The asymmetric synthesis of an isomer of podophyllotoxin

Asymmetric synthesis, stereochemistry and rearrangement reactions of naturally occurring 7′-hydroxylignano-9,9′-lactones

The asymmetric synthesis of a series of (7'S,8R,8'R)-7'-hydroxylignano-9,9'-lactones is presented, among them the mammalian lignan (7'S)-hydroxyenterolactone and (7'S)-parabenzlactone, allowing the stereochemistry of natural occurring (-)-parabenzlactone to be re-assigned. A hydroxylactone rearrangement and its possible mechanisms are discussed. Finally a brief survey of the current naming and numbering variants of 7'-hydroxylignano-9,9'-lactones is presented, along with a suggestion for harmonization of the nomenclature.

Origin of Chiral Induction in Radical Reactions with the Diastereoisomers (5R)- and (5S)-5-l-Menthyloxyfuran-2[5H]-one

Acetalization of 5-hydroxyfuran-2[5H]-one with l-menthol yields (5R)- (1) and (5S)-5-l-menthyloxyfuran-2[5H]-one (2) in equal amounts. The diastereomer 1 crystallizes preferentially. For the first time, the isolation of pure diastereoisomer 2 is reported. Different diastereoselectivities were observed in the radical tandem reaction of 1 and 2 with N,N-dimethylaniline. The privileged conformations in solution of the substrates and the products of the radical reaction were then determined, and X-ray crystal structure analyses were carried out on the reaction products. The different stereoselectivities in both cases are explained by different orientations of the menthyloxy substituent.