Asymmetric syntheses of (−)-isoretronecanol and (−)-trachelantamidine

Short and concise total asymmetric syntheses of (−)-isoretronecanol and (−)-trachelantamidine are reported. Oxidative cleavage of tert-butyl (S,S,S,Z)-7-[N-benzyl-N-(α-methylbenzyl)amino]cyclohept-3-ene-1-carboxylate, followed by hydrogenolysis promoted in situ cyclisation/reduction, which provided rapid access to the bicyclic core within (−)-isoretronecanol. Analogous treatment of the C(1)-epimer gave (−)-trachelantamidine. Overall, the syntheses of (−)-isoretronecanol and (−)-trachelantamidine were completed in eight and seven steps and 20 and 9.5% yield, respectively, from commercially available starting materials.     

Asymmetric synthesis of (−)-codonopsinine

The asymmetric synthesis of (−)-codonopsinine was achieved in 7 steps (from commercially available tert-butyl crotonate) in 5% overall yield and >99:1 dr. The key step in this synthesis involved ring-closing iodoamination of a functionalised homoallylic amine, which occurred with concomitant N-debenzylation, to give a 3-iodopyrrolidine that was elaborated to (−)-codonopsinine.     

A new synthetic route to (−)-cassine via asymmetric aminohydroxylation

(−)-Cassine has been synthesized by a new route, asymmetric aminohydroxylation followed by reductive amination.     

Synthesis of new (−)-menthylgermanium derivatives and its use in heterogeneous bimetallic catalysis

The syntheses and physical properties of tri-(−)-menthylgermanium chloride (2), tri-(−)-menthylmethylgermanium (5), and tri-(−)-menthylgermanium hydride (6) are reported. The preparation of a bimetallic catalyst derived from 5 and Pt supported on SiO₂ and its use in the enantioselective catalytic hydrogenation of acetophenone is also reported.     

Asymmetric synthesis of the pyran antibiotic (−)-centrolobine

An expedient total synthesis of (−)-centrolobine is achieved involving asymmetric Keck allylation and stereoselective intramolecular oxy-Michael reactions as key steps in 8% overall yield.     

Asymmetric syntheses of diarylheptanoid natural products (−)-centrolobine and (−)-de-O-methylcentrolobine via hetero-Diels-Alder reaction catalyzed by dirhodium(II) tetrakis[(R)-3-(benzene-fused-phthalimido)-2-piperidinonate]

Catalytic asymmetric syntheses of (−)-centrolobine and (−)-de-O-methylcentrolobine have been achieved, incorporating a hetero-Diels-Alder (HDA) reaction between 4-aryl-2-silyloxy-1,3-butadienes and phenylpropargyl aldehyde derivatives as a key step. The HDA reaction using dirhodium(II) tetrakis[(R)-3-(benzene-fused-phthalimido)-2-piperidinonate], Rh₂(R-BPTPI)₄, as a chiral Lewis acid catalyst provides exclusively cis-2,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyran-4-ones in up to 93% ee.     

Total synthesis of (−)-baconipyrone C

A highly stereoselective asymmetric total synthesis of marine polypropionate (−)-baconipyrone C has been achieved. Utilization of desymmetrization technique to create five stereogenic centres, Sharpless epoxidation, Gilman's reaction and resolution of methyl group using enzyme PS-C is the highlight of the synthesis.     

Synthesis of indole alkaloid (−)-corynantheidol and formal synthesis of (−)-corynantheidine via one-pot asymmetric azaelectrocyclization

The highly efficient asymmetric total synthesis of indole alkaloid, (−)-corynantheidol, containing a 2,4,5-trisubstituted piperidine core, was achieved using a new version of the one-pot azaelectrocyclization reaction. The formal synthesis of (−)-corynantheidine was also achieved using the common synthetic intermediate for these corynantheines.     

The difference in reactivity of (−)-mono and dimenthyl vs. diethyl alkylphosphonates in the α-lithiation reaction: Carbanionic synthesis of unknown (−)-dimenthyl 1-iodoalkylphosphonates and their first use in the radical iodine atom transfer addition (I-ATRA) and cyclisation (I-ATRC) reactions

Unknown (−)-dimenthyl and ethyl (−)-menthyl 1-iodoethylphosphonates were synthesized via 1-lithio derivatives in 85-87% yields. Starting (−)-dimenthyl alkylphosphonates (R = Me, Et, i-Pr) were obtained in the Michaelis-Becker reaction (75-81% yields) and/or in the methylation reaction of the corresponding 1-lithio-alkylphosphonates (78-92% yields). An interesting concentration and time correlations, never observed for diethyl alkylphosphonates, were found for the metalation of bulky (−)-menthyl alkylphosphonates with n-BuLi and general reaction conditions for the carbanion generation were elaborated. The first example of the I-ATRA reaction of (−)-dimenthyl 1-iodoethylphosphonate with 1-hexene (AIBN) gave four diastereomers (1.6:1:1:0.4), separated into two pairs. The I-ATRC reaction was not effective due to a steric hindrance around the reactive center. The X-ray analysis of (−)-dimenthyl methylphosphonate confirmed a considerable steric hindrance in higher (−)-dimenthyl alkylphosphonate esters in comparison to their diethyl analogs.     

Microbial transformation of (−)-Huperzine A

Five products were yielded from the transformation of (−)-Huperzine A (1) by Streptomyces griseus CACC 200300. Their structures were determined as 16-hydroxyl huperzine A (2), 14α-hydroxyl huperzine A (3), huperzine A 8α,15α-epoxide (4), 13N-formyl huperzine A (5), and 13N-acetyl huperzine A (6) on the basis of their chemical and physical data. It is the first report on the microbial transformation of (−)-Huperzine A and would facilitate further structural modification by chemo-enzymatic method.     

Simple and highly efficient preparation and characterization of (−)-lupanine and (+)-sparteine

In a simple and convenient way, we have improved the non-chromatographic isolation of optically pure (−)-2-oxosparteine ((−)-lupanine) and (+)-sparteine. The fast and efficient method for the determination of the ee of bisquinolizidine alkaloids has been proposed. A relatively simple simple ¹H NMR method has been applied for evaluation of the % ee of enantiomers of the lupanines and sparteines with the chiral dibenzoyltartaric acids as the shift reagents. The ¹H NMR spectra of the bases and the new salts in polar solvents have been measured.The results are confirmed by chiral HPLC method. Additionally, for the first time X-ray analysis of the salt of (−)-lupanine has been performed. The improved method of purification of bisquinolizidine alkaloids will considerably facilitate the employment of these alkaloids as chiral ligands in asymmetric reactions and as pharmacological tools.     

Asymmetric synthesis of (−)-(S,S)-homaline

The asymmetric synthesis of (−)-(S,S)-homaline was achieved in 8 steps from commercially available starting materials using the diastereoselective conjugate addition of the novel lithium amide reagent lithium (R)-N-(3-chloropropyl)-N-(α-methyl-p-methoxybenzyl)amide to methyl cinnamate to install the correct stereochemistry. Subsequent functional group manipulation of the resultant β-amino ester and Sb(OEt)₃-mediated macrolactamisation was followed by homodimerisation to give (−)-(S,S)-homaline in 18% overall yield, representing the first asymmetric, and by far the most efficient synthesis of this natural product reported to date.     

A diastereodivergent strategy for the asymmetric syntheses of (−)-martinellic acid and (−)-4-epi-martinellic acid

Asymmetric syntheses of (−)-martinellic acid and (−)-4-epi-martinellic acid were achieved in 20 steps from commercially available starting materials using a diastereodivergent strategy. The conjugate addition of lithium (R)-N-allyl-N-(α-methyl-p-methoxybenzyl)amide to tert-butyl (E)-3-[2′-(N,N-diallylamino)-5′-bromophenyl]propenoate and alkylation of the resultant β-amino ester with methyl bromoacetate were used as the key steps to install the C(9b) and C(3a) stereogenic centres, respectively. Subsequent cyclisation to the corresponding pyrroloquinolin-2-one and reduction of the C(4)-carbonyl group was followed by two complementary procedures for olefination and concomitant intramolecular Michael addition, which gave both C(4)-epimers of this tricyclic molecular architecture in >99:1 dr. Subsequent elaboration of these templates provided access to (−)-martinellic acid and, for the first time, (−)-4-epi-martinellic acid.     

A concise methodology for the synthesis of (−)-Δ-tetrahydrocannabinol and (−)-Δ-tetrahydrocannabivarin metabolites and their regiospecifically deuterated analogs

The availability of tetrahydrocannabinols (Δ⁹-THC), tetrahydrocannabivarins (Δ⁹-THCV), and their metabolites in both their undeuterated and deuterated forms is critical for the analysis of biological and toxicological samples. We report here a concise methodology for the syntheses of (−)-Δ⁹-THC and (−)-Δ⁹-THCV metabolites in significantly improved overall yields using commercially available starting materials. Our approach allowed us to obtain the key intermediates (6aR,10aR)-9-nor-9-oxo-hexahydrocannabinols in four steps from (+)-(1R)-nopinone. This was followed by an optimized Shapiro reaction to give the (−)-11-nor-9-carboxy-metabolites, which were converted to their respective (−)-11-hydroxy analogs. The synthetic sequence involves a minimum number of steps, avoids undesirable oxidative conditions, and incorporates the costly deuterated resorcinols near the end of the synthetic sequence. This methodology enabled us to synthesize eight regiospecifically deuterated (−)-Δ⁹-THC and (−)-Δ⁹-THCV metabolites in a preparative scale and high optical purity without deuterium scrambling or loss.     

Efficient synthesis of the key intermediate triptophenolide methyl ether for the synthesis of (−)-triptolide

An efficient synthesis of triptophenolide methyl ether 4 from the readily available abietic acid 3 in nine steps is described and successfully applied to the synthesis of (−)-triptolide 1. The route is of characteristic of low cost, high yield and easy operation. In addition, every reaction in this route has been successfully scaled-up to a 100 g substrate level without loss of yield.     

Enantioselective total synthesis of (−)-strychnine: development of a highly practical catalytic asymmetric carbon-carbon bond formation and domino cyclization

An enantioselective total synthesis of (−)-strychnine was accomplished through the use of the highly practical catalytic asymmetric Michael reaction (0.1 mol% of (R)-ALB, greater than kilogram scale, without chromatography, 91% yield and >99% ee), and a domino cyclization that simultaneously constructed the B- and D- rings of strychnine (>77% yield). Newly-developed reaction conditions for thionium ion cyclization, NaBH₃CN reduction of the imine moiety in the presence of a Lewis acid to prevent the ring-opening reaction, and chemoselective reduction of the thioether (desulfurization) in the presence of exocyclic olefin were pivotal to complete the synthesis. The described chemistry paves the way for the synthesis of more advanced Strychnos alkaloids.     

Stereoselective formal total synthesis of the cyclodepsipeptide (−)-spongidepsin

The formal total synthesis of (−)-spongidepsin is achieved starting from easily available raw materials involving asymmetric α-hydroxylation, Enders alkylation, and RCM as key reactions.     

The total synthesis of (−)-tetrahydrolipstatin

Careful control during the bromolactonisation of β,γ-unsaturated acid 3 was required to afford regioselectively the trans-β-lactone 4 as the major diastereomer. Radical debromination of 4 followed by a three-step sequence of reactions afforded the lipase inhibitor (−)-tetrahydrolipstatin.     

Stereoselective total synthesis of (−)-cleistenolide

A stereoselective total synthesis of (−)-cleistenolide (1) derived from d-(−)-isoascorbic acid has been described. The new synthetic strategy involves highly diastereoselective reduction, one-pot protection of required benzoyl, acetyl groups, and the RCM reaction by using Grubbs catalyst are the key steps with considerable yields.     

A stereoselective synthesis of the hexahydroazepine core of (−)-balanol

A stereoselective synthesis of the hexahydroazepine core of (−)-balanol is described. The key step of the route includes the bromosulfonamidation of an olefin using the intramolecular sulfilimine group as the nucleophile and the Pummerer ene reaction.