Stereoselective synthesis of the C31-C40/C43-C52 unit of amphidinol 3

Synthetic and biosynthetic methods for selective cyclisations of 4,5-epoxy alcohols to tetrahydropyrans

Tetrahydropyrans (THPs) are common structural motifs found in natural products and synthetic therapeutic molecules. In Nature these 6-membered oxygen heterocycles are often assembled via intramolecular reactions involving either oxy-Michael additions or ring opening of epoxy-alcohols. Indeed, the polyether natural products have been particularly widely studied due to their fascinating structures and important biological properties; these are commonly formed via endo-selective epoxide-opening cascades. In this review we outline synthetic approaches for endo-selective intramolecular epoxide ring opening (IERO) of 4,5-epoxy-alcohols and their applications in natural product synthesis. In addition, the biosynthesis of THP-containing natural products which utilise IERO reactions are reviewed.

A highly convergent synthesis of the C1-C31 polyol domain of amphidinol 3 featuring a TST-RCM reaction: confirmation of the revised relative stereochemistry

The concise enantioselective synthesis of the revised C1-C31 fragment of the polyketide amphidinol 3 was accomplished in 16 steps and 12.8% overall yield. Salient features of the strategy include chemoselective Weinreb amide coupling and concomitant CBS reduction for the preparation of the C1-C15 tris-syn-1,5-diol motif and a temporary silicon-tethered ring-closing metathesis (TST-RCM) reaction in combination with a diastereoselective hydroboration for the construction of the C16-C31 polypropionate fragment. The union of the fragments was accomplished by a regioselective ring-opening of the terminal epoxide with a phenyl sulfone stabilized carbanion, which upon reduction and deprotection permits a comparison of the relative configuration with the natural product.

Strategies for the construction of tetrahydropyran rings in the synthesis of natural products

This review focuses on the methodology used for the construction of tetrahydropyran (THP) rings in the synthesis of natural products over the last seven years. While methods like cyclisation onto oxocarbenium ions, reduction of cyclic hemi-ketals, Michael reactions, hetero-Diels-Alder cycloadditions and cyclisations onto epoxides continue to find application, several other strategies including metal-mediated cyclisations, ring-closing metathesis, radical cyclisations and carbocation cyclisations have also found use. This review is intended to provide an overview of the area for those who are unfamiliar, and to refresh and remind those who do work in the area of the exciting developments in the field.

Isolation, structural determination and synthetic approaches toward amphidinol 3

This review highlights the isolation and the structural determination of amphidinol 3 (AM3), as well as the synthetic efforts to its preparation. The mechanism of action of AM3 will not be developed herein.

Karlotoxin synthetic studies: concise synthesis of a C(42-63) B-ring tetrahydropyran fragment

Starting from natural D-mannose, a C(42-63) B-ring tetrahydropyran fragment in karlotoxin 2 has been prepared via a common THP intermediate in a concise manner. E-selective Julia-Kocienski olefination efficiently assembled a C(51-63) chlorodiene subunit and a C(42-50) tetrahydropyran segment.

Confirmation of the absolute configuration at C45 of amphidinol 3

Amphidinol 3 (AM3), a membrane-active agent isolated from the dinoflagellate Amphidinium klebsii, consists of a long carbon chain containing 25 stereogenic centers. Although the absolute configuration of AM3 was determined by extensive NMR analysis and degradation of the natural product, the partial structure corresponding to the tetrahydropyran ring system was found to be antipodal to that of karlotoxin 2, a structurally related compound recently isolated from the dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum. By extensive degradation of the natural product and conversion of the resulting alcohol to an MTPA ester, the absolute configuration at C45 of AM3 was confirmed to be R, supporting the originally proposed structure.

Synthesis of the bis-tetrahydropyran core of amphidinol 3

A convergent synthesis of the C31-C52 bis-tetrahydropyran core of the natural product amphidinol 3 is reported. A common intermediate was synthesized from d-tartaric acid utilizing an asymmetric glycolate alkylation/ring-closing metathesis sequence to construct the THP rings. Differential elaboration of the common intermediate allowed the synthesis of two distinct coupling partners which were joined through a modified Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination to provide the bis-tetrahydropyran core.