Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Pinnaic Acid

Naturally Occurring Organohalogen Compounds-A Comprehensive Review

The present volume is the third in a trilogy that documents naturally occurring organohalogen compounds, bringing the total number-from fewer than 25 in 1968-to approximately 8000 compounds to date. Nearly all of these natural products contain chlorine or bromine, with a few containing iodine and, fewer still, fluorine. Produced by ubiquitous marine (algae, sponges, corals, bryozoa, nudibranchs, fungi, bacteria) and terrestrial organisms (plants, fungi, bacteria, insects, higher animals) and universal abiotic processes (volcanos, forest fires, geothermal events), organohalogens pervade the global ecosystem. Newly identified extraterrestrial sources are also documented. In addition to chemical structures, biological activity, biohalogenation, biodegradation, natural function, and future outlook are presented.

Construction of azaspirocyclic skeletons mediated by the carbonyl of the Weinreb amide: formal total synthesis of (±)-cephalotaxine

A facile Stevens rearrangement of the Weinreb amide and the subsequent key steps mediated by the carbonyl of the Weinreb amide led to the construction of azaspirocyclic skeletons of some typical alkaloids. And the formal total synthesis of (±)-cephalotaxine was completed via a shorter synthetic route by this efficient method. Further studies on the development and asymmetric synthesis application of this strategy are underway.

Rapid and Mild Lactamization Using Highly Electrophilic Triphosgene in a Microflow Reactor

Lactams are cyclic amides that are indispensable as drugs and as drug candidates. Conventional lactamization includes acid-mediated and coupling-agent-mediated approaches that suffer from narrow substrate scope, much waste, and/or high cost. Inexpensive, less-wasteful approaches mediated by highly electrophilic reagents are attractive, but there is an imminent risk of side reactions. Herein, a methods using highly electrophilic triphosgene in a microflow reactor that accomplishes rapid (0.5-10 s), mild, inexpensive, and less-wasteful lactamization are described. Methods A and B, which use N-methylmorpholine and N-methylimidazole, respectively, were developed. Various lactams and a cyclic peptide containing acid- and/or heat-labile functional groups were synthesized in good to high yields without the need for tedious purification. Undesired reactions were successfully suppressed, and the risk of handling triphosgene was minimized by the use of microflow technology.

Total Synthesis of (-)-Nahuoic Acid Ci (Bii)

A convergent total synthesis of (-)-nahuoic acid Ci(Bii) (3), a novel cis-decalin polyketide, has been achieved. Key synthetic transformations include Type II Anion Relay Chemistry (ARC) to construct the polyol chain, a Ti-catalyzed asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction to generate the cis-decalin skeleton, and a late-stage large fragment union exploiting a Micalizio alkoxide-directed alkyne-alkene coupling tactic.

Total Syntheses of Nannocystins A and A0, Two Elongation Factor 1 Inhibitors

Asymmetric total syntheses of nannocystins A and A0 were achieved in a convergent route starting from simple materials. Nannocystin family natural products bear potent anticancer activity as elongation factor 1 inhibitors. In this synthesis, the challenging tertiary amide bond was constructed by peptide coupling between an acyl chloride and a secondary amine. A late-stage ring-closing metathesis reaction successfully rendered the macrocycle. This efficient synthetic strategy should be applicable to other nannocystins and analogues and therefore should benefit future structure-activity relationship studies.

Synthetic approaches towards alkaloids bearing α-tertiary amines

Alkaloids account for some of the most beautiful and biologically active natural products. Although they are usually classified along biosynthetic criteria, they can also be categorized according to certain structural motifs. Amongst these, the α-tertiary amine (ATA), i.e. a tetrasubstituted carbon atom surrounded by three carbons and one nitrogen, is particularly interesting. A limited number of methods have been described to access this functional group and fewer still are commonly used in synthesis. Herein, we review some approaches to asymmetrically access ATAs and provide an overview of alkaloid total syntheses where those have been employed.

Enantioselective synthesis of angularly substituted 1-azabicylic rings: coupled dynamic kinetic epimerization and chirality transfer

A new strategy for enantioselective synthesis of azacyclic molecules in which dynamic kinetic equilibration of diastereomeric iminium ions precedes a stereochemistry-determining sigmatropic rearrangement is reported. The method is illustrated by the synthesis, in high enantiomeric purity (generally 95-99% ee), of a variety of 1-azabicyclic molecules containing angular allyl or 3-substituted 2-propenyl side chains adjacent to nitrogen and up to three stereogenic centers. In these products, the size of the carbocyclic ring is varied widely (5-12 membered); however, useful yields are obtained in forming 1-azabicyclic products containing only fused pyrrolidine and piperidine rings. Chirality transfer from substituents at carbons 1 and 2 of the 3-butenylamine fragment of the starting material is investigated, with methyl and phenyl substituents at the allylic position shown to provide exquisite stereocontrol (generally 98-99% chirality transfer). An attractive feature of the method is the ability to carry out the key transformation in the absence of solvent. Illustrated also is the high yielding conversion of four such products to a new family of bicyclic β-amino acids of high enantiomeric purity.

Stereocontrol in a combined allylic azide rearrangement and intramolecular Schmidt reaction

Pre-equilibration of an interconverting set of isomeric allylic azides is coupled with an intramolecular Schmidt reaction to afford substituted lactams stereoselectively. The effect of substitution and a preliminary mechanistic study are reported. The synthetic potential of this method is demonstrated in the context of an enantioselective synthesis of an advanced intermediate leading toward pinnaic acid.

Pinnarine, another member of the halichlorine family. Isolation and preparation from pinnaic acid

Pinnarine (1), a new macrocyclic alkaloid, was isolated from the black marine sponge Halichondria okadai. The structure was elucidated on the basis of 2D NMR and comparison with the spectra of the co-isolated known halichlorine. Further confirmation of the structure and the absolute configuration was validated by a synthetic method from authentic pinnaic acid and CD analysis. The isolation of pinnarine also suggested a biogenetic pathway from pinnaic acid to halichlorine.

Total synthesis of the marine alkaloid halichlorine: development and use of a general route to chiral piperidines

The total synthesis of the marine alkaloid halichlorine is described, based on an approach that involves constructing the fully substituted asymmetric center at an early stage. The five-membered ring is formed by 5-exo-trig radical cyclization and the unsaturated six-membered ring by a process that formally represents a sequential combination of conjugate addition and S(N)2' displacement-a method that is general for making bicyclic compounds with nitrogen at a ring fusion position. A formal synthesis of (+)-halichlorine is also reported, based on the development of a general method for preparing optically pure piperidines. The key step of this method, which was used to make one of our intermediates, is the Claisen rearrangement of a 4-vinyloxy-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyridine-1-carboxylic acid benzyl ester. Such O-vinyl compounds are easily generated in situ from the corresponding alcohols, which are themselves readily assembled from serine and terminal acetylenes.