Enantiopure DAVA-derivatives-part III. Synthesis of all 4 stereoisomers of 2-methyl-4-hydroxy-5-aminopentanoic acid (2-Me-4-OH-DAVA)

Total synthesis of stemaphylline N-oxide and related C9a-epimeric analogues

Winning the relay: The first total synthesis of stemaphylline N-oxide has been completed utilizing a bistandem relay ring-closing-metathesis (RRCM) strategy, necessitated by the conformation of the requisite tetraene. This effort also gave unnatural 9a-epi-stemaphylline and 9a-epi-stemaphylline N-oxide.

Stereoselective syntheses of the C(1)-C(9) fragment of amphidinolide C

Stereoselective syntheses of the C(1)-C(9) fragments 18 and 28 of amphidinolide C have been developed. The first-generation sequence involves a diastereoselective chelate-controlled [3 + 2]-annulation reaction of 6 and 7, while the second-generation synthesis involves an intramolecular hetero-Michael cyclization of 8.

Enantioselective synthesis of (-)-terpestacin and (-)-fusaproliferin: clarification of optical rotational measurements and absolute configurational assignments establishes a homochiral structural series

An enantioselective synthesis of the syncytium formation inhibitor (-)-terpestacin (1, 19 steps, 5.8% yield from the allylation product of (R,R)-pseudoephedrine propionamide, 3) and the fungal metabolite (-)-fusaproliferin (2, 21 steps, 5.3% yield from 3) in their natural configurations is described. The route employs a series of stereoselective enolate alkylation reactions to establish the initial stereogenic center, set the quaternary carbon configuration, close the 15-membered ring, and introduce the side-chain residue with proper stereocontrol. Careful analysis of our synthetic materials alongside natural samples has revealed that several errors were made in the earlier measurements of optical rotation or in the absolute stereochemical assignments of these natural products. Clarifying all discrepancies, we show here that natural terpestacin (1) is levorotatory, not dextrorotatory as originally described, but was correctly assigned as the (1S,11S,15R,23S)-enantiomer. Fusaproliferin (2) is levorotatory, as reported, but is in fact the (1S,11S,15R,23S)-enantiomer and not the antipodal configuration originally assigned.

Synthesis and pharmacology of the baclofen homologues 5-amino-4-(4-chlorophenyl)pentanoic acid and the R- and S-enantiomers of 5-amino-3-(4-chlorophenyl)pentanoic acid

(RS)-5-Amino-4-(4-chlorophenyl)pentanoic acid (10) and the R-form (11) and S-form (12) of (RS)-5-amino-3-(4-chlorophenyl)pentanoic acid, which are homologues of the 4-aminobutanoic acidB (GABAB) receptor agonist (RS)-4-amino-3-(4-chlorophenyl)butanoic acid (baclofen), were synthesized. Compound 10 was synthesized by homologation at the carboxyl end of baclofen using a seven-step reaction sequence. N-Boc-protected (4R, 5R)-4-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-hydroxy-2-piperidone (18) was deoxygenated via a modified Barton-McCombie reaction to give N-Boc-protected (R)-4-(4-chlorophenyl)-2-piperidone (20), which was ring opened and deprotected to give 11.HCl. The corresponding S-enantiomer, 12.HCl, was synthesized analogously from the 4S,5S-enantiomer of 18, compound 21. The enantiomeric purities of 11.HCl (ee = 99.8%) and 12. HCl (ee = 99.3%) were determined by chiral HPLC. Compound 10 did not show detectable affinity for GABAA or GABAB receptor sites and was inactive as an agonist or an antagonist at GABAB receptors in the guinea pig ileum. Like the enantiomers of baclofen, neither 11 nor 12 showed detectable affinity for GABAA receptor sites, and in agreement with the findings for (S)-baclofen, 12 did not interact significantly with GABAB receptor sites. Compound 11 (IC50 = 7.4 +/- 0.6 microM), a homologue of (R)-baclofen (2), was shown to be some 50 times weaker than 2 (IC50 = 0.14 +/- 0.01 microM) as an inhibitor of GABAB binding. Accordingly, 11 (EC50 = 150 +/- 23 microM) was shown to be weaker than 2 (EC50 = 11 +/- 1 microM) as an inhibitor of electrically induced contractions of the guinea pig ileum. However, whereas this effect of 2 was sensitive to the GABAB antagonist, CGP35348 (4), the inhibition by 11 was not significantly affected. Furthermore, 12 (EC50 = 310 +/- 16 microM) was shown to be one-half as potent as 11 in this test system, and this effect of 12 also was insensitive to 4. The dissimilarities of the pharmacological effects of 2 and compounds 11 and 12 were emphasized by the observation that whereas 2 only inhibits the ileum contraction by 59 +/- 5%, 11 as well as 12 were shown to inhibit this response by approximately 94%. Neither 11 nor 12 appeared to affect significantly cholinergic mechanisms in the ileum, and their mechanism(s) of action remain enigmatic.