Synthesis of 4-haloserotonin derivatives and synthesis of the toad alkaloid dehydrobufotenine

4-Chloro-, 4-bromo- and 4-iodoserotonin derivatives were synthesized from 4-halo-5-oxyindoles, themselves derived from coumarins. Synthesis of the 4-iodoserotonins involved conjugate addition of an allyl group to a 5-iodocoumarin, followed by conversion of the allyl group into an aminoethyl unit. One of the iodoserotonin derivatives was converted into the toad alkaloid dehydrobufotenine, which was isolated as its hydroiodide.     

Total synthesis of (-)-conocarpan and assignment of the absolute configuration by chemical methods

(-)-Conocarpan (1) was synthesized by a method based on radical cyclization, and the absolute configuration was established by chemical degradation; the original 2R,3R-assignment to (+)-conocarpan should be reversed, as suggested by a later chiroptical study of model 2,3-dihydrobenzofurans.     

Applications of organocatalytic asymmetric synthesis to drug prototypes--dual action and selective inhibitors of n-nitric oxide synthase with activity against the 5-HT1D/1B subreceptors

The scope of MacMillan's organocatalytic asymmetric conjugate addition reaction of indoles and electron-rich aromatics to α,β-unsaturated aldehydes has been extended to the use of 3-amino crotonaldehydes as substrates. The aromatics used include indoles as well as an aniline and a furan. The scope and effect of the groups on nitrogen (R, R') has also been studied. The method has been applied to the concise synthesis of an advanced precursor to S-(+)-1, a drug prototype for the treatment of migraine headaches.     

Synthesis of (-)-conocarpan by two routes based on radical cyclization and establishment of its absolute configuration

Two independent routes for the total synthesis of the bioactive neolignan (-)-conocarpan are described. The first (98% ee) is based on formal radical cyclization onto a benzene ring, and involves a 5-exo-trigonal closure onto a double bond restrained within a 6-membered ring. The second route (88% ee), which is shorter, is based on 5-exo-trigonal cyclization of an aryl radical onto a pendant terminal double bond. The two routes differ in their degree of stereoselectivity. The absolute configuration originally assigned to (+)-conocarpan had previously been called into question on the basis of empirical chiroptical rules; the present chemical work confirms the need for revision, and the assigned absolute configurations of several compounds correlated with (+)-conocarpan must also be changed.