A three-step total synthesis of goniothalesdiol A using a one-pot Sharpless epoxidation/regioselective epoxide ring-opening

An Overview of Saturated Cyclic Ethers: Biological Profiles and Synthetic Strategies

Saturated oxygen heterocycles are widely found in a broad array of natural products and other biologically active molecules. In medicinal chemistry, small and medium rings are also important synthetic intermediates since they can undergo ring-opening and -expansion reactions. These applications have driven numerous studies on the synthesis of oxygen-containing heterocycles and considerable effort has been devoted toward the development of methods for the construction of saturated oxygen heterocycles. This paper provides an overview of the biological roles and synthetic strategies of saturated cyclic ethers, covering some of the most studied and newly discovered related natural products in recent years. This paper also reports several promising and newly developed synthetic methods, emphasizing 3-7 membered rings.

Ln(OTf)3-catalysed highly regioselective alcoholysis of 2,3-epoxy alcohols

Regioselectivity of Ln(OTf)3-catalysed alcoholysis of 2,3- and 3,4-epoxy alcohols was closely investigated to expand the scope of the transformations. The synthetic use was demonstrated by application to the construction of 4-propoxy-5-hydroxy-2,3-pentanedione (C4-propoxy-HPD), which is a potent synthetic mediator in AI-2 quorum sensing.