Total Synthesis of (±)‐Englerin A Using An Intermolecular [3+2] Cycloaddition Reaction of Platinum‐Containing Carbonyl Ylide

Total synthesis of (±)‐Englerin A has been achieved starting from γ,δ‐ynone 5 in 14 steps. The key feature of this synthesis is the highly efficient and stereoselective preparation of 8‐oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octane derivative 6 , a core skeleton of Englerin A, based on an inverse electron‐demand [3+2] cycloaddition reaction of the platinum‐containing carbonyl ylide, which was developed in our laboratory.     

Englerin A的全合成及其类似物生物活性的研究进展

Englerin A是一种从大戟属植物Phyllanthus engleri中分离得到的含有氧桥结构的愈创木烷类倍半萜,对肾癌细胞表现出很高的抑制活性和选择性.综述了englerin A的全合成及其初步构效关系的研究进展.在合成部分,对各个合成路线的特点,尤其对氧杂三环骨架的构建过程进行了重点讨论.     

From Complex Natural Products to Simple Synthetic Mimetics by Computational De Novo Design

We present the computational de novo design of synthetically accessible chemical entities that mimic the complex sesquiterpene natural product (?)‐Englerin A. We synthesized lead‐like probes from commercially available building blocks and profiled them for activity against a computationally predicted panel of macromolecular targets. Both the design template (?)‐Englerin A and its low‐molecular weight mimetics presented nanomolar binding affinities and antagonized the transient receptor potential calcium channel TRPM8 in a cell‐based assay, without showing target promiscuity or frequent‐hitter properties. This proof‐of‐concept study outlines an expeditious solution to obtaining natural‐product‐inspired chemical matter with desirable properties.     

A brief synthesis of (-)-englerin A

Englerins A and B are guaiane sesquiterpenes that were isolated from the bark of Phyllanthus engleri, a plant indigenous to east Africa. The englerins consist of a 5-6-5 fused tricyclic structure with an ether bridge and two ester-bearing stereogenic centers, including a highly unusual glycolate residue. Englerin A is a potent and selective inhibitor of the growth of six human renal cancer cell lines. We report herein an efficient, eight-step synthesis of englerin A that leverages simple carbonyl-enabled carbon-carbon bond formations. Our route is amenable to the production of a diverse series of analogues for structure-function studies and determination of the mode of action of these natural products.     

Chemical Synthesis of the Englerins

In the long lasting battle against cancer, Nature sometimes gives a helping hand to researchers to find new drugs for the treatment of diseases and improvement of patients′ well‐being. Englerin A has emerged as a promising anticancer candidate as well as being an exciting synthetic challenge for organic chemists. This focus review summarizes the total syntheses reported to date and the synthetic approaches toward analogues of this fascinating natural product.     

A total synthesis of distamycin a,an antiviral antibiotic

A new total synthesis of distamycin A (1) is described. The route followed passes through an intermediate acid (2a) which can serve as a convenient starting material for the synthesis of distamycin analogs.     

A new ‘one-pot’ synthesis of hydrazides by reduction of hydrazones

A new, high-yielding methodology for reducing hydrazones to hydrazines is described, which allows the synthesis of different mono-, di- and trisubstituted hydrazines. Moreover, the reduction step can be followed by an in situ reaction with a carboxylic acid making possible a ‘one-pot’ synthesis of trisubstituted hydrazides. The method is relatively general and, in principle, suitable for industrial applications.     

Wallichanol类天然产物ABC环系合成研究

Wallichanol是一类具有独特桥环结构的二萜天然产物.以2-甲基-1,3-环己二酮作为起始原料,通过高立体选择性的Diels-Alder反应和金催化的炔烃碳环化反应构建Wallichanol的ABC三环核心骨架,共七步路线,总收率为42%.该合成工作为Wallichanol类天然产物全合成奠定了研究基础.     

Untersuchungen zum Mechanismus der Mechanochemischen Synthese von Verbindungen aus dem System SnS mit Hilfe des Mössbauer-Effektes

By means of Mössbauer and X-ray structural investigation it was shown that the compounds Sn₃S₄ and Sn₂S₃ can be synthesized mechanochemically. The influence of an inert additive on the explosive character of the mechanochemical synthesis of tin sulfides was investigated. A transition from the explosive way of synthesis to the nonexplosive one upon adding great quantities of inert material was observed. A mechanism explaining this phenomenon was suggested. The initiation of a high-temperature synthesis reaction by the heat effect of a mechanochemical explosive reaction was observed for the first time.     

Facile method for synthesis of mixed-cation halide perovskites by mild equilibrium conversion via iodine-mediated transport reaction in inert liquid media

A new facile method for the synthesis of mixed-cation halide R2 = 0.9935 perovskites based on the chemical conversion of solid precursors (organic halides and lead halides) via an iodine-mediated transport reaction in inert liquid media under mild conditions is described. The equilibrium nature of the conversion provides an exact match between the stoichiometry of the resulting perovskite powder and the molar ratio of the precursors. This method can serve as a useful tool for the synthesis of complex perovskite precursors and the investigation of phase equilibria     

Stereoselective Synthesis of the O-antigen of A. baumannii ATCC 17961 Using Long-Range Levulinoyl Group Participation

Herein, we described the first synthesis of the pentasaccharide and decasaccharide of the A. baumannii ATCC 17961 O-antigen for developing a synthetic carbohydrate-based vaccine against A. baumannii infection. The efficient synthesis of the rare sugar 2,3-diacetamido-glucuronate was achieved using our recently introduced organocatalytic glycosylation method. We found, for the first time, that long-range levulinoyl group participation via a hydrogen bond can result in a significantly improved β-selectivity in glycosylations. This solves the stereoselectivity problem of highly branched galactose acceptors. The proposed mechanism was supported by control experiments and DFT computations. Benefiting from the long-range levulinoyl group participation strategy, the pentasaccharide donor and acceptor were obtained via an efficient [2+1+2] one-pot glycosylation method and were used for the target decasaccharide synthesis.     

Using polymers to control substrate,ligand, or catalyst solubility

The attributes and design of soluble polymer supports for catalysis and synthesis are discussed. By manipulating polymer structure, polymer supports can be prepared so that the solubility of an attached reagent, substrate, or ligand is affected by heating, cooling, pH, or solvent identity. Supports with such engineered solubility are useful both in organic synthesis and catalysis. They can be used as purification handles in organic synthesis as a way to recover catalysts, as a way to turn reactions on or off, and more generally, as a handle for separations. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 39: 2351–2363, 2001     

Direct access to upper rim substituted mono- and diaryloxy calix[4]arenes via bis(spirodienone) route

A seemingly ipso-like nucleophilic substitution of the upper rim of p-tert-butylcalix[4]arene is accomplished by an indirect method involving calix[4]arene derived bis(spirodienone). This method not only provides both mono and 1,3-diaryloxy calixarenes but also enables the synthesis of upper rim monothio substituted calix[4]arenes. A modification of the methodology can be successfully extended for the selective synthesis of mono- and 1,3-diquinone calix[4]arenes having free hydroxyl groups at the lower rim, in fewer steps.     

Efficient Synthesis of (−)‐Corynoline by Enantioselective Palladium‐Catalyzed α‐Arylation with Sterically Hindered Substrates

Sterically hindered substrates can be employed in an enantioselective palladium‐catalyzed α‐arylation with the chiral monophosphorus ligand BI‐DIME. This process enabled an efficient synthesis of the antidepressant (S)‐nafenodone, a four‐step enantioselective synthesis of the Sceletium alkaloid (+)‐sceletium A‐4, a concise five‐step enantioselective synthesis of (?)‐corynoline, as well as a three‐step preparation of (?)‐DeN‐corynoline.     

New Protecting Group Strategies for the Solid-Phase Synthesis and Modification of Peptides,Oligonucleotides, and Oligosaccharides

Blocking and activation can be achieved with protecting groups such as the ortho-nitrobenzenesulfonyl group (see picture). In solid-phase peptide synthesis, this group can be used for temporary protection (path A) as well as the activation and selective N-alkylation (path B) of an amino group.     

An iminophosphorane-based approach for the synthesis of spiropyrrolidine-imidazole derivatives

A method based on the reaction of an E-phosphazide, an intermediate in the Staüdinger reaction between triphenylphosphine and an azide, with heterocumulenes allows the one-pot, two-component synthesis of a number of pyrrole-imidazole derivatives. The procedure, which involves sequential treatment of the appropriate α-azido ester with triphenylphosphine and isocyanate leads to the hydantoin product after aqueous work-up. The cyclization conditions can also be adapted for the synthesis of thiohydantoins by using isothiocyanates. These hybrids pyrrole-thiohydantoins undergo a novel oxidative spirocyclization by action of DDQ to give a tricyclic derivative (pyrrole-pyrrolidine-imidazole), which displays an interesting cytotoxic activity.     

A convenient synthesis of α-amino-β-lactams

A safe and convenient method is described for the synthesis of α-amido-β-lactams starting with glycine and an azomethine. The amino group of glycine is protected by reaction with a β-dicarbonyl compound following the method of Dane etal. and the carboxyl group is activated through the formation of a mixed anhydride or an active ester. Condensation between these glycine derivatives and acyclic or cyclic imino compounds (including thioimidates) in presence of triethylamine leads to stereospecific synthesis of 3-(β-carbonyl-vinylamino)-2-azetidinones in 40–60% yield. The vinylamino side chain can be hydrolyzed under mild acid conditions to form 3-amino-2-azetidinones which can be acylated to α-amido-β-lactams. Alternatively, the vinylamino side chain can be converted to an amido side chain by ozonolysis. The molecular parameters of a 3-(β-carbonyl-vinylamino)-2-azetidinone were determined by X-ray crystallography. Usefulness of this α-amido-β-lactam synthesis is illustrated by the preparation of isotopelabeled β-lactams and intermediates for some β-lactam antibiotics.     

Predicting experimental yields as an index to rank synthesis routes: application for Diels-Alder reactions

It is possible to create novel synthetic routes for compounds using synthesis route design systems (SRDS). We have been investigating an in silico screening protocol, which makes it possible to reduce the number of SRDS experiments in developing new synthesis routes. However, there still remains the problem of how to rank synthesis routes for experiments. The experimental yield is considered to be one of the most important factors in determining which synthesis route is better. The present study describes an attempt toward predicting the trends of experimental yields for organic synthesis by fusing computational chemistry and chemoinformatics. We examined whether the prediction of experimental yields for Diels-Alder reactions is feasible using activation energies obtained from Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations together with the experimental conditions. A partial least squares analysis using these values gave correlation equations for the experimental yields. If it is possible to construct similar correlation equations for other reactions, then SRDS synthetic routes could be ranked on the basis of their predicted yields, and an order can be determined before beginning the experiments.     

New gem-difluoromethylene-containing isocyanide as a useful building block for the synthesis of difluorinated pseudopeptides via Ugi reaction

A new and efficient method was developed for the synthesis of novel gem-difluoromethylene-containing isocyanide, which can be used as a building block for the synthesis of difluorinated pseudopeptides via Ugi reaction.     

Trapping of a phosphazide intermediate in the Staudinger reaction of tertiary phosphines with azides and its application to the synthesis of analogs of the marine alkaloid midpacamide

A new method based on the reaction of an E-phosphazide, an intermediate in the Staudinger reaction between triphenylphosphine with an azide, with heterocumulenes allows the one-pot, two-component synthesis of a number of analogs of the pyrrole-imidazole marine alkaloid midpacamide. The procedure, which involves sequential treatment of the appropriate α-azido ester with triphenylphosphine and isothiocyanate leads to the thiohydantoin product after aqueous workup. The cyclization conditions can also be adapted to the synthesis of hydantoins by using isocyanates.