A Short, Catalytic, Asymmetric Synthesis of Diospongins A and B by a One-Pot, Sequential Hetero-Diels-Alder/Mukaiyama-Michael Reaction Process

Unanticipated Bicyclic Etherification in Luche Reduction: Asymmetric Total Syntheses of Diospongins A and B and Tetraketide

In the synthesis of diospongin B based on rearrangement of δ-hydroxyalkynone to 2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-one, we discovered an unanticipated beguiling reaction giving a thermodynamically less stable 4-hydroxy-2,6-trans-disubstituted-THP moiety via bicyclic etherification under Luche reduction conditions and simple acid hydrolysis. The practical applicability of this method is exemplified by the asymmetric total syntheses of diospongins A and B, several analogues, and tetraketide.

Synthetic Approaches to Diospongins: A Two Decade Journey

Tetrahydropyran units having multiple stereogenic centers serve as excellent building blocks for various active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs). In particular, the presence of the unique molecular architecture of the trisubstituted tetrahydropyran (THP) unit in diospongins enhances their biological activity due to multiple stereogenic centers and has attracted attention from the synthetic community over the last two decades. In this review, we discuss synthetic approaches to chiral and racemic forms of diospongins during the period 2006–2020 in chronological order.

The Mukaiyama type aldol reaction for the synthesis of trans-2,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyrans: synthesis of diospongin A and B

An efficient synthesis protocol for the preparation of trans-2,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyrans by the reaction of 1-phenyl-1-triemthylsiloxyethylene with six membered cyclic hemiacetals in the presence of iodine is developed. This reaction proceeds smoothly under mild conditions employing a catalytic amount of molecular iodine. The feature of this novel conversion includes milder reaction conditions, broader substrate scope, functional group tolerance and good diastereoselectivity. The efficiency and practicality of the current method were successfully displayed in the total synthesis of diospongin A and B in good yields.

Stereoselective and Regiodivergent Allylic Suzuki-Miyaura Cross-Coupling of 2-Ethoxydihydropyranyl Boronates: Synthesis and Confirmation of Absolute Stereochemistry of Diospongin B

Oxygen-containing heterocycles such as pyrans are a common substructure present in a variety of natural products and pharmaceutical drugs. Highly functionalized 4- and 6-aryl/heteroaryl dihydropyran derivatives are assembled by a highly stereoselective, ligand-controlled regiodivergent sp(3)-sp(2) Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling of a 2-ethoxy dihydropyranyl boronate derived from a catalytic enantioselective inverse-electron-demand oxa[4 + 2] cycloaddition. The scope and selectivity of this method were assessed along with an application to a concise total synthesis of the diarylheptanoid natural product diospongin B.

Adamantanes as spherical nanosondes in adducts with a chiral dirhodium complex-discriminating enantiomers and probing spatial proximities

Three different kinds of substituted chiral adamantane molecules-adamantanones, dioxolanoadamantanes and dithiolano-adamantanes-were studied in the dirhodium experiment (NMR measurement with 1:1 molar mixtures with Rh((II))(2)[(R)-(+)-MTPA](4) in CDCl(3)). Their different behavior in adduct formation is described, and the possibility of determining enantiomeric purities and absolute configurations is explored. Detailed inspection of one- and two-dimensional NMR experiments allowed for an interpretation of steric and electronic intra-adduct interaction showing that the phenyl groups of Rh* tend to enwrap the bound adamantane ligand so that through-space effects over a range of 6-7 Å away from the binding rhodium atom can be observed. Even slight differences in the relative orientation of phenyl groups can be monitored when comparing diastereomeric adducts via NMR signal dispersion.