Efficient Strategy for the Construction of Both Enantiomers of the Octahydropyrroloquinolinone Ring System: Total Synthesis of (+)-Aspidospermidine

Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (-)-Hunterine A Enabled by a Desymmetrization/Rearrangement Strategy

The first enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-hunterine A is disclosed. Our strategy employs a catalytic asymmetric desymmetrization of a symmetrical diketone and subsequent Beckmann rearrangement to construct a 5,6-α-aminoketone. A convergent 1,2-addition joins a vinyl dianion nucleophile and the enantioenriched ketone. The endgame of the synthesis features an aza-Cope/Mannich reaction and azide-olefin dipolar cycloaddition to complete the pentacyclic ring system. The synthesis is completed through a regioselective aziridine ring opening.

Aspidosperma and Strychnos alkaloids: Chemistry and biology

Of Nature's nearly 3000 unique monoterpene indole alkaloids derived from tryptophan, those members belonging to the Aspidosperma and Strychnos families continue to impact the fields of natural products (i.e., isolation, structure determination, biosynthesis) and organic chemistry (i.e., chemical synthesis, methodology development) among others. This review covers the biological activity (Section 2), biosynthesis (Section 3), and synthesis of both classical and novel Aspidosperma (Section 4), Strychnos (Section 5), and selected bis-indole (Section 6) alkaloids. Technological advancements in genetic sequencing and bioinformatics have deepened our understanding of how Nature assembles these intriguing molecules. The proliferation of innovative synthetic strategies and tactics for the synthesis of the alkaloids covered in this review, which include contributions from over fifty research groups from around the world, are a testament to the creative power and technical skills of synthetic organic chemists. To be sure, Nature-the Supreme molecular architect and source of a dazzling array of irresistible chemical logic puzzles-continues to inspire scientists across multiple disciplines and will certainly continue to do so for the foreseeable future.

Synthetic Approaches to Tricyclic Aminoketones in the Total Synthesis of Aspidosperma and Kopsia Alkaloids

Aspidosperma and kopsia alkaloids are significant functional molecules because of their potent biological activities. Their intricate structures present an intrinsic synthetic challenge and thus attract significant attention from synthetic organic academic community. Over the past decades, a series of elegant strategies has been developed, in particular, the Stork's original Fischer indolization of tricyclic aminoketones 1. Herein, we report a comprehensive review on various synthetic approaches access to tricyclic aminoketones 1 and provide a practical guidance to readers whose are interested in employing tricyclic aminoketones 1 as versatile building blocks in the realm of total synthesis of aspidosperma, kopsia and structurally related alkaloids.

Total Syntheses of Dihydroindole Aspidosperma Alkaloids: Reductive Interrupted Fischer Indolization Followed by Redox Diversification

We report a novel reductive interrupted Fischer indolization process for the concise assembly of the 20-oxoaspidospermidine framework. This rapid complexity generating route paves the way toward various dihydroindole Aspidosperma alkaloids with different C-5 side chain redox patterns. The end-game redox modulations were accomplished by modified Wolff-Kishner reaction and photo-Wolff rearrangement, enabling the total synthesis of (-)-aspidospermidine, (-)-limaspermidine, and (+)-17-demethoxy-N-acetylcylindrocarine and the formal total synthesis of (-)-1-acetylaspidoalbidine.

Palladium-catalyzed asymmetric dearomative cyclization in natural product synthesis

Asymmetric catalysis is a rapidly growing field in modern organic chemistry and has been indispensable for the synthesis of enantioenriched materials to meet demands from the academies to pharmaceutical industries. Asymmetric dearomative cyclization catalyzed by transition metals has been a hot research area in the last decade. Fascinated by its ability to construct sterically hindered quaternary stereogenic center(s) through dearomatization and simultaneously forging new ring structure(s) through cyclization, palladium-catalyzed asymmetric dearomative cyclization has been applied to the synthesis of structurally complicated natural products and it is increasingly prevalent in the literature. In particular, the resultant product from dearomative cyclization, which usually carries one or more unsaturated C-C bond(s), allows further functional group transformations. Previously reported applications of palladium-catalyzed asymmetric dearomative cyclization in natural product synthesis are presented here and discussed in depth.

Switching Electrophile Intermediates to Nucleophiles: Michael and Oxa-Diels-Alder Reactions to Afford Polyoxy-Functionalized Piperidine Derivatives with Tetrasubstituted Carbon

Michael, Michael-annulation, and oxa-Diels-Alder reactions of carbohydrate derivatives that afford polyoxy-functionalized piperidine derivatives bearing tetrasubstituted carbon at the 3-position of the piperidine ring are reported. Iminium ions generated from carbohydrate derivatives with amines were converted to enamines in situ, which acted as nucleophiles. As a result, substituents were introduced at the 3-position or both 2- and 3-positions of the piperidines bearing polyoxy groups. This strategy will be useful in drug discovery efforts.

The indole-based subincanadine alkaloids and their biogenetic congeners

The tryptamine-derived polycyclic bridged bioactive indole alkaloids subincanadines A-G were isolated in 2002 by Ohsaki and coworkers from the bark of the Brazilian medicinal plant Aspidosperma subincanum. Kobayashi proposed that subincanadines D-F could be biosynthetically resulting from stemmadenine via two different pathways and, furthermore, that the subincanadines A-C could be biogenetically resulting from subincanadines D and E. Kam and coworkers, in their focused efforts, isolated five indole alkaloids from Malaysian Kopsia arborea species, namely valparicine, apparicine, arboridinine, arborisidine, and arbornamine in combination with subincanadine E. On the basis of structural features, it has been proposed and proved in some examples that subincanadine E is a biogenetic precursor of these five different bioactive indole alkaloids bearing complex structural architectures. All important information on isolation, characterization, bioactivity, probable biogenetic pathways, and more specifically racemic and enantioselective total synthesis of subincanadine alkaloids and their biogenetic congeners are summarized in the present chapter. Special importance is given to the total synthesis and the synthetic strategies intended therein, comprising a set of main reactions.

Synthesis of 2,3-disubstituted indoles via a tandem reaction

A wide array of 2,3-disubstituted indoles were accessed in modest to good yields via a tandem reduction/condensation/fragmentation/cyclization sequence. Differential fragmentation made the reaction more complicated.

Efficient Enantioselective Syntheses of Chiral Natural Products Facilitated by Ligand Design

The employment of enantioselective transition-metal-catalyzed transformations as key steps in asymmetric natural product syntheses have attracted considerable attention in recent years owing to their versatile synthetic utilities, mild conditions and high efficiency in chirality generation. The chiral catalysts or supporting ligands are believed to be crucial for the requisite reactivity and enantioselectivity. Therefore, the rational design of chiral ligands is at the heart of developing new asymmetric transition-metal catalyzed reactions and provides an avenue to the asymmetric synthesis of natural products. Our group has been engaged in the development of transition-metal-catalyzed enantioselective cross-coupling, cyclization and other related reactions and the application of these methodologies to natural product syntheses. In this account, we summarized our recent synthetic efforts towards the efficient total syntheses of several different types of natural products including terpenes, alkaloids and polyketides facilitated by the design of a series of versatile P-chiral phosphorous ligands.

Progress in total synthesis of subincanadine alkaloids and their congeners

A concise account of isolation, characterization, bioactivity, plausible biogenetic pathways, and most importantly, total synthesis of structurally fascinating and biologically imperious indole-based subincanadine alkaloids and their biogenetic congeners are described in the present review with special emphasis on total synthesis and therein an involved set of key reactions.

Cycloaddition/annulation strategies for the construction of multisubstituted pyrrolidines and their applications in natural product synthesis

Pyrrolidines are privileged substructures of numerous bioactive natural products and drugs.

Efficient syntheses of (-)-crinine and (-)-aspidospermidine, and the formal synthesis of (-)-minfiensine by enantioselective intramolecular dearomative cyclization

Palladium-catalyzed enantioselective dearomative cyclization has enabled the concise and enantioselective total syntheses of (–)-crinine and (–)-aspidospermidine, as well as a formal total synthesis of (–)-minfiensine.

Polycyclic alkaloids bearing all-carbon quaternary centers possess a diversity of biological activities and are challenging targets in natural product synthesis. The development of a general and asymmetric catalytic method applicable to the efficient syntheses of a series of complex polycyclic alkaloids remains highly desirable in synthetic chemistry. Herein we describe an efficient palladium-catalyzed enantioselective dearomative cyclization which is capable of synthesizing two important classes of tricyclic nitrogen-containing skeleton, chiral dihydrophenanthridinone and dihydrocarbazolone derivatives bearing all-carbon quaternary centers, in excellent yields and enantioselectivities. The P-chiral monophosphorus ligand AntPhos is crucial for the reactivity and enantioselectivity, and the choice of the N-phosphoramide protecting group is essential for the desired chemoselectivity. This method has enabled the enantioselective total syntheses of three distinctive and challenging biologically important polycyclic alkaloids, specifically a concise and gram-scale synthesis of (–)-crinine, an efficient synthesis of indole alkaloid (–)-aspidospermidine and a formal enantioselective synthesis of (–)-minfiensine.

Enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-arborescidine C and related tetracyclic indole alkaloids using organocatalysis

Enantioselective synthesis of (+)-arborescidine C was achieved by the key step of Pictet–Spengler cyclization reaction with a Jacobsen-type thiourea organocatalyst.

Fischer indole synthesis applied to the total synthesis of natural products

In this review, we are trying to underscore the application of FIS in one of the crucial step of indole construction in the total synthesis of biologically active natural products.

New Regio- and Stereoselective Cascades via Unstabilized Azomethine Ylide Cycloadditions for the Synthesis of Highly Substituted Tropane and Indolizidine Frameworks

Multisubstituted tropanes and indolizidines have been prepared with high regio- and stereoselectivity by the [3+2] cycloaddition of unstabilized azomethine ylides generated from readily prepared trimethylsilyl-substituted 1,2-dihydropyridines via protonation or alkylation followed by desilylation. Starting from 1,2-dihydropyridines bearing a ring trimethylsilyl substituent at the 6-position, an intermolecular alkylation/desilylation provides endocyclic unstabilized ylides that successfully undergo cycloaddition with a range of symmetrical and unsymmetrical alkyne and alkene dipolarophiles to afford densely substituted tropanes incorporating quaternary carbons in good yields and with high regio- and stereoselectivity. Additionally, an intramolecular alkylation/desilylation/cycloaddition sequence provides convenient and rapid entry to bridged tricyclic tropane skeletons, allowing for five contiguous carbon stereocenters to be set in a single experimental operation and under mild conditions. Starting from 1,2-dihydropyridines with trimethylsilylmethyl groups on nitrogen, protonation followed by desilylation generates exocyclic unstabilized ylides that undergo cycloaddition with unsymmetrical alkynes to give indolizidines with good regio- and stereoselectivity. N-Trimethylsilylmethyl-1,2-dihydropyridines can also be alkylated and subsequently desilylated to give endocyclic unstabilized ylides that undergo intermolecular cycloadditions with carbonyl compounds to give bicyclic oxazolidine products in good overall yields. Moreover, an intramolecular alkylation/desilylation/cycloaddition sequence with the N-trimethylsilylmethyl-1,2-dihydropyridines affords tricyclic indolizidines that incorporate quaternary carbons and up to five stereocenters with good to excellent regio- and diastereoselectivity.

A Route to the C,D,E Ring System of the Aspidosperma Alkaloids

A short synthetic sequence leading to the formation of the C,D,E-ring subunit of the Aspidosperma alkaloids is reported. This route is based on a ring fragmentation/intramolecular azomethine ylide 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction sequence that gives the desired tricyclic product as a single diastereomer. A γ-amino-β-hydroxy-α-diazo carbonyl compound is shown to fragment in the presence of a Lewis acid to give an iminium product that can be directly reduced to the corresponding amine.