Enantioselective total synthesis of anti HIV-1 active (+)-calanolide A through a quinine-catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular oxo-Michael addition

Enantioselective total synthesis of anti HIV-1 active (+)-calanolide A was achieved by a quinine-catalyzed asymmetric intramolecular oxo-Michael addition as a key step.     

Crystal-Packing-Driven Enrichment of Atropoisomers

Crystal-packing forces can have a significant impact on the relative stabilities of different molecules and their conformations. The magnitude of such effects is, however, not yet well understood. Herein we show, that crystal packing can completely overrule the relative stabilities of different stereoisomers in solution. Heating of atropoisomers (i.e. “frozen-out” conformational isomers) in solution leads to complex mixtures. In contrast, solid-state heating selectively amplifies minor (<25 mole %) components of these solution-phase mixtures. We show that this heating strategy is successful for compounds with up to four rotationally hindered σ bonds, for which a single stereoisomer out of seven can be amplified selectively. Our results demonstrate that common supramolecular interactions—for example, [methyl⋅⋅⋅π] coordination and [C−H⋅⋅⋅O] hydrogen bonding—can readily invert the relative thermodynamic stabilities of different molecular conformations. These findings open up potential new avenues to control the folding of macromolecules.     

Synthesis of Benzobis[1,3]oxathiins

Two different synthetic concepts led to the formation of 17, 19 , and 29 , the first structural isomeric benzobis[1,3]oxathiins. Hetero‐Diels? Alder reactions of diethyl mesoxylate 14 and the open valence isomers of the benzobisthietes 12 and 18 yielded the linear benzobis[1,3]oxathiin 17 and its angular isomer 22 , respectively. The isomeric angular system 29 could be obtained by a twofold O,S‐acetalization reaction of the dihydroxydisulfanyl compound 27 and acetone ( 28 ).