Stereoselective total syntheses and reassignment of stereochemistry of the freshwater cyanobacterial hepatotoxins cylindrospermopsin and 7-epicylindrospermopsin

A stereoselective total synthesis of the structure 1 proposed for the freshwater cyanobacterial heptatotoxin cylindrospermopsin has been accomplished in approximately 30 operations starting from commercially available 4-methoxypyridine. Utilizing methodology developed by Comins, the tetrasubstituted piperidine A-ring unit of the hepatotoxin was efficiently constructed. The two remaining stereocenters in the natural product were then set by a stereospecific intramolecular N-sulfinylurea Diels-Alder cyclization/Grignard ring opening/allylic sulfoxide [2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement sequence previously developed in these laboratories, leading to key intermediate 29. The stereochemical assignment of alcohol 29, which contains all six of the stereogenic centers of the natural product, was confirmed by an X-ray crystal structure determination of a derivative. Installation of the D-ring uracil moiety was effected by using our new methodology developed for this purpose, and construction of the C-ring guanidine completed the total synthesis of racemic structure 1. However, the (1)H NMR data for this compound do not match that of cylindrospermopsin, but instead agree with the data reported for 7-epicylindrospermopsin, a minor toxic metabolite that co-occurs with cylindrospermopsin. Therefore, we propose a revision of the stereochemical assignments of these natural products such that cylindrospermopsin is now represented as structure 2 and 7-epicylindrospermopsin is 1. This reassignment was further confirmed by Mitsunobu inversion of the C-7 alcohol 51 to epimer 52, and conversion of this compound to tetracyclic diol 57, which has previously been transformed to cylindrospermopsin (2).     

Studies on the extraction of chromium(VI) by ketones

A study of the extraction of chromium(VI) from aqueous media by ketones was made. Extraction of chromium was found to be most efficient from aqueous hydrochloric acid solutions. A mechanism for the extraction of chromium(VI) from aqueous hydrochloric acid solutions by methyl isobutyl ketone is proposed involving the formation of a receptor in the organic phase, the exchange of the chloride ion of the receptor for the anionic chromium(VI) species of the aqueous phase, and the solvation of the extracted chromium species. The differences in the abilities of various ketones to extract chromium(VI) from aqueous hydrochloric acid solutions, and the differences in the extraction of chromium (VI) from various aqueous acids by methyl isobutyl ketone are attributed to the differences in the formation of receptors.     

Metallocycle synthesis accelerated by high pressure

Reaction of cis-[FeH₂(dmpe)₂](1) with diphenylbutadiyne results in an insertion into both of the iron-hydride bonds to form an iron metallocycle. Spectroscopic and crystallographic data of [Fe(PhHCC₂CHPh)(dmpe)₂] (3) show 1,4-diphenylbutatriene is symmetrically bound to the metal via the central double bond. The reaction to form the metallocyclic complex is greatly accelerated by application of external pressure. A 41% yield of (3) is isolated after two days at atmospheric pressure or after approximately 75 min at 800MPa.     

Stereoselective routes to substituted β-amino carbonyl compounds via heterodiene [4π+2π] cycloadditions of auxiliary-based C2 symmetric ketene acetals

Heterodiene [4π+2π] cycloadditions of (S,S)-4,5-diaryl-2-methylene-1,3-dioxolanes 1 to a series of β-amido-α,β-unsaturated carbonyl compounds are diastereoselective (d.r.≥4:1). The products can be purified by trituration or crystallisation and hydrolysed with acid to generate the corresponding β-amido carbonyl compounds, the overall sequence effecting an auxiliary-based enantioselective conjugate addition of an acetate enolate, leading to β-aminoacid derivatives.     

Further studies of the Daphniphyllum alkaloid polycyclization cascade

The scope of the 2-azadiene intramolecular Diels-Alder cyclization, previously employed for synthesis of the Daphniphyllum alkaloids, has been further investigated. Through a series of 1,5-diol cyclization precursors the substitution pattern of both the dienophile and the 2-azadiene were examined. From these studies it was shown that the cascade reaction is tolerant toward a variety of alkyl-substituted dienophiles. However, it was also demonstrated that this reaction is very sensitive to the substitution pattern of the 2-azadiene. Alterations made to the structure of the 2-azadiene cause either competing side reactions or complete failure of the reaction cascade.