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.     

Latrunculin analogues with improved biological profiles by "diverted total synthesis": preparation, evaluation, and computational analysis

Deliberate digression from the blueprint of the total syntheses of latrunculin A (1) and latrunculin B (2) reported in the accompanying paper allowed for the preparation of a focused library of "latrunculin-like" compounds, in which all characteristic structural elements of these macrolides were subject to pertinent molecular editing. Although all previously reported derivatives of 1 and 2 were essentially devoid of any actin-binding capacity, the synthetic compounds presented herein remain fully functional. One of the designer molecules with a relaxed macrocyclic backbone, that is compound 44, even surpasses latrunculin B in its effect on actin while being much easier to prepare. This favorable result highlights the power of "diverted total synthesis" as compared to the much more widely practiced chemical modification of a given lead compound by conventional functional group interconversion. A computational study was carried out to rationalize the observed effects. The analysis of the structure of the binding site occupied by the individual ligands on the G-actin host shows that latrunculin A and 44 both have similar hydrogen-bond network strengths and present similar ligand distortion. In contrast, the H-bond network is weaker for latrunculin B and the distortion of the ligand from its optimum geometry is larger. From this, one may expect that the binding ability follows the order 1 >/= 44 > 2, which is in accord with the experimental data. Furthermore, the biological results provide detailed insights into structure/activity relationships characteristic for the latrunculin family. Thus, it is demonstrated that the highly conserved thiazolidinone ring of the natural products can be replaced by an oxazolidinone moiety, and that inversion of the configuration at C16 (latrunculin B numbering) is also well accommodated. From a purely chemical perspective, this study attests to the maturity of ring-closing alkyne metathesis (RCAM) catalyzed by a molybdenum alkylidyne complex generated in situ, which constitutes a valuable tool for advanced organic synthesis and natural product chemistry.     

A short and concise asymmetric synthesis of hamigeran B

The interesting biological properties of the hamigerans wherein hamigeran B is a potent antiviral agent with low cytotoxicity to host cells make these deceptively simple looking structures challenging synthetic targets. A strategy to hamigeran B evolved wherein the three contiguous stereocenters are established ultimately from a Pd catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation (AAA). The latter involves an asymmetric allylation of a non-stabilized ketone enolate in 77 % yield and 93 % ee. By using this process, (S)-5-allyl-2-isopropyl-5-methyl-1-trifluoromethanesulfonyloxycyclopentene becomes available in four steps from 2-methylcyclopentanone. Introduction of the aryl unit by cross-coupling proceeded intermolecularly but failed intramolecularly. On the other hand, reductive removal of the triflate permitted a Heck reaction to effect intramolecular introduction of the aryl ring. The unusual conformational properties of this molecular architecture are revealed by the regioselectivity of the beta-hydrogen elimination in the Heck reaction and the diastereoselectivity of the reduction establishing the stereochemistry of the carbon bearing the isopropyl group. The successful route consists of 15 steps from 2-methylcyclopentanone and dimethylorcinol illustrating the efficiency of the route based upon the Pd AAA.     

Studies towards simalikalactone D and quassimarin: construction of an advanced pentacyclic intermediate

An advanced pentacyclic intermediate, amenable to further elaboration into the target molecules simalikalactone D and quassimarin, has been synthesized from (S)-(+)-carvone in 21 steps and with an overall yield of 12 %. The synthesis is efficient, stereocontrolled, enantiospecific, and chirality productive, creating eight new chiral centres in pentacycle, and should provide opportunities for rapid access to simalikalactone D analogues and other bioactive quassinoids. The reaction sequence involves a regioselective bishydroxylmethylation, a stereocontrolled epoxidation, an epoxymethano-bridge formation, a 1,3-sigmatropic rearrangement and an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction as the key steps.     

A chemoenzymatic and enantioselective total synthesis of the resorcylic acid lactone L-783,290, the trans-isomer of L-783,277

The structure, 5, assigned to the resorcylic acid lactone L-783,290 has been prepared for the first time and in a modular fashion using a Heck reaction to link the readily available fragments 8 and 14. Chemoenzymatic methods were used to prepare the latter fragment, in enantiopure form, from chlorobenzene.     

Palladium-catalyzed couplings to nucleophilic heteroarenes: the total synthesis of (−)-frondosin B

The total synthesis of (−)-frondosin B, the enantiomer of naturally-occuring (+)-frondosin B, is described, wherein a palladium-catalyzed cyclization is used to establish the tetracyclic ring system of the natural product.     

Total syntheses of the actin-binding macrolides latrunculin A, B, C, M, S and 16-epi-latrunculin B

The latrunculins are highly selective actin-binding marine natural products and as such play an important role as probe molecules for chemical biology. A short, concise and largely catalysis-based approach to this family of bioactive macrolides is presented. Specifically, the macrocyclic skeletons of the targets were forged by ring-closing alkyne metathesis (RCAM) or enyne-yne metathesis of suitable diyne or enyne-yne precursors, respectively. This transformation was best achieved with the aid of [(tBu)(Me(2)C(6)H(3))N](3)Mo (37) as precatalyst activated in situ with CH(2)Cl(2), as previously described. This catalyst system is strictly chemoselective for the triple bond and does not affect the olefinic sites of the substrates. Moreover, the molybdenum-based catalyst turned out to be broader in scope than the Schrock alkylidyne complex [(tBuO)(3)W[triple chemical bond]CCMe(3)] (38), which afforded cycloalkyne 35 in good yield but failed in closely related cases. The required metathesis precursors were assembled in a highly convergent fashion from three building blocks derived from acetoacetate, cysteine, and (+)-citronellene. The key fragment coupling can either be performed via a titanium aldol reaction or, preferentially, by a sequence involving a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination followed by a protonation/cyclization/diastereoselective hydration cascade. Iron-catalyzed C--C-bond formations were used to prepare the basic building blocks in an efficient manner. This synthesis blueprint gave access to latrunculin B (2), its naturally occurring 16-epimer 3, as well as the even more potent actin binder latrunculin A (1) in excellent overall yields. Because of the sensitivity of the 1,3-diene motif of the latter, however, the judicious choice of protecting groups and the proper phasing of their cleavage was decisive for the success of the total synthesis. Since latrunculin A and B had previously been converted into latrunculin S, C and M, respectively, formal total syntheses of these congeners have also been achieved. Finally, a previously unknown acid-catalyzed degradation pathway of these bioactive natural products is described. The cysteine-derived ketone 18, the tetrahydropyranyl segment 31 serving as the common synthesis platform for the preparation of all naturally occurring latrunculins, as well as the somewhat strained cycloalkyne 35 formed by the RCAM reaction en route to 2 were characterized by X-ray crystallography.     

Molecular editing and assessment of the cytotoxic properties of iejimalide and progeny

Systematic variation of all substructures embedded into the framework of iejimalide B (2) led to a panel of synthetic analogues of this polyunsaturated macrolide, featuring structural modifications that are not accessible by derivatization of the natural lead compound itself. The assessment of the cytotoxicity of these compounds with the aid of a monolayer proliferation assay (12 human tumor cell lines in vitro) as well as a colony formation assay (24 human tumor xenografts ex vivo) revealed the exceptional potency of 2 and several of its synthetic congeners, with IC(50) values in the picomolar range for the most sensitive cell lines. Whereas structural modifications of the macrocycle or of the side chain generally lead to a decrease in activity, changes of the peptidic terminus are not only well accommodated but engender increased tumor selectivity as well. 2 and two of the most promising analogues were selected for in vivo studies in mice, in which their activity against human tumor xenografts of breast cancer (MAXF 401) and prostate cancer (PRXF PC-3M) was tested. In contrast to a previous report in the literature however, which had claimed in vivo activity for the parent iejimalides, these tests did not show a significant therapeutic effect against the chosen solid tumors upon intraperitoneal administration.     

Palladium‐Catalyzed Decarbonylative Dehydration for the Synthesis of α‐Vinyl Carbonyl Compounds and Total Synthesis of (−)‐Aspewentins A,B, and C

The direct α‐vinylation of carbonyl compounds to form a quaternary stereocenter is a challenging transformation. It was discovered that δ‐oxocarboxylic acids can serve as masked vinyl compounds and be unveiled by palladium‐catalyzed decarbonylative dehydration. The carboxylic acids are readily available through enantioselective acrylate addition or asymmetric allylic alkylation. A variety of α‐vinyl quaternary carbonyl compounds are obtained in good yields, and an application in the first enantioselective total synthesis of (?)‐aspewentins A, B, and C is demonstrated.     

Total Synthesis of the Antimitotic Marine Macrolide (−)‐Leiodermatolide

Leiodermatolide is an antimitotic macrolide isolated from the marine sponge Leiodermatium sp. whose potentially novel tubulin‐targeting mechanism of action makes it an exciting lead for anticancer drug discovery. In pursuit of a sustainable supply, we report a highly stereocontrolled total synthesis (3.2 % yield) based on a convergent sequence of palladium‐mediated fragment assembly and macrolactonization. Boron‐mediated aldol reactions were used to configure the three key fragments 2 , 5 , and 6 by employing the appropriate enantiomer of the lactate‐derived ketone 7 .