The Knight route to cyclopiazonic acid: enantioselective synthesis of a key intermediate

The indole alkaloid α-cyclopiazonic acid (CPA) is one of the few known inhibitors of sarco(endo)plasmic reticulum Ca²⁺-ATPase (SERCA) besides thapsigargin and artemisinin. Inhibitors of SERCA hold promise as novel anticancer and antimalarial drugs. Since its structure elucidation three racemic syntheses of α-cyclopiazonic acid have been published. We report now the first enantioselective and high yielding synthesis of a key-intermediate of the Knight synthesis, currently the most efficient route to CPA. Our synthesis is based on a diastereoselective 1,4-cuprate addition followed by an enolate azidation of an indolylacrylic acid modified with the Evans auxiliary.