Recent Progress in the Synthetic Applications of Substituted Furans and Pyrroles

In this lecture, I would like to present efficient synthetic routes towards the total synthesis of syringolide 1 (2)^1,2 and secosyrin 1 (3),¹ employing 2,4-disubstituted furan 1 as a common precursor. A modified total synthesis of prehispanolone (6)³ from (S)-(+)-Wieland-Miescher ketone (4) via hispanolone (5) will also be discussed. Our methodology for the synthesis of 3,4-disubstituted-lH-pyrroles⁴ and for the generation of 3,4-didehydrothiophene⁵ has also guided us to the successful identification of 1-tert-butoxycarbonyl-3,4-didehydro-1H-pyrrole (7),which is presumably the most strained heterocyclic cumulene ever recorded.     

First Total Synthesis of (±)-Ponganone Ⅲ

In recent years, the synthesis and pharmacology of pyranoflavanoids have been extensively investigated due to their wide range of pharmacological properties^[1-3]. Ponganone Ⅲ^[4],a new natural pyranoflavanone isolated from the Pongamia pinnala, was identified as (2S)-3',4'-dimethoxy-6',6"-dimethylpyrano-[2",3":7,8]-flavanone (2) on the basis of spectra data. Its precursor,3,4-dimethoxy-2'-hydroxy-6",6"-dimethylchromeno-[2",3":4',3']-chalcone (1) is also a new natural product^[5] isolated from the roots of Lonchocarpus subglaucescent. Their total synthesis have not been reported. Herein, we wish to report the first total synthesis of compounds 1 and 2 in order to confirm the proposed structure and further more to evaluate its biological activities.     

Facile Total Synthesis of Three Natural 1,7-Diaryl-4-hepten-3-ones

Linear 1,7-diarylheptanoids (Ar¹-C₇-Ar²) are a large group of interesting natural products isolated from plants belonging to Alinia,Curcuma, Zingiber, Alnua,Centridobium and Acer genera used as traditional medicines in some oriental countries¹. Pharmacological experiments exhibited that some of them had many physiological actions such as anti-inflammatory, antifungicial, antioxidative,antihepatotoxic activities and so on². Three natural compounds 1³, 2⁴ and 3⁵ (gingerone C) having 1,7-diaryl-4-hepten-3-one skeleton were isolated from the rhizomes of Alpinia offocinarum, the wood of Alnus japonica and the rhizomes of Zingiber officinale respectively. Their structures were elucidated as 1,7-diphenylhept-4-en-3-one(1), 1,7-bis(4-hydroxyphenyl)hept-4-en-3-one(2) and 1-(3-hydroxyl-4-methoxyphenyl)-7-(4-hydroxyphenyl)hept-4-en-3-one(3) by spectral method. Herein, we wish to report facile total synthesis of these three natural compounds. Their synthetic routes were shouwn in scheme.     

First Total Synthesis of (-)-4-O-(6'-Hydroxy-7'(9')-Dehydro-6',7,-Dihydrogeranyl)-Coniferyl Alcohol

Some Ligularia species have long used as folk remedies due to their antibiotic, antiphlogistic and antitumor activities.¹ Compound 1,² a novel coniferyl alcohol, was isolated from ligularia duciformis(Compoitae). The geometrical structure of 1,determined by spectroscopic techniques, was corresponded to 4-o-(6,-hydroxy-7'(9')-dehydro-6',7'-dihydrogeranyl)-coniferyl alcohol. But its absolute configuration at C-₆,has not yet been determined. Herein, we report the total synthesis of (6'S)-(-)-1 from Geraniol 2 through 9 steps (Scheme 1).     

Synthesis,Chemistry and Applications of Heterocyclic Cage Compounds (V)

The synthesis and chemistry of polycyclic cage compounds have attracted considerable attention in recent years.¹ The vast majority of the work reported in this area has dealt with caybocyclic cage compounds. On the other hand, the synthesis and chemistry of heterocyclic cage compounds have received less attention. Recently, we have accomplished the synthesis of a series of oxa-cage compounds and performed the chemical transformations of these oxa-cage compounds.² As part of a program that involves the synthesis,chemistry and applications of heterocyclic cage compounds we report here the synthesis of heterocyclic cage compounds 1-12. We also wish to report the applications of compounds 7-12 on the π-facial selectivities. Studies on the cation-binding properties of compounds 1 and 2 and other oxa-cages are undertaken.     

Total Synthesis of (-)-α-Pinguisene

In previous work from our laboratory, we demonstrated that α-carbonyl radical cyclization reactions can serve efficiently as key steps in total synthesis of natural products.1 In this presentation,we report the total synthesis of (-)-α-pinguisene from enone 1 via α-carbonyl radical cyclization.     

A Novel Cyclization of Squalene Initiated by Radical Cation

Squalene 1 is recognized as the precursor of sterols and polycyclic triterpenoids that play important roles in numerous life processes¹. In view of the fact that the cyclization of hexa-1, 5-diene by γ-irradiation² and some isoprenoid polyenes by photochemical method³ through radical cation intermediates have been reported and that tris (p-bromophenyl)ammoniumyl hexachloroantimonate (TBPA⁺SbCl₆, 2) could oxidize olfines to the corresponding radical cations that underwent pericyclic reactions⁴, we thought it might be worthwhile to try the biomimetic cyclization of squalene initiated by radical cations. Previously we⁵ have reported the cyclization of geraniol and nerol to cis-p-mentha-2,8-dien-l-ol by reaction with 2. Herein, we report the cyclization of 1 initiated by 2 in dry dichloromethane to give 20-R-protosta-5,24-diene 3a and 20-S-protosta-5,24-diene 3b in the ratio of 1:1 with the total yield of 20%(Scheme 1).     

Synthesis of 6-aryl-3-cinchophenyl-1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazoles

In recent years, fused heterocycles have been found to possess many unique properties in synthesis and pharmacology. Especially, 1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazoles derivatives have been attracting much attention of chemists and pharmacologists because of their broad-spectrum biological activities such as antibacterial¹, hypotensive and CNS depressant² activities. We have prepared some 3,6-substituted 1,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-1,3,4-thiadiazoles and found that these compounds exhibited antimacrobial, insecticidal and promote plant growth.^3-5 Cinchophen had been used widely as medicine in clinic,but has been obsolete in recent years due to its by-effect. In order to seek for other uses of cinchophen, as a continuation of our preceeding studies, we used cinchophen as the starting material to synthesize ten new 6-aryl-3-cinchophenyl-l,2,4-triazolo[3,4-b]-l,3,4-thiadiazoles 5a-j. Compound 1 was prepared by the reaction of cinchophen and ethanol in the presence of sulfuric acid. 1 then reacted with hydrazine hydrate in absolute ethanol to give 2 which yielded 3 on treatment with CS₂ and KOH. On refluxing of 3 with excess hydrazine hydrate, 4 was obtained. 4 reacted with various substituted benzoic acids in the presence of POCl₃ to afifort 5a-j.     

AN EFFICIENT SYNTHESIS OF ALIPHATIC α-ORGANOTHIO ALDOXIME

The importance of the aliphatic α-organothio aldoxime compound 3 in the preparation of various pesticides is well established. Molecules comprising the α-organothio oxime moiety have been reported to exhibit insecticidal,nematocidal,miticidal activities.^[1-2] In the synthesis of the compound 3,the chlorination of the corresponding aliphatic aldoxime 1 is the key step.In conventional methods, the aliphatic aldoxime 1 is chlorinated by chlorine,then the resulting hydroxime acid chloride 2 is treated with sodium alkyl mercaptide to obtain the desired compounds 3^[3]. Although free Cl₂ is the most common chlorinating agent,it is laborious to determine the accurate amount that has been absorbed,and the high reactivity of Cl₂ always leads to side reactions. In connection with an our ongoing research project, we require an efficient and simple method for the synthesis of the compound 3.An improved synthesis process according to the following scheme is reported in this paper.     

Unexpected Products from the Reaction of Naphthols with Cholesterol Catalysed by Montmorillonite K 10

Under catalysis of montmorillonites, arenes could be cholesterylated by cholesterol (1) via a Friedel-Crafts alkylation.¹ When phenols were employed as substrates for that reaction, aryl cholesteryl ethers were obtained instead of aryl cholestenes.² However, β-naphthol (2a) and α-naphthol (2b) gave obviously different products. We report here the identification of these unexpected products from the reaction of 2 with 1 catalysed by montmorillonite K 10.     

Trimethylaluminium Mediated Rearrangement-addition Reaction of Trisubstituted Gibberellin Epoxides

The gibberellins (GAs) are a group of naturally-occurring tetracyclic diterpenoid plant growth hormones which are essential to the normal growth and development of plants. Over one hundred different GAs have been identified to date and most of these compounds are present in Nature only in minute quantities. Among the biosynthetic pathways of the gibberellins, the oxidation and subsequent removal of carbon-20 in C₂₀-GAS (e.g. 1 and 2) to form C₁₉-GAs (e.g. 3 and 4) is one of the most important process in which GA 20-oxidases are involved¹ (Scheme 1). During the course of our investigation into this process, we needed to have access to C₂₀-GAS such as (2) from a more abundant C₁₉-GA such as GA₃ (5). A successful route for such transformation may then be adapted for the synthesis of isotopically-labelled C₂₀-GAS for biological studies.     

Synthesis ofα-D-GlcpNAc-（1→2）-[α-D-ManpNAc-（1→3）-]α-L-Rhap-（1→2）-α-L-Rhap-（1→3）-α-L-Rhap,the repeating unit of O10 antigen from Acinetobacter baumannii

An efficient synthesis ofα-D-GlcpNAc-（1→2）-[α-D-ManpNAc-（1→3）-]α-L-Rhap-（1→2）-α-L-Rhap-（1→3）-α-L-Rhap（1）, the repeating unit of the O10 antigen from Acinetobacter baumannii was achieved via sequential assembly of the building blocks,p- methoxylphenyl 2,4-di-O-benzoyl-α-L-rhamnopyranoside（2）;2-O-allyloxycarbonyl-3,4-di-O-bcnzoyl-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl tri- chloroacetimidate（3）;4-methoxylphenyl 3-O-allyloxycarbonyl-4-O-benzoyl-α-L-rhanmopyranoside（4）;2-azido-3-O-benzoyl-2- deoxy-4,6-O-isopropylidene-α-D-mannopyranosyl trichloroacetirnidatc（5）;2-azido-3,4,6-tri-O-benzoyl-2-deoxy-α,β-D-glucopyr- ano syl trichloroacetimidatc（6）.The total yield of 1 from 4 was 4.7%.     

Facile Synthesis of (±)-2,6-Dimethethyl-6-hydroxy-2,7-octadienoic Acid and its Methyl Ester and Amide (Acacialactam)

The monoterpenoid acid 1, which is a component of some traditional medicine such as Gymnocladus chinensis baillon in glycoside form,¹ was recently isolated from Artemisia sieberi in Iran in free form.². Its structure has been established to be (E)-2,6-dimethyl-6-hydroxy-2,7-octadienoic acid (1) by chemical and spectroscopic analysis. Its methyl ester derivative 2,was isolated from the antibacterial extracts of the leaves of Piper aduncum³ as well. Acacialactam, a natural product isolated from the seeds of Acacia concinna DC.(Legunninosae) used in folk medicine of several tropical countries for treating some skin diseases, was assigned structure 4 by Sekine et al⁴ on the basis of its physical and spectral properties.     

The Total Synthesis of (±)-13-Hydroxyneocembrene

(13S)-hydroxyneocembrene(18), a cembranoid which was isolated in 1988 from soft coral Sarcophyton trocheliophorum¹, has been shown to be an effective inductor of the release of labeled glucose from the lecithincholesterol liposomes and have cytostatic activities². The geometrical structure and absolute configuration of 18 have been defined to be 1S, 2E, 7E, 11E, 13S. Herein, we report the total synthesis of (±)-13hydroxyneocembrene(18).     

Novel Enone-benzene Rearrangement of 4,4-Dialkylcholest-5-en-3-ones to Ring-B Aromatic Steroidal Hydrocarbons Catalysed by p-Toluenesulfonic acid

Under acidic conditions, α,α-dimethyl-β,γ-unsaturated cyclohexanones undergoes an enone-benzene rearrangement leading to aromatic derivatives^1-4. We recently run an enone-benzene rearrangement of 4,4-dimethyl-cholest-5-en-3-one (1a) catalysed by montmorillonite K-10 to give 1,3,4-trimethyl-19-norcholesta-1,3,5(10)-triene (2a) in moderate yield accompanying intractable mixture of hydrocarbons as by products⁵. Repetition of this reaction by employing TsOH as a catalyst, 2a was obtained in 65% yield and a new product, 6-methyl-3-isopropyl-A,19-dinorcholesta-6,8,10(5)-triene (3a), was also isolated in 25% yield. The formation of 3a has not been reported in earlier studies^1-5. Herein we report the novel enone-benzene rearrangement of 4,4-dialkylcholest-5-en-3-ones (1a~d) leading to ring-B aromatic steroidal hydrocarbons (3a~d) catalysed by TsOH (Scheme 1).     

Study on the α-Thiocarbonylthioformamide Ⅰ-Comparison with α-carbonylthioformamide

α-Carbonylthioformamide 1 and α-thiocarbonylthioformamide 1 were synthesized by Adiwidjaja in 1980¹. However, there is no report of these compounds related their properties and reaction activities². Compound 1 has two possible sites for nucleophilic attack. In our previous works., it was used to synthesize a lot of heterocyclic compounds (Scheme l)^3-6.     

Synthesis of Allobetulin, 28-Oxyallobetulin and Related Biomarkers from Betulin and Betulinic Acid Catalysed by Solid Acids

Betulin (1a) is an abundant natural product in the birch bark. Betulin itself currently has little usage. However, allobetulin (2a) has been used as an important intermediate in the further transformation of triterpenoids and as a sample for biological studies.¹ For example, allobetulin was further transformed to a highly active antifeedant for heliothis zea larvae. Some biomarkers (3a,b; 4a,b) with the same or similar structure as ring-E of 2a were identified in a brown coal.³ Consequently, the conversion of 1a to synthetically, biologically and geochemically more important 2a is of great significance. The transformation of 1a to 2a was reported as early as 1922 by Schulze et al in which betulin was isomerized by formic acid, involving formation and hydrolysis of allobetulin formate, to give 2a in moderate yield.⁴     

Anionic Cyclization Approach to Hexahydrobenzo[b] furan-3-one and Hexahydro-1H-3-indolone:Application to Total Syntheses of Natural Products

Hexahydrobenzo[b]furan-3-one(3) and hexahydro-1H-3-indolone (4) are potentially useful intermediates for total synthesis of natural products, such as the hexahydrobenzofuran unit (5) of avermectins and pancracine (6). Anionic cyclization approach toward (3) and (4) have been developed. Their application to the total synthesis of (5) and (6) will be presented.     

The First Efficient Approach from α-(-)-Santonin to Dihydroagarofuran Sesquiterpene

The naturally occurring dihydroagarofuran compounds have been demonstrated to show some important bioactive activities, such as insect antifeedant, antitumor activities.¹ Synthetic research of this kind of compounds have been attracting the increasing interest of organic chemists. Because a total synthesis of polyol skeleton involved too many steps,² our synthetic efforts are focusing on search for a short and efficient approach and thus, we begin with readily available α-(-)-santonin(1). The creative key steps include generation of C₅-OH, the stereochemical reversion at C-7 and the cyclization of tetrahydrofuran. A successful approach is shown in the following scheme.     

A new series of nematic and smectic liquid crystals with negative dielectric anisotropy: the effect of terminal chain substitution on thermal and electro-optical properties

Two alkyl (1b and 1c) and four fluoroalkyl derivatives (1d-1f) of 4-arylbutyric acid (1c, 1d and 1e) and 4-arylbutanol (1b, 1f and 1g) [aryl = 2',3'-difluoro-4'-(2-(E-4-pentylcyclohexyl)ethyl)-biphenyl-1-yl] were prepared and investigated in the pure form as nematic materials (1b and 1c) and as additives to a ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) host (1d-1f). A comparison of 1b and 1c with the decyl analogue 1a demonstrates the effect of terminal chain modification on thermal and electro-optical properties. The substitution of the -CH₂O- (1b) or -COO- (1c) for -CH₂CH₂- in 1a destabilized the N and SmA phases or completely eliminated the smectic behaviour (1c). Dielectric analysis revealed that the chain modification increased the negative Δε, reduced elastic constant K ₁₁ and moderately decreased rotational viscosity γ₁. The temperature dependence of the key electro-optical parameters was analysed for ester 2, the methyl analogue of 1c, which exhibits a 45 K wide N phase. All four fluoroalkyl derivatives 1d-1f showed enantiotropic SmA phases and 1e also exhibited a monotropic SmC phase. Solutions of 1d-1f in a FLC host (0.2 mmol g^-1) increased the tilt angle Θ (up to 45° for 1g), reduced rotational viscosity γ₁ and the risetime τ. The most dramatic changes were observed for 1g, which contains 15 fluorine atoms.