Synthetic studies towards pentacyclic quassinoids: total synthesis of unnatural (-)-14-epi-samaderine E and natural (-)-samaderine Y from (S)-(+)-carvone

First total syntheses of unnatural (-)-14-epi-samaderine E (5) and natural (-)-samaderine Y (2) were accomplished from (S)-(+)-carvone (6) in 18 and 21 steps, respectively. The syntheses are short, efficient (with an average yield of 80 % plus for each transformation), enantiospecific, and produce nine new chiral centers. The crucial points of the syntheses included a regioselective allylic oxidation on ring C, regio- and stereoselective reduction of ketone, a stereocontrolled epoxidation, an epoxymethano-bridge formation, a chemoselective Grignard reaction, an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction, an intramolecular aldol addition, and a newly developed manganese(III)-catalyzed allylic oxidation on ring A.     

Novel total synthesis of anserinone A and B

Anserinones A and B are natural products that have been shown to have potential anticancer, antifungal, and antibacterial properties. This work entails the novel synthesis of these natural products.     

Total synthesis and biological evaluation of (-)apicularen A and analogues thereof

Apicularen A (1) and related benzolactone acylenamines belong to a growing class of novel natural products possessing highly cytotoxic properties. The challenging structure of 1 includes a 10-membered macrolactone ring, a tetrahydropyran system, an o,m-substituted phenol and a doubly unsaturated acyl group attached on the side chain enamine functionality. The total synthesis of apicularen A described herein involves a strategy equivalent to its proposed biosynthesis and entails a reiterative two-step procedure featuring allylation and ozonolytic cleavage to grow the molecule's chain by one acetate unit at a time. The developed synthetic technology was applied to the construction of a series of apicularen A analogues whose biological evaluation established a set of structure-activity relationships in this new area of potential importance in cancer chemotherapy.     

Scalable total synthesis of (-)-berkelic acid by using a protecting-group-free strategy

Supply chain: the polycyclic core of (-)-berkelic acid (1) was constructed in just one step from very simple starting materials. The total synthesis of 1 involves a seven-step linear sequence. Protection/deprotection steps were avoided and all but the last step were performed on a gram scale. This synthesis could solve the supply problem associated with the exhaustion of the natural source.     

Enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-ottelione A, (-)-ottelione B, (+)-3-epi-ottelione A and preliminary evaluation of their antitumor activity

Enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-ottelione A (1) and (-)-ottelione B (2), novel and potent antitumor agents from a freshwater plant, and (+)-3-epi-ottelione A (3), the earlier proposed stereostructure of 1, was efficiently achieved starting from the known tricyclic compound 10. The synthesis involved the following key steps: i) coupling reactions of aldehydes 8 and 9 with the aromatic portion 7 (8+7-->15 and 9+7-->27), ii) base-induced hemiacetal-opening/epimerization reactions of the cyclic hemiacetals 6 and 27 (6-->17 and 27 a-->26 a), and iii) Corey-Winter's reductive olefination of the cyclic thiocarbonates 21 and 36 (21-->22 and 36-->37). The present total synthesis fully established the absolute configuration of these natural products. The cell growth inhibition profile, COMPARE analysis, and tubulin inhibitory assay of (+)-3-epi-ottelione A (3) and its O-acetyl derivative 24 demonstrated that these unnatural substances could be prominent lead compounds for the development of anticancer agents with a novel mode of action.