Total Synthesis of the Hamigerans

The first total synthesis of hamigerans D, G, L, and N–Q has been accomplished. A convergent approach was used to build the basic tricarbocyclic ring system bearing a 5‐6‐6 structure. A sequence of oxidative cleavage, homologation, and ring regeneration provided access to the 5‐7‐6 skeleton of hamigeran G. Based on the biogenetic hypothesis, elegant and highly efficient biomimetic transformations of hamigeran G into hamigerans D, N–Q, and L were achieved.     

Modular Total Synthesis of Rhizopodin: A Highly Potent G‐Actin Dimerizing Macrolide

A highly convergent total synthesis of the potent polyketide macrolide rhizopodin has been achieved in 29 steps by employing a concise strategy that exploits the molecule′s C₂ symmetry. Notable features of this convergent approach include a rapid assembly of the macrocycle through a site‐directed sequential cross‐coupling strategy and the bidirectional attachment of the side chains by means of Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons (HWE) coupling reactions. During the course of this endeavor, scalable routes for synthesis of three main building blocks of similar complexity were developed that allowed for their stereocontrolled construction. This modular route will be amenable to the development of syntheses of other analogues of rhizopodin.     

Stereocontrolled and convergent total synthesis of amphidinolide T3

Stereocontrolled and convergent total synthesis of amphidinolide T3 has been described. A retrosynthetic scheme was constructed that led to the recognition of readily available and enantiomerically related compounds as starting materials for the total synthesis of amphidinolide T3. Thus, the two key building blocks 6 and 7 were defined as subtargets and synthesized in optically active forms. The C1-C12 fragment 6 was derived from commercially available D-glutamic acid or its synthetically equivalent (R)-5-hydroxymethyltetrahydrofuran-2-one 16 as starting material involving highly diastereoselective asymmetric allylation as a key step. The C13-C21 fragment 7 was efficiently synthesized in high yield through the dithiane coupling of the segment 10 and iodide 11, followed by subsequent deprotection and Petasis olefination. Eventually, assembly of the fragment aldehyde 6 and dithiane 7 along with C-C bond formation, a two-step oxidation-reduction sequence, selective macrolactonization, and functional transformation furnished the convergent total and formal synthesis of amphidinolide T3 and T4, and this approach also provides a flexible and practical synthesis of amphidinolide T macrolides.     

Total synthesis of diptoindonesin G via a highly efficient domino cyclodehydration/intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation/regioselective demethylation sequence

A highly efficient total synthesis of diptoindonesin G is described employing a domino dehydrative cyclization/intramolecular Friedel-Crafts acylation/regioselective demethylation reaction of aryloxyketone 7 by the action of BCl(3) wherein the tetracyclic 6H-anthra[1,9-bc]furan-6-one skeleton was constructed via the 3-arylbenzofuran in a one-pot manner. This is the first example of the strategic combination of these three reactions in a cascade fashion. The routes presented here allow for direct access to diptoindonesin G and its analogues.     

Total synthesis of khafrefungin using highly stereoselective vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol reaction

[structure: see text] A convergent total synthesis of khafrefungin was accomplished on the basis of (1) the highly stereoselective TiCl4-mediated vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol reaction using vinylketene silyl N,O-acetal and (2) syn-selective aldol reaction of enal 5a and ethyl ketone 6 followed by anti-dehydration under Mitsunobu conditions.     

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 .     

Total synthesis of eupomatilones 4 and 6: structurally rearranged and atropisomerically fluxional lignan natural products

[structure: see text] A convergent and diastereocontrolled total synthesis of eupomatilones 4 and 6 is reported and was based on a diastereoselective hydroboration/oxidation sequence and a convergent Lipshutz biarylcuprate cross-coupling reaction. The structure of eupomatilone 6 is revised.     

Enantioselective total synthesis of guanacastepene N using an uncommon 7-endo Heck cyclization as a pivotal step

A convergent, enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-guanacastepene N was developed that features a 7-endo Heck cyclization as the key step. In the course of this synthesis, short syntheses of the enantiomerically pure cyclopentenone and cyclohexene building blocks 5 and 6, which constitute A and C ring fragments of guanacastepene N, were developed. These fragments were linked by a challenging conjugate addition reaction that also generated the C11 quaternary carbon stereocenter. Regioselective 7-endo Heck cyclization gave rise to a tricyclic intermediate, which was elaborated to complete the first total synthesis of guanacastepene N and the second enantioselective total synthesis of a guanacastepene natural product.     

Total synthesis of an antitumor antibiotic,Fostriecin (CI-920)

The total synthesis of an antitumor antibiotic, fostriecin (CI-920), via a highly convergent route is described. A characteristic feature of the present total synthesis is that the synthesis was achieved via a coupling procedure of three segments A, B, and C. The unsaturated lactone moiety of fostriecin, corresponding to segment A, was constructed from a known Horner-Emmons reagent, and the stereochemistry of the C-5 position was introduced by asymmetric reduction with (R)-BINAl-H. Segment B having a series of stereogenic centers was synthesized from (R)-malic acid and the stereogenic centers at the C-8 and C-9 positions were prepared by a combination of Wittig reaction and Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation reaction. The conjugated Z,Z,E-triene moiety of fostriecin, corresponding to segment C, was eventually constructed by Wittig reaction and Stille coupling reaction. The phosphate moiety, which is known to be essentially important for the antitumor activity, was introduced via two routes: (i) direct phosphorylation of the monohydroxyl derivative in which other hydroxyl groups are protected with silyl groups; (ii) cyclic phosphorylation and selective cleavage of the cyclic phosphate derivative. Although the former route is basically the same as those reported by other groups, the latter route is novel and more effective than the former one. The present total synthesis would serve as a versatile synthetic route to not only fostriecin, but also its various analogues including stereoisomers.     

Enantioselective Syntheses of Rigidiusculamides A and B: Revision of the Relative Stereochemistry of Rigidiusculamide A

The first enantioselective synthesis of cytotoxic natural products rigidiusculamides A (ent‐ 21 ) and B ( 8 ) has been achieved by two synthetic routes. The first one is convergent based on the common intermediate 11 , obtained through a high yielding SmI₂‐mediated Reformatsky‐type reaction. A highly diastereoselective one‐pot Dess–Martin periodinane‐mediated bis‐oxidation allowed the direct conversion of the diastereomeric mixture of 11 into rigidiusculamide B ( 8 ). Isolation of minor diastereomer 21 , in combination with computational work, allowed us to suggest the structure of the natural rigidiusculamide A to be 21 , as synthesized by the second route. Four diastereomers ( 7 , 7 , 22a , and 22b ) and an enantiomer ( 21 ) of rigidiusculamide A ( 21 ) have been synthesized. On the basis of literature precedents and computational work, a biosynthetic pathway for rigidiusculamides A and B was proposed to account for the opposite configuration at C‐5 of those two congeners.     

Concise synthesis of the bacterial DNA primase inhibitor (+) -Sch 642305

[structure: see text]. A highly convergent, enantioselective synthesis of (+) -Sch 642305 is presented, which features a Mukaiyama-Michael addition followed by allylation to establish the syn-anti relationship of the three contiguous stereocenters. The 10-membered macrolactone was formed through ring-closing metathesis.     

Total Synthesis of Sialylgalactosylgloboside: Stage-Specific Embryonic Antigen 4

A versatile total synthesis of sialylgalactosylgloboside (SGG, 1), carrying the stage-specific embryonic antigen 4 (SSEA-4) is reported, illustrating a more general strategy for the synthesis of complex globo-series glycosphingolipids. Starting from readily available building blocks 7, 8, and 10, two different approaches to the synthesis of the key tetrasaccharide 6 have been developed in a highly convergent manner. Further glycosylations with galactosyl trichloroacetimidate (5) and sialyl phosphite (2) donors successively afforded the penta- and hexasaccharides 3 and 11. The latter was finally converted into the target molecule (SGG, 1) with the help of a azidosphingosine glycosylation procedure, favored in this case by the stereocontrolling properties of the 2a-O-pivaloyl protecting group. Valuable intermediates 6 and 3, having the oligosaccharidic skeletons of Gb(4) and Gb(5) (SSEA-3), respectively, were obtained in the course of the synthesis.     

Total synthesis of amphidinolide X

A concise total synthesis of the cytotoxic marine natural product amphidinolide X (1) is described. A key step of the highly convergent route to this structurally rather unusual macrodiolide derivative consists of a newly developed, highly syn selective formation of allenol 6 by an iron-catalyzed ring opening reaction of the enantioenriched propargyl epoxide 5 (derived from a Sharpless epoxidation) with a Grignard reagent. Allenol 6 was then cyclized with the aid of Ag(I) to give dihydrofuran 7 containing the (R)-configured quarternary sp3 chiral center at C19 of the target. The anti-configured chiral centers at C10 and C11 were formed by the palladium-catalyzed, Et2Zn-promoted addition of propargyl mesylate 12 to the functionalized aldehyde 11. The key fragment coupling at the C13-C14 bond was achieved by the "9-MeO-9-BBN" variant of the alkyl-Suzuki reaction. Finally, the 16-membered macrodiolide ring was formed by a Yamaguchi esterification/lactonization strategy.     

Stereoselective formal total synthesis of (+)-methynolide

A highly stereoselective and convergent formal total synthesis of (+)-methynolide is described. The salient features of this synthesis have been the construction of the C1-C7 and C8-C11fragments via a desymmetrization approach, Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation of an allyl alcohol, respectively, and linkage of both the fragments by Nozaki-Hiyama-Kishi reaction.     

Stereocontrolled total synthesis of (-)-ebelactone A

[structure: see text] The highly stereocontrolled hydroboration of an alkene, a subsequent Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction, a silylcupration on a nonterminal acetylene, and an iododesilylation were the key steps in a convergent total synthesis of (-)-ebelactone A.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed alkene-alkyne coupling: synthesis of the proposed structure of amphidinolide A

The ruthenium-catalyzed alkene-alkyne coupling provides a powerful method for the synthesis of 1,4 dienes and a way to simplify synthetic strategy. The latter potential is explored in the context of a synthesis of the assigned structure of amphidinolide A, which also raises the question of the applicability of this reaction for macrocyclizations. Employing this reaction allows simplification of the target to three subunits corresponding to C-1 to C-6, C-7 to C-15, and C-16 to C-25. The C-7 to C-15 subunit involves introduction of chirality by an asymmetric dihydroxylation. The route to the C-16 to C-25 subunit introduces chirality by a Pd-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation and an asymmetric epoxidation. Assembly of the three subunits employs the Ru-catalyzed addition inter- and intramolecularly. The synthesis culminated in the formation of the assigned structure and is identical to the synthetic samples prepared independently by two completely different routes. As noted by the other two groups, this structure appears to be a diastereomer of the natural product. Because this synthesis introduces all of the stereochemistry of the subunits by catalytic asymmetric processes, either enantiomer as well as diastereomers can be readily accessed to define the correct structure. Notably, the Ru-catalyzed macrocyclization to this macrolide proceeded in better yields than either a Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling or a Ru-catalyzed metathesis, macrocylization methods for the other two total synthesis.     

Synthetic strategies to epoxydiynes and a key synthon of the neocarzinostatin chromophore

We present herein our recent efforts towards the synthesis of epoxydiynes which represent an unusual structural feature of the neocarzinostatin chromophore. A number of different routes to these epoxydiynes have been explored with varying success. Ultimately a concise and convergent approach was developed, which involved the addition of an allenyl zinc bromide to propargylic ketones/aldehydes followed by epoxide formation. This new protocol enabled us to synthesise a fully elaborated epoxydiyne which will find application for our studies towards the total synthesis of the NCS chromophore.     

The first total synthesis of annonacin, the most typical monotetrahydrofuran annonaceous acetogenins

The first total synthesis of annonacin (1) was achieved by a highly convergent synthetic strategy. All the stereogenic centers were derived from three natural hydroxy acids respectively, except that those at C19 and C20 were produced from a Sharpless AD reaction.     

Synthesis of a nonavalent mannoside glycodendrimer based on pentaerythritol

A nonavalent glycodendrimer bearing terminal alpha-d-mannopyranoside units has been synthesized with a convergent approach. Terminal trivalent mannoside dendrons bearing p-halophenyl ethers were prepared by glycosylation of pentaerythritol derivatives having three 2-hydroxyethyl ether substituents. Two efficient routes were developed for the synthesis of the pentaerythritol-based core (17), which has three terminal propargyl ethers. Conditions were found under which the triple Sonogashira coupling reaction of the dendron and the tri-O-propargyl ether (17) proceeded efficiently. The product was deprotected and it and precursors were fully characterized by NMR spectroscopy and FT-ICR mass spectrometry.     

Stereoselective syntheses of epothilones A and B via nitrile oxide cycloadditions and related studies

The expedient and fully stereocontrolled synthesis of epothilones A and B are described. The routes described make extensive study of nitrile oxide cycloadditions as surrogates for aldol addition reactions and have led to the realization of a highly convergent synthesis based on the Kanemasa hydroxyl-directed nitrile oxide cycloaddition. As well, our synthetic efforts have led to the development of new reaction methodologies and served as the proving ground for several modern methods for asymmetric carbon-carbon bond formation.