A Synthetic Route to α-Substituted Butenolides: Enantioselective Synthesis of (+)-Ancepsenolide

Rh-Catalyzed Carbonylative Cyclization of Propargylic Alcohols with Aryl Boronic Acids

2(3H)-Furanones are tremendously important not only because of their wide occurrence in bioactive compounds but also due to their versatility in organic synthesis. Here, a straightforward approach to 2(3H)-furanones from readily available tertiary propargylic alcohols with arylboronic acids in the presence of CO using rhodium as a catalyst has been established. The method exhibits a broad substrate scope tolerating useful functional groups with a moderate to high stereoselectivity.

Organocatalytic Enantiospecific Total Synthesis of Butenolides

Biologically important, chiral natural products of butenolides, (−)-blastmycinolactol, (+)-blastmycinone, (−)-NFX-2, (+)-antimycinone, lipid metabolites, (+)-ancepsenolide, (+)-homoancepsenolide, mosquito larvicidal butenolide and their analogues were synthesized in very good yields in a sequential one-pot manner by using an organocatalytic reductive coupling and palladium-mediated reductive deoxygenation or organocatalytic reductive coupling and silica-mediated reductive deamination as the key steps.

Ti-Catalyzed Cross-Cyclomagnesiation of 1,2-Dienes in the Total Z,Z,Z-Stereoselective Synthesis of Natural Acetogenin-Chatenaytrienin-1

The first total synthesis of natural acetogenin, chatenaytrienin-1, was performed in 10 steps and in 41% overall yield using cross-cyclomagnesiation of (6Z)-heptadeca-1,2,6-triene and trideca-11,12-dien-1-ol tetrahydropyran acetal with EtMgBr in the presence of Mg metal and the Cp₂TiCl₂ catalyst (10 mol %) as the key step of the synthesis.

Short Route to the Total Synthesis of Natural Muricadienin and Investigation of Its Cytotoxic Properties

An original synthesis of the acetogenin muricadienin, the bioprecursor of solamin, has been developed. The key step in the five-step 41% overall yield synthesis is the catalytic cross-cyclomagnesiation reaction of functionally substituted 1,2-dienes with EtMgBr in the presence of Cp2TiCl2 and magnesium metal. It has been demonstrated for the first time that muricadienin exhibits a moderate in vitro inhibitory activity against topoisomerases I and IIα, key cell cycle enzymes. Using flow cytometry, muricadienin was shown to have high cytotoxicity toward the HEK293 kidney cancer cells (IC50 0.39 μM).

Facile synthesis of acacetin and its derivatives

Acacetin, a O-methylated bioflavonoid isolated from the traditional Chinese medicine Xuelianhua (Saussurea tridactyla), is a promising orally effective atrium-selective antiarrhythmic agent for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). Here we describe an efficient two-component method for the synthesis of acacetin and its derivatives.

De novo protecting-group-free total synthesis of (+)-muricadienin, (+)-ancepsenolide and (+)-3-hexadecyl-5-methylfuran-2(5H)-one

A de novo protecting-group-free total synthesis of (+)-muricadienin, (+)-ancepsenolide and (+)-3-hexadecyl-5-methylfuran-2(5H)-one has been achieved by ring-closing-metathesis and sp–sp³ Sonogashira type coupling.

Donor-acceptor substituted cyclopropane to butanolide and butenolide natural products: enantiospecific first total synthesis of (+)-hydroxyancepsenolide

An oxygen substituted donor-acceptor cyclopropane (DAC) is used as a common intermediate in the enantiospecific collective total synthesis of butanolide- and butenolide-based natural products like (+)-juruenolide C and D, (+)-blastmycinone, (+)-antimycinone, and (+)-ancepsenolide. Enantiospecific first total syntheses of (+)-hydroxyancepsenolide and its acetate are achieved confirming their absolute stereochemistry.