A Unified Strategy to 6–5–6–5–6‐Membered Epipolythiodiketopiperazines: Studies towards the Total Synthesis of Scabrosin Diacetate and Haematocin

The family of epipolythiodiketopiperazine (ETP) natural products consists of over 200 members possessing a wide diversity of structures and biological activity. Recently, the subgroup of 6–5–6–5–6‐membered ETPs has gained substantial attention, which has resulted in several total syntheses. Despite all the efforts that have been invested into accessing these complex structures, no synthesis of scabrosin diacetate ( 1 a ) and its related esters has been reported. Herein, our attempts towards scabrosin diacetate ( 1 a ) and haematocin ( 3 ) starting from diketopiperazine 12 a as a late‐stage intermediate are presented. Diketopiperazine 12 a can be conveniently accessed in multigram quantities from aldehyde 18 and diketopiperazine 21 and was envisioned to serve as a general platform for the synthesis of 6–5–6–5–6‐membered ETPs.