Stereocontrolled synthesis of 8,11-dideoxytetrodotoxin, an unnatural analogue of puffer fish toxin

8,11-Dideoxytetrodotoxin, an unnatural tetrodotoxin analogue, was synthesized in a highly stereoselective manner from a common intermediate from our synthetic studies on tetrodotoxin. The key features in the synthesis were as follows: neighboring group participation of a trichloroacetamide to allow regioselective and stereoselective hydroxylation, protection of a delta-hydroxylactone as an ortho ester, and guanidine installation through the use of Boc-protected isothiourea. Global deprotection of the fully protected intermediate under acidic conditions gave 8,11-dideoxytetrodotoxin, which exhibited very weak biological activities.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of unnatural cyclic dipeptides containing an l-valine unit

Stereoselective synthesis of unusual nonproteinogenic dipeptides 7a,b,d,e and h and 13b and i, containing an l-valine unit and a cyclic unnatural α-amino acid, has been accomplished starting from the l-valine derived chiral synthon 1. The absolute configurations of the new stereocentres were assigned on the basis of ¹H NMR spectra.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of a sphingomyelin methylene analogue as a sphingomyelinase inhibitor

[reaction: see text]Efficient synthesis of a sphingomyelin methylene analogue, which was designed as a sphingomyelinase inhibitor, was stereoselectively achieved. The Hofmann rearrangement of the alpha-hydroxyethyl-beta-hydroxy amide 4 followed by the intramolecular oxazolidinone ring formation was one of the key steps.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of onchidins

[structure: see text] The first total synthesis of a molecule possessing the stereochemistry proposed for onchidin is described. The structure synthesized appears to be different from that of the marine natural product.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of dihydropseudoclovene-B

Aryl participated intramolecular cyclisation of the bromophenol 16 yielded the dienone 17 which was converted into dihydropseudoclovene-B (7) via a stereocontrolled route.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of the C21-C38 fragment of the unnatural enantiomer of the antibiotic nystatin A1

The C(21)-C(38) fragment all-trans-41 of the unnatural enantiomer 1 of nystatin A(1) was prepared starting from the N-propionyl oxazolidinone 9. Aldol adduct ent-8 (ee > 96 %) derived in two steps was hydroborated with (thexyl)BH(2). Oxidative work-up and treatment with acid furnished delta-lactone 4. It contains the complete stereotetrade of the target molecule. The alpha,beta-unsaturated ester 28 was reached after another four steps. It should be a precursor for the polyene moieties of a variety of polyol,polyene macrolides. Illustrating that, the alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde 29 obtained from 28 and DIBAL was extended by 10 C atoms in four steps yielding the C(21)-C(38) segment 41. The latter set of transformations included the regio- and stereoselective Claisen rearrangement 32-->35.     

Stereocontrolled total synthesis of pancratistatin

A new total synthesis of the antitumor alkaloids, pancratistatin (1), has been accomplished from readily available staring materials. The Claisen rearrangement of dihydropyranethylene 5 was employed to construct the A and C rings. Stereo- and regiocontrolled functional group interchange, such as iodolactonization, dihydroxylations, and a cyclic sulfate elimination reaction, allows for the production of the target natural product. [reaction: see text]     

Toward stereocontrolled, chemoenzymatic synthesis of unnatural peptides

An efficient, chemoenzymatic method for the multicomponent synthesis of unnatural tripeptides is presented. Development of a previously described procedure combines the diversity offered by multicomponent reactions with the selectivity of biocatalysts and allows the convenient introduction of varied amino acid moieties into the tripeptide scaffold, with control of the stereochemistry. Additionally, it allows the introduction of a methyl group to the amide nitrogen, leading to derivatives of N-methylated amino acids.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of (+)-boronolide

Boronolide was synthesized stereoselectively from hydroxyacetylfuran 5 and valeraldehyde 6 using a novel dizinc aldol catalyst. Ring closing metathesis provides the lactone ring. The synthesis requires 12 steps and proceeds in 26% overall yield. [reaction: see text]     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of beta-difluoromethylated materials

Investigation of synthetic routes for regio- and stereocontrolled fluorinated materials with a difluoromethyl group, using ethyl bromodifluoroacetate as a starting material, is described. In particular, (E)-difluoromethylated trisubstituted olefins were prepared via the proton migration reaction catalyzed by using fluoride anion. Further, optically active beta-difluoromethyl esters were obtained by the enzymatic resolution.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of lepadiformine A

In this paper we present results of a study into whether the tricyclic core of the lepadiformines A-C can be accessed via intramolecular hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition. We are able to demonstrate that such a process is possible and that the reaction proceeds in an endo-selective fashion, providing the correct relative stereochemistry for this family of natural products. By employing this approach we have been able to develop a short (7 step) synthesis of (+/-)-lepadiformine A, starting from commercially-available trans-2-nonenal.     

Stereocontrolled total synthesis of a polyfunctional carotenoid, peridinin

Peridinin, which was isolated from the planktonic algae dinoflagellates causing red tides, is a highly oxidized carotenoid containing an allene and a characteristic (Z)-gamma-ylidenebutenolide function in the main conjugated polyene chain in addition to functionalized cyclohexane rings at both ends of the molecule. We achieved a stereocontrolled total synthesis of peridinin by featuring the Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation under precise reaction conditions, Wittig reaction with silylfuranmethylide followed by photosensitized oxygenation, stereocontrolled Pd-catalyzed one-pot (Z)-gamma-ylidenebutenolide synthesis, and modified Julia-Kocienski olefination. This synthesis is the first example of controlling the stereochemistry of polyfunctional allenic carotenoids.     

Ribosomal synthesis of unnatural peptides

Combinatorial libraries of non-biological polymers and drug-like peptides could in principle be synthesized from unnatural amino acids by exploiting the broad substrate specificity of the ribosome. The ribosomal synthesis of such libraries would allow rare functional molecules to be identified using technologies developed for the in vitro selection of peptides and proteins. Here, we use a reconstituted E. coli translation system to simultaneously re-assign 35 of the 61 sense codons to 12 unnatural amino acid analogues. This reprogrammed genetic code was used to direct the synthesis of a single peptide containing 10 different unnatural amino acids. This system is compatible with mRNA-display, enabling the synthesis of unnatural peptide libraries of 10(14) unique members for the in vitro selection of functional unnatural molecules. We also show that the chemical space sampled by these libraries can be expanded using mutant aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases for the incorporation of additional unnatural amino acids or by the specific posttranslational chemical derivitization of reactive groups with small molecules. This system represents a first step toward a platform for the synthesis by enzymatic tRNA aminoacylation and ribosomal translation of cyclic peptides comprised of unnatural amino acids that are similar to the nonribosomal peptides.     

Synthesis of L-carbafuranomycin, an unnatural analogue of the antibiotic amino acid furanomycin

[reaction: see text] L-(+)-carbafuranomycin is a novel analogue of L-(+)-furanomycin, an unusual antibiotic alpha-amino acid that attracted great interest due to its activity as an isoleucine antagonist. We present here a concise and efficient asymmetric synthesis of this carba-analogue starting with the 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of a chiral nitrile oxide with cyclopentadiene. Notably, the methyl group was introduced by an S(N)2' cuprate substitution with high stereo- and regioselectivity.     

Stereocontrolled total synthesis of (+)-pederine

A mild one-pot method for the synthesis of acyclic N-(1-methoxyalkyl)amides starting from carboxylic acid and methyl imidates has been developed and applied to the first total synthesis of (+)-pederine (1), a potent insect poison. Furthermore, the stereocontrolled total synthesis of 1 was also achieved by employing acid catalyzed double alkoxy-exchange reaction of N-(1 -methoxylakyl)amide group as key step.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of ara-type cyclohexenyl nucleosides

A highly stereocontrolled synthesis of a new class of carbocyclic nucleosides, ara-type cyclohexenyl nucleosides, was developed. The key intermediate (+/-)-9 was obtained after a series of transformations starting from easily available endo-bicyclo carboxylic acid (+/-)-3. The allylic hydroxyl group of (+/-)-9 was masked via oxidation with manganese dioxide and released, after protection of the 2'-hydroxyl group, via reduction with NaBH(4) in the presence of CeCl(3).7H(2)O. The base moiety was introduced with use of the Mitsunobu methodology.     

Stereocontrolled synthesis of quinine and quinidine

Disubstituted cyclopentene was prepared from cyclopentene monoacetate and transferred into disubstituted piperidine via oxidative cleavage of the olefin moiety followed by piperidine ring formation. The piperidine was then condensed at the side chain with a quinoline part to afford the olefin precursor of quinine. Finally, the olefin was converted into quinine through the corresponding epoxide. Quinidine was synthesized in a similar way.     

Stereocontrolled total synthesis of isocomene sesquiterpenes

Four isomers of the sesquiterpene isocomene have been synthesized in high yields and in a stereocontrolled fashion from the tricyclic triquinane 1 obtained by the cyclopentene annulation method. Carbon-13 data was obtained for all of the isocomene sesquiterpenes.     

Stereocontrolled total synthesis of (+)-vinblastine

A stereocontrolled total synthesis of (+)-vinblastine was accomplished, featuring preparations of the two indole units by means of a novel indole synthesis via radical cyclization of thioanilide, and a stereoselective coupling of these units.