Asymmetric Synthesis of the C(33) – C(37) Fragment of Amphotericin B

We have devised an expeditious, efficient, asymmetric synthesis of the C(33) – C(37) fragment of amphotericin B that proceeds in 14 steps and 16% overall yield from tiglic aldehyde ((E)‐2‐methylbut‐2‐enal) with complete stereocontrol. The route described herein relies on the application of recently developed methods in catalytic asymmetric synthesis for stereocontrol through enantio‐ and diastereoselective functionalization of a substituted sorbate derivative.     

A Biomimetic Synthesis of (±)‐Basiliolide B

A highly diastereoselective and practical biomimetic total synthesis of (±)‐basiliolide B has been achieved through the study of the two proposed biosynthetic pathways (O‐methylation and O‐acylation) for the unprecedented 7‐methoxy‐4,5‐dihydro‐3H‐oxepin‐2‐one (C ring). The synthesis featured a cyclopropanation/ring opening strategy for establishing the stereogenic centers at C8 and C9, a biomimetic 2‐pyrone Diels–Alder cycloaddition for the synthesis of the ABD ring system, and finally a highly efficient biomimetic intramolecular O‐acylation for the C ring formation. This result provides an important perspective on the biosynthetic origin of the unprecedented 7‐membered acyl ketene acetal moiety of the C ring.     

Total Synthesis of the Tiacumicin B (Lipiarmycin A3/Fidaxomicin) Aglycone

Tiacumicin B (lipiarmycin A3, fidaxomicin) is an atypical macrolide antibiotic which is used for the treatment of Clostridium difficile infections. Tiacumicin B is also a potent inhibitor of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, but due to its limited oral bioavailability is unsuitable for systemic therapy. To provide a basis for structure–activity studies that might eventually lead to improved variants of tiacumicin B, we have developed an efficient approach to the synthesis of the tiacumicin B aglycone. The synthesis features a high‐yielding intramolecular Suzuki cross‐coupling reaction to effect macrocyclic ring closure. Key steps in the synthesis of the macrocyclization precursor were a highly selective, one‐pot Corey–Peterson olefination and an ene–diene cross‐metathesis reaction. Depending on the reaction conditions, the final deprotection delivered either the fully deprotected tiacumicin B aglycone or partially protected versions thereof.     

Development and validation of RP‐HPLC‐fluorescence method for quantitative determination of quinidine,a probe substrate for P‐glycoprotein inhibition assay using Caco‐2 cell monolayer

A simple, sensitive and specific reverse‐phase high‐performance liquid chromatographic (RP‐HPLC) method with fluorescence detection was developed for quantitation of quinidine from HBSS buffer. The method was applicable in the bi‐directional transport assay for evaluation of the inhibitory effect of test compounds on P‐glycoprotein‐mediated quinidine transport; quinidine was used as a probe P‐glycoprotein substrate. The calibration curve was linear (correlation coefficient ≥99) in the range 0.30–100.00 nm. The method was validated and is specific and sensitive with limit of quantitation of 300 pm for quinidine. The method was found to be accurate and precise in the working calibration range. Stability studies were carried out at different storage conditions where the analyte was found to be stable. The applicability and reliability of the analytical method was evaluated by successful demonstration of efflux ratio (P_appB → A/P_appA → B) in the Caco‐2 cell monolayer efflux assay. The efflux ratio for quinidine (100 nm) alone was 10.8, which reduced to less than 2 in the presence of the classical P‐gp inhibitors verapamil and ketoconazole (100 μm each). Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Synthesis of Glycoborine,Glybomine A and B,the Phytoalexin Carbalexin A and the β‐Adrenoreceptor Antagonists Carazolol and Carvedilol

We describe a regioselective synthesis of 4‐ or 5‐substituted carbazoles by oxidative cyclisation of meta‐oxygen‐substituted N‐phenylanilines. Using the regiodirecting effect of a pivaloyloxy group, we prepared 4‐hydroxycarbazole, a precursor for the enantiospecific synthesis of the β‐adrenoreceptor antagonists (?)‐(S)‐carazolol ( 5 ) and (?)‐(S)‐carvedilol ( 6 ). Regioselective palladium(II)‐catalysed cyclisation of different diarylamines led to total synthesis of glycoborine ( 7 ) and the first total syntheses of the phytoalexin carbalexin A ( 8 ), glybomine A ( 9 ) and glybomine B ( 10 ). For glybomine B ( 10 ), a 5‐hydroxycarbazole was converted into the corresponding triflate and utilized for introduction of a prenyl substituent.     

Total Synthesis of Echinoside A,a Representative Triterpene Glycoside of Sea Cucumbers

Echinoside A, a sulfonylated holostane tetrasaccharide with potent anticancer and antifungal activity, was synthesized in a longest linear sequence of 35 steps and 0.6 % overall yield. The synthetic approach is adaptable to the synthesis of congeners and analogues, as exemplified by the ready synthesis of ds‐echinoside A and echinoside B, and thus will facilitate in‐depth studies on the promising biological effects of echinoside A. Moreover, the present synthesis demonstrates the feasibility of synthetic access to the characteristic complex triterpene glycosides that occur ubiquitously in sea cucumbers.     

Synthesis of Methylene‐Bridged Biscarbazole Alkaloids by using an Ullmann‐type Coupling: First Total Synthesis of Murrastifoline‐C and Murrafoline‐E

We describe the total synthesis of methylene‐bridged biscarbazole alkaloids by using a late‐stage Ullmann‐type coupling of fully functionalised carbazole subunits. The carbazole derivatives were synthesised via a sequence of palladium(0)‐ and palladium(II)‐catalysed coupling reactions. Our approach has provided bismurrayafoline‐A, bismurrayafolinol, chrestifolines B–D, and the first total synthesis of murrastifoline‐C and murrafoline‐E.     

Total Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of (+)‐Gambieric Acid A and Its Analogues

In this study, we report the first total synthesis and complete stereostructure of gambieric acid A, a potent antifungal polycyclic ether metabolite, in detail. The A/B‐ring exocyclic enol ether 32 was prepared through a Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of the B‐ring vinyl iodide 18 and the alkylborate 33 and subsequent closure of the A‐ring by using diastereoselective bromoetherification as the key transformation. Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of 32 with acetate‐derived enol phosphate 49 , followed by ring‐closing metathesis of the derived diene, produced the D‐ring. Subsequent closure of the C‐ring through a mixed thioacetalization completed the synthesis of the A/BCD‐ring fragment 8 . The A/BCD‐ and F′GHIJ‐ring fragments (i.e., 8 and 9 ) were assembled through Suzuki–Miyaura coupling. The C25 stereogenic center was elaborated by exploiting the intrinsic conformational property of the seven‐membered F′‐ring. After the oxidative cleavage of the F′‐ring, the E‐ring was formed as a cyclic mixed thioacetal (i.e., 70 ) and then stereoselectively allylated by using glycosylation chemistry. Ring‐closing metathesis of the diene 3 thus obtained closed the F‐ring and completed the polycyclic ether skeleton. Finally, the J‐ring side chain was introduced by using a Julia–Kocienski olefination in the presence of CeCl₃ to complete the total synthesis of gambieric acid A ( 1 ), thereby unambiguously establishing its complete stereostructure. The present total synthesis enabled us to evaluate the antifungal and antiproliferative activities of 1 and several synthetic analogues.     

One‐Pot Process to Carborano‐Coumarin via Catalytic CascadeDehydrogenative Cross‐Coupling

Ir‐catalyzed cascade dehydrogenative CH/BH and BH/OH cross‐coupling of carboranyl carboxylic acid with readily available benzoic acid has been achieved, leading to the facile synthesis of previously unavailable carborano‐coumarin in a simple one‐pot process. Two cage B—H, one aryl C—H and one O—H bonds are activated to construct efficiently new B—C and B—O bonds. The cascade cyclization can stop at the first B—H/C—H cross‐coupling step by tuning the reaction conditions, resulting in a series of α‐carboranyl benzoic acid and aryl carborane derivatives. Control experiments indicate that B—H/C—H dehydrocoupling proceeds preferentially over B—H/O—H dehydrocoupling, and both directing groups and oxidants are crucial for this reaction. An iridium(V) intermediate is proposed to be involved in the catalytic cycle.     

Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Heronamides A–C: Stereochemical Confirmation and Impact of Long‐Range Stereochemical Communication on the Biological Activity

Heronamides are biosynthetically related metabolites isolated from marine‐derived actinomycetes. Heronamide C shows potent antifungal activity by targeting membrane phospholipids possessing saturated hydrocarbon chains with as‐yet‐unrevealed modes of action. In spite of their curious hypothesized biosynthesis and fascinating biological activities, there have been conflicts in regard to the reported stereochemistries of heronamides. Here, we describe the asymmetric total synthesis of the originally proposed and revised structures of heronamide C, which unambiguously confirmed the chemical structure of this molecule. We also demonstrated nonenzymatic synthesis of heronamides A and B from heronamide C, which not only proved the postulated biosynthesis, but also confirmed the correct structures of heronamides A and B. Investigation of the structure–activity relationship of synthetic and natural heronamides revealed the importance of both long‐range stereochemical communication and the 20‐membered macrolactam ring for the biological activity of these compounds.     

Stereocontrolled Total Synthesis of (+)‐trans‐Dihydronarciclasine

A highly stereoselective and efficient total synthesis of trans‐dihydronarciclasine from a readily available chiral starting material was developed. The synthesis defines two of the five stereogenic centers of the natural product by an amino acid ester–enolate Claisen rearrangement. The other three stereogenic centers are created in a highly stereocontrolled fashion via a six‐ring vinylogous ester intermediate, which is generated from the γ,δ‐unsaturated ester functional group of the Claisen rearrangement product in an efficient three‐step sequence. This concise total synthesis exemplifies the use of a highly regioselective Friedel–Crafts‐type cyclization to form the B ring via an isocyanate intermediate derived from an N‐Boc group, which is superior to the conventional method using an imino triflate intermediate. This same N‐Boc group is employed to give high selectivity in the Claisen rearrangement earlier in the sequence.     

Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (+)‐Plumisclerin A

The first and enantioselective total synthesis of (+)‐plumisclerin A, a novel unique complex cytotoxic marine diterpenoid, has been accomplished. Around the central cyclopentane anchorage, a sequential ring‐formation protocol was adopted to generate the characteristic tricycle[4.3.1.0^1,5]decane and trans‐fused dihyrdopyran moiety. Scalable enantioselective La^III‐catalyzed Michael reaction, palladium(0)‐catalyzed carbonylation and SmI₂‐mediated radical conjugate addition were successfully applied in the synthesis, affording multiple grams of the complex and rigid B/C/D‐ring system having six continuous stereogenic centers and two all‐carbon quaternary centers. The trans‐fused dihyrdopyran moiety with an exo side‐chain was furnished in final stage through sequential redox transformations from a lactone precursor, which overcome the largish steric strain of the dense multiring system. The reported total synthesis also confirms the absolute chemistries of natural (+)‐plumisclerin A.     

Asymmetric Disulfonimide‐Catalyzed Synthesis of δ‐Amino‐β‐Ketoester Derivatives by Vinylogous Mukaiyama–Mannich Reactions

An organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis of δ‐amino‐β‐ketoester derivatives has been developed. A chiral disulfonimide (DSI) serves as a highly efficient precatalyst for a vinylogous Mukaiyama–Mannich reaction of readily available dioxinone‐derived silyloxydienes with N‐Boc‐protected imines, delivering products in excellent yields and enantioselectivities. The synthetic utility of this reaction is illustrated in various transformations, including a new C? C bond‐forming reaction, which provide useful enantioenriched building blocks. The methodology is applied in a formal synthesis of (?)‐lasubin.     

Amphotericin B as a potential probe of the physical state of vesicle membranes

[structure: see text] The investigations described introduce a new role for a natural product such as amphotericin B as a potential biophysical reporter group to probe the physical state of a membrane. Specifically, we demonstrated that the K(+) efflux pattern reveals an interesting sterol dependence. This is suggested to be correlated to the physical state of the membrane showing high efflux in a vesicle membrane of intermediate fluidity.     

Total Syntheses of Crinipellins Enabled by Cobalt‐Mediated and Palladium‐Catalyzed Intramolecular Pauson–Khand Reactions

Efficient total syntheses of the naturally occurring, potent antibiotic compounds (?)‐crinipellin A and (?)‐crinipellin B are described. The key advanced intermediate, a fully functionalized tetraquinane core, was constructed by a novel thiourea/palladium‐catalyzed Pauson–Khand reaction. This intermediate can serve as a common intermediate for the collective total synthesis of other members of the crinipellin family.     

Solid‐phase Total Synthesis of (−)‐Apratoxin A and Its Analogues and Their Biological Evaluation

Two approaches for the solid‐phase total synthesis of apratoxin A and its derivatives were accomplished. In synthetic route A, the peptide was prepared by the sequential coupling of the corresponding amino acids on trityl chloride SynPhase Lanterns. After cleavage from the polymer‐support, macrolactamization of 10 , followed by thiazoline formation, provided apratoxin A. This approach, however, resulted in low yield because the chemoselectivity was not sufficient for the formation of the thiazoline ring though its analogue 33 was obtained. However, in synthetic route B, a cyclization precursor was prepared by solid‐phase peptide synthesis by using amino acids 13 – 15 and 18 . The final macrolactamization was performed in solution to provide apratoxin A in high overall yield. This method was then successfully applied to the synthesis of apratoxin analogues. The cytotoxic activity of the synthetic derivatives was then evaluated. The epimer 34 was as potent as apratoxin A, and O‐methyl tyrosine can be replaced by 7‐azidoheptyl tyrosine without loss of activity. The 1,3‐dipolar cycloaddition of 38 with phenylacetylene was performed in the presence of a copper catalyst without affecting the thiazoline ring.     

Total Synthesis of (±)‐Clavilactones A,B, and Proposed D through Iron‐Catalyzed Carbonylation–Peroxidation of Olefin

Biologically significant clavilactones A, B, and the previously proposed D have been synthesized through iron‐catalyzed carbonylation–peroxidation of a 1,5‐diene. Three steps from aldehydes, alkenes, and tert‐butylhydroperoxide build up α,β‐epoxy‐γ‐butyrolactone skeleton as a key building block for synthesis of clavilactone family and its derivatives. Based on our results, the structure of the proposed clavilactone D is not correct and requires revision.     

Total Synthesis of Ramonanins A–D

The first total synthesis of the ramonanin family of lignan natural products is described. The short synthesis involves a 2,5‐diaryl‐3,4‐dimethylene tetrahydrofuran intermediate, which participates in an unexpectedly facile Diels–Alder dimerization, generating all four natural products. Insights into the reactivity and stereoselectivity of the key dimerization are provided through computational studies employing B3LYP/6‐31G(d) and M06‐2X/6‐31G(d) model chemistries.     

Synthesis of Thiophene‐Based π‐Conjugated Oligomers via Ligand‐Enabled Pd‐Catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura Coupling of Haloterthienyls

A ligand‐enabled Pd‐catalyzed Suzuki–Miyaura coupling of haloterthienyls for the synthesis of various thiophene‐based π‐conjugated oligomers including quinquethiophenes is demonstrated. An indolyl phosphine ligand plays an important role in this transformation. Thiopheneboronic acids were well applied, which might open up a window for the application of thiopheneboronic acids in the synthesis of thiophene‐based π‐conjugated oligomers in materials chemistry.     

Cooperative Lewis Acid/Cp*CoIII Catalyzed C−H Bond Activation for the Synthesis of Isoquinolin‐3‐ones

A facile route toward the synthesis of isoquinolin‐3‐ones through a cooperative B(C₆F₅)₃‐ and Cp*Co^III‐catalyzed C?H bond activation of imines with diazo compounds is presented. The inclusion of a catalytic amount of B(C₆F₅)₃ results in a highly efficient reaction, thus enabling unstable NH imines to serve as substrates.