Diastereoselective synthesis of glutamate-appended oxolane rings: synthesis of (s)-(+)-lycoperdic acid

The stereocontrolled synthesis of the glutamate-containing natural product (S)-(+)-lycoperdic acid is described. The key transformation in the synthetic route was an efficient diastereoselective annulation of an oxolane ring onto a pyroglutamate scaffold to construct either a gamma,gamma-disubstituted glutamate-appended tetrahydrofuran or a gamma-lactone. The reaction sequence also featured an improved method for the halogenation of pyroglutamate derivatives in high yield with enhanced stereoselection.