Lactol-directed osmylation. Stereodivergent synthesis of four C-19,20 apoptolidin diols from a single allylic hemiacetal

Apoptolidins E and F, new glycosylated macrolactones isolated from Nocardiopsis sp

Two new glycosylated macrolactones, apoptolidins E (5) and F (6), were isolated from fermentation of the actinomycete Nocardiopsis sp. and their structures assigned. Lacking the C16 and C20 oxygens of apoptolidin A (1), these macrolides are also the first members of this family to display a 4-O-methyl-l-rhamnose at C9 rather than a 6-deoxy-4-O-methyl-l-glucose.

An approach to the site-selective diversification of apoptolidin A with peptide-based catalysts

We report the application of peptide-based catalysts to the site-selective modification of apoptolidin A (1), an agent that displays remarkable selectivity for inducing apoptosis in E1A-transformed cell lines. Key to the approach was the development of an assay suitable for the screening of dozens of catalysts in parallel reactions that could be conducted using only microgram quantities of the starting material. Employing this assay, catalysts (e.g., 11 and ent-11) were identified that afforded unique product distributions, distinct from the product mixtures produced when a simple catalyst (N,N-dimethyl-4-aminopyridine (10)) was employed. Preparative reactions were then carried out with the preferred catalysts so that unique, homogeneous apoptolidin analogues could be isolated and characterized. From these studies, three new apoptolidin analogues were obtained (12-14), each differing from the other in either the location of acyl group substituents or the number of acetate groups appended to the natural product scaffold. Biological evaluation of the new apoptolidin analogues was then conducted using growth inhibition assays based on the H292 human lung carcinoma cell line. The new analogues exhibited activities comparable to apoptolidin A.

Synthesis of an enantiopure isoxazolidine monomer for β-aspartic acid in chemoselective β-oligopeptide synthesis

The synthesis of an enantiopure isoxazolidine monomer for the incorporation of β(3)-apartic acid residues into β(3)-oligopeptides via chemoselective α-ketoacid-hydroxylamine amide formation. This route involves nitrone cycloaddition of 3-thiophenylpropanal and circumvents limitations of other potential starting materials.

Use of sultines in the asymmetric synthesis of polypropionate antibiotics

At low temperature and in the presence of an acid catalyst, SO2 adds to 1,3-dienes equilibrating with the corresponding 3,6-dihydro-1,2-oxathiin-2-oxides (sultines). These compounds are unstable above -60 °C and equilibrate with the more stable 2,5-dihydrothiophene 1,1-dioxides (sulfolenes). The hetero-Diels-Alder additions of SO2 are suprafacial and follow the Alder endo rule. The sultines derived from 1-oxy-substituted and 1,3-dioxy-disubstituted 1,3-dienes cannot be observed at -100 °C but are believed to be formed faster than the corresponding sulfolenes. In the presence of acid catalysts, the 6-oxy-substituted sultines equilibrate with zwitterionic species that react with electron-rich alkenes such as enoxysilanes and allylsilanes, generating β,γ-unsaturated silyl sulfinates that can be desilylated and desulfinylated to generate polypropionate fragments containing up to three contiguous stereogenic centers and an (E)-alkene unit. Alternatively, the silyl sulfinates can be reacted with electrophiles to generate polyfunctional sulfones (one-pot, four-component synthesis of sulfones), or oxidized into sulfonyl chlorides and reacted with amines, then realizing a one-pot, four-component synthesis of polyfunctional sulfonamides. Using enantiomerically enriched dienes such as 1-[(R)- or 1-(S)-phenylethyloxy]-2-methyl-(E,E)-penta-1,3-dien-3-yl isobutyrate, derived from inexpensive (R)- or (S)-1-phenylethanol, enantiomerically enriched stereotriads are obtained in one-pot operations. The latter are ready for further chain elongation. This has permitted the development of expeditious total asymmetric syntheses of important natural products of biological interest such as the baconipyrones, rifamycin S, and apoptolidin A.