First total synthesis of cyrmenin B1

Asymmetric Synthesis of Three Alkenyl Epoxides: Crafting the Sex Pheromones of the Elm Spanworm and the Painted Apple Moth

A concise synthesis of the sex pheromones of elm spanworm as well as painted apple moth has been achieved. The key steps were the alkylation of acetylide ion, Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation and Brown's P2-Ni reduction. This approach provided the sex pheromone of the elm spanworm (1) in 31% total yield and those of the painted apple moth (2, 3) in 26% and 32% total yields. The ee values of three final products were up to 99%. The synthesized pheromones hold promising potential for use in the management and control of these pests.

Natural Compound-derived Cytochrome bc1 Complex Inhibitors as Antifungal Agents

The high incidence of fungal pathogens has become a global issue for crop protection. A promising strategy to control fungal plant infections is based on the use of nature-inspired compounds. The cytochrome bc1 complex is an essential component of the cellular respiratory chain and is one of the most important fungicidal targets. Natural products have played a crucial role in the discovery of cytochrome bc1 inhibitors, as proven by the development of strobilurins, one of the most important classes of crop-protection agents, over the past two decades. In this review, we summarize advances in the exploration of natural product scaffolds for the design and development of new bc1 complex inhibitors. Particular emphasis is given to molecular modeling-based approaches and structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies performed to improve the stability and increase the potency of natural precursors. The collected results highlight the versatility of natural compounds and provide an insight into the potential development of nature-inspired derivatives as antifungal agents.

Dehydration reactions in polyfunctional natural products

Here, we review methods for chemical dehydration of alcohols to alkenes and discuss the potential of late-stage functionalization by direct, site- and chemo-selective dehydration of complex molecular substrates.

α,β-Dehydroamino acids in naturally occurring peptides

α,β-Dehydroamino acids are naturally occurring non-coded amino acids, found primarily in peptides. The review focuses on the type of α,β-dehydroamino acids, the structure of dehydropeptides, the source of their origin and bioactivity. Dehydropeptides are isolated primarily from bacteria and less often from fungi, marine invertebrates or even higher plants. They reveal mainly antibiotic, antifungal, antitumour, and phytotoxic activity. More than 60 different structures were classified, which often cover broad families of peptides. 37 different structural units containing the α,β-dehydroamino acid residues were shown including various side chains, Z and E isomers, and main modifications: methylation of peptide bond as well as the introduction of ester group and heterocycle ring. The collected data show the relation between the structure and bioactivity. This allows the activity of compounds, which were not studied in this field, but which belong to a larger peptide family to be predicted. A few examples show that the type of the geometrical isomer of the α,β-dehydroamino acid residue can be important or even crucial for biological activity.

Binaphthyl-1,2,3-triazole peptidomimetics with activity against Clostridium difficile and other pathogenic bacteria

Designed binaphthyl-based, cationic peptidomimetic antimicrobials targeting C. difficile, incorporating a click-derived 1,2,3-triazole ester isostere at the C-terminus MICs of 4 μg mL⁻¹ against three human isolates of C. difficile.

Iron-catalyzed aerobic oxidation of allylic alcohols: the issue of C═C bond isomerization

An aerobic oxidation of allylic alcohols using Fe(NO3)3·9H2O/TEMPO/NaCl as catalysts under atmospheric pressure of oxygen at room temperature was developed. This eco-friendly and mild protocol provides a convenient pathway to the synthesis of stereodefined α,β-unsaturated enals or enones with the retention of the C-C double-bond configuration.

A highly tunable stereoselective olefination of semistabilized triphenylphosphonium ylides with N-sulfonyl imines

The Wittig reaction involving direct olefination of triphenylphosphonium ylides (Ph(3)P horizontal lineCHR) with aldehydes is arguably the most often used method for alkene synthesis, but in general it yields mixtures of Z- and E-alkenes for semistabilized triphenylphosphonium ylides (R = aryl or vinyl). We have developed a simple and efficient protocol to improve the stereoselectivity significantly by replacing the aldehydes used in the Wittig reaction with N-sulfonyl imines, which possess distinct electronic and steric properties relative to aldehydes. A broad range of aromatic, alpha,beta-unsaturated, and aliphatic imines bearing appropriate N-sulfonyl groups smoothly undergo olefination reaction with various benzylidenetriphenylphosphoranes or allylidenetriphenylphosphoranes under mild reaction conditions to afford an array of both Z- and E-isomers of conjugated alkenes in good to excellent yields and with greater than 99:1 stereoselectivity. Moreover, this tunable protocol has been successfully applied to the highly stereoselective synthesis of two anticancer agents, DMU-212 and its Z-isomer.