-type sesquiterpenoids having chiral tertiary alcohol moiety in the o-position of a phenol, were achieved in high enantiomeric excesses (99% ee). The chiral tertiary benzylic alcohol moiety of these compounds was constructed by an asymmetric synthesis using an easily available chiral aminal, (−)-(2R,5S)-2-methoxycarbonyl-3-phenyl-1,3-diazabicyclo[3.3.0]octane. The absolute configurations of both (+)-curcutetraol and (+)-sydonol have been assumed to be S-configuration based on the stereochemical course of the well established asymmetric synthesis used in the syntheses.     

The first total synthesis and structural determination of (+)-BE-52440A

The first total synthesis and structural determination of (+)-BE-52440A have been achieved by enantiodivergent synthesis. S-Bridging dimerization including S_N2 epoxy-opening reaction of tetrasubstituted epoxide 2 with sodium sulfide has been achieved in excellent yield with high regioselectivity. The structure of (+)-BE-52440A was determined to be the dimer of kalafungin type pyranonaphthoquinone.     

Synthesis of (+)-agelasine C. A structural revision

An efficient synthesis of (+)-agelasine C has been achieved from ent-halimic acid. The structure and absolute configuration of the natural product (−)-agelasine C was established and a structure for epi-agelasine C, is proposed.     

A novel concise total synthesis of (+)-lentiginosine

A total synthesis of (+)-lentiginosine was achieved by using ethyl 3-(pyridin-2-yl)acrylate N-oxide as the starting material and an improved Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation as the key step.     

First asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-curcutetraol

The first asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-curcutetraol, a marine phenolic bisabolane-type sesquiterpene, was achieved in eight steps in ca. 50% overall yield. The chiral tertiary benzylic alcohol moiety in the o-position of a phenol was constructed in high optical yield (99% ee) by an asymmetric synthesis using a chiral aminal, (2R,5S)-2-methoxycarbonyl-3-phenyl-1,3-diazabicyclo[3.3.0]octane.     

Asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-gabosine C and (+)-4-epi-gabosine J using acetate migration and RCM reaction

A concise, unified and stereoselective total synthesis of (+)-gabosine C and (+)-4-epi-gabosine J from a common polyhydroxylated cyclohexenol intermediate which was synthesized from readily available D-ribose has been described. The synthetic avenue includes stereoselective Grignard reaction, silyl ether deprotection followed by acetate migration, RCM reaction, oxidative diol cleavage, hydroxymethylation and oxidative rearrangement as key steps.     

The first enantiospecific total synthesis of a C-quaternary voachalotine alkaloid, (+)-dehydrovoachalotine

The first enantiospecific total synthesis of the indole alkaloid (+)-dehydrovoachalotine (1) has been achieved from d-(+)-tryptophan methyl ester in 28% overall yield. The formation of the prochiral quaternary carbon center at C-16 in the key intermediate (12) was realized via a Tollens reaction from N_a-methylvellosimine (13) in 95% yield. This approach could also be applied to the synthesis of many other indole alkaloids that contain a quaternary carbon center at C(16).     

Total synthesis of (±) maculalactone A, maculalactone B and maculalactone C and the determination of the absolute configuration of natural (+) maculalactone A by asymmetric synthesis

Maculalactones A, B and C from the marine cyanobacterium Kyrtuthrix maculans are amongst the only compounds based on the tribenzylbutyrolactone skeleton known in nature and (+) maculalactone A from the natural source possesses significant biological activity against various marine herbivores and marine settlers. We now report a concise synthesis of racemic maculalactone A in five steps from inexpensive starting materials. Maculalactones B and C were synthesized by a minor modification to this procedure, and the synthetic design also permitted an asymmetric synthesis of maculalactone A to be achieved in around 85% ee. The (+) and (−) enantiomers of maculalactone A were assigned, respectively, to the S and R configurations on the basis of the chiral selectivity expected for catecholborane reduction of an unsymmetrical ketone in the presence of Corey's oxazoborolidine catalyst. Surprisingly, it appeared that natural (+) maculalactone A was biosynthesized in K. maculans in a partially racemic form, comprising ca. 90-95% of the (S) enantiomer and 5-10% of its (R) enantiomer. Coincidentally therefore, the percentage enantiomeric excess of the product obtained from asymmetric synthesis almost exactly matched that found in nature.     

Asymmetric Total Synthesis of (+)‐Ryanodol and (+)‐Ryanodine

(+)‐Ryanodine ( 1 ) is the ester derivative of 1H‐pyrrole‐2‐carboxylic acid and the complex terpenoid (+)‐ryanodol ( 2 ), which possesses eleven contiguous stereogenic centers on the ABCDE‐ring system. Compound 1 is known to be a potent modulator of intracellular calcium release channels, whereas the activity of 2 is significantly weaker. To chemically construct 1 , the multiple oxygen functional groups must be installed on the fused pentacycle in stereoselective fashions and the extremely hindered C3‐hydroxy group must be acylated in a site‐selective manner. First, the total synthesis of 2 was accomplished by introducing the five stereocenters from the previously prepared enantiopure ABDE‐ring 7 . Stereoselective construction of the C3‐secondary, C2‐ and C6‐tertiary alcohols was achieved by three nucleophilic reactions. The C9‐ and C10‐trisubstituted carbon centers were regio‐ and stereoselectively introduced by hydroboration/oxidation of the six‐membered C‐ring, which was formed by the ring‐closing metathesis reaction. Direct esterification of the C3‐alcohol with pyrrole‐2‐carboxylic acid proved unsuccessful; therefore, we developed a new, two‐step protocol for attachment of the pyrrole moiety. The C3‐hydroxy group was first converted into the less sterically cumbersome glycine ester, which was then transformed into the pyrrole ring through condensation with 1,3‐bis(dimethylamino)allylium tetrafluoroborate. This procedure resulted in the first total synthesis of 1 .     

Total synthesis of (+)-epiepoformin and (−)-phyllostine

An efficient asymmetric total synthesis of naturally occurring cyclohexeneoxides, (+)-epiepoformin and (−)-phyllostine has been achieved using the chiral building block available from the base-catalyzed Diels-Alder reaction of 3-hydroxy-2-pyrone. Since (−)-theobroxide was derived from the same precursor of (+)-epiepoformin, the formal total synthesis of (−)-theobroxide has also been achieved.     

Enantiodivergent synthesis of cytotoxic styryl lactones from d-xylose. The first total synthesis of (+)- and (−)-crassalactone C

Enantiodivergent total syntheses of both (+)- and (−)-enantiomers of goniofufurone, 7-epi-goniofufurone and crassalactone C have been accomplished starting from d-xylose. The key steps of the synthesis of 7-epi-(+)-goniofufurone were a stereo-selective addition of phenyl magnesium bromide to a protected dialdose, and a stereospecific furano-lactone ring formation by reaction of a related hemiacetal derivative with Meldrum's acid. Synthesis of both (+)-goniofufurone and (+)-crassalactone C required a configurational inversion at C-5 in the common intermediate that was efficiently achieved under the standard Mitsunobu conditions, or alternatively through a sequential oxidation of the benzylic hydroxyl group followed by a stereo-selective reduction with borohydride. A similar approach was then applied to the synthesis of the unnatural (−)-enantiomers of goniofufurone, 7-epi-goniofufurone and crassalactone C, as well as two novel, conformationally constrained analogues of both (+)- and (−)-goniofufurone. Their in vitro antiproliferative activities against a number of human tumour cell lines were recorded and compared with those observed for the parent natural products.     

A practical total synthesis of (+)-isogalbulin and (+)-galbulin

A practical total synthesis of the natural products (+)-isogalbulin and (+)-galbulin has been achieved in 10 steps from readily available 3-(3,4-dimethoxyphenyl)propanoic acid. The total yields were 12.3% and 12.9%, respectively. The key steps involved Evans asymmetric alkylation, Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation, and a highly regioselective opening of 1-benzyloxy-2,3-epoxides with an organoaluminum ate-complex formed by Me₃Al and n-BuLi.     

First total synthesis of (+)-viroallosecurinine

The first diastereoselective chiral synthesis of (+)-viroallosecurinine, isolated from Securinega virosa as a cytotoxic alkaloid, was achieved by using a chelation-controlled addition of an alkyne moiety to the corresponding ketone, and a ring-closing metathesis, as key reactions.     

Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Oxazolomycins B and C

Efforts towards the first total synthesis of (−)-oxazolomycin B and (+)-oxazolomycin C from the intermediate of our previous synthesis of (+)-neoxazolomycin are reported. The syntheses were achieved in a longest linear sequence of 25 steps from the amino acid serine in 3.6 and 2.7 % overall yields, respectively. The efficiency of our approach is derived from silyl triflate-mediated reductive oxazolidine ring-opening and Fürstner's Ru-catalyzed hydrosilylation and protodesilylation reactions. The obtained spectra and optical rotations were in good agreement with those of natural products, thus confirming the structures.     

Total Synthesis of (+)‐Pleuromutilin

The first enantiospecific total synthesis of the antibacterial natural product (+)‐pleuromutilin has been achieved. The approach includes the synthesis of a non‐racemic cyclisation substrate from (+)‐trans‐dihydrocarvone, a highly selective SmI₂‐mediated cyclisation cascade, an electron transfer reduction of a hindered ester, and the first efficient conversion of (+)‐mutilin to the target.