A fully stereocontrolled total synthesis of (+)-leucascandrolide A

A highly stereocontrolled total synthesis of leucascandrolide A, a cytotoxic 18-membered macrolide from the calcareous sponge Leucascandra caveolata, starts out with a Jacobsen asymmetric hetero Diels-Alder reaction to configure the 2,6-cis-tetrahydropyran ring. All the remaining oxygenated stereocentres are introduced with high selectivity by relying on substrate-based control. An efficient endgame depends on two Mitsunobu reactions, the first to close the macrolactone with inversion at C17 and the second to attach the oxazole-containing side chain at C5, followed by Lindlar hydrogenation of the two alkynes to provide (+)-leucascandrolide A.