Iterative Direct Aldol Strategy for Polypropionates: Enantioselective Total Synthesis of (−)-Membrenone A and B

Chiral bisphosphine Ph-BPE ligand: a rising star in asymmetric synthesis

Chiral 1,2-bis(2,5-diphenylphospholano)ethane (Ph-BPE) is a class of optimal organic bisphosphine ligands with C2-symmetry. Ph-BPE with its excellent catalytic performance in asymmetric synthesis has attracted much attention of chemists with increasing popularity and is growing into one of the most commonly used organophosphorus ligands, especially in asymmetric catalysis. Over two hundred examples have been reported since 2012. This review presents how Ph-BPE is utilized in asymmetric synthesis and how powerful it is as a chiral ligand or even a catalyst in a wide range of reactions including applications in the total synthesis of bioactive molecules.

Zinc-Catalyzed Enantioselective [3 + 3] Annulation for Synthesis of Chiral Spiro[indoline-3,4'-thiopyrano[2,3-b]indole] Derivatives

With a dinuclear zinc-ProPhenol complex as a catalyst, an efficient and novel [3 + 3] annulation of indoline-2-thiones and isatylidene malononitriles has been successfully developed via the Brønsted base and Lewis acid cooperative activation model. This practical methodology gives access to a broad range of chiral spiro[indoline-3,4'-thiopyrano[2,3-b]indole] derivatives in good yields with excellent levels of enantioselectivities (up to 88% yield and 99% ee).

Expeditious Asymmetric Synthesis of Polypropionates Relying on Sulfur Dioxide-Induced C–C Bond Forming Reactions

For a long time, the organic chemistry of sulfur dioxide (SO2) consisted of sulfinates that react with carbon electrophiles to generate sulfones. With alkenes and other unsaturated compounds, SO2 generates polymeric materials such as polysulfones. More recently, H-ene, sila-ene and hetero-Diels–Alder reactions of SO2 have been realized under conditions that avoid polymer formation. Sultines resulting from the hetero-Diels–Alder reactions of conjugated dienes and SO2 are formed more rapidly than the corresponding more stable sulfolenes resulting from the cheletropic additions. In the presence of a protic or Lewis acid catalyst, the sultines derived from 1-alkoxydienes are ionized into zwitterionic intermediates bearing 1-alkoxyallylic cation moieties which react with electro-rich alkenes such as enol silyl ethers and allylsilanes with high stereoselectivity. (C–C-bond formation through Umpolung induced by SO2). This produces silyl sulfinates that react with carbon electrophiles to give sulfones (one-pot four component asymmetric synthesis of sulfones), or with Cl2, generating the corresponding sulfonamides that can be reacted in situ with primary and secondary amines (one-pot four component asymmetric synthesis of sulfonamides). Alternatively, Pd-catalyzed desulfinylation generates enantiomerically pure polypropionate stereotriads in one-pot operations. The chirons so obtained are flanked by an ethyl ketone moiety on one side and by a prop-1-en-1-yl carboxylate group on the other. They are ready for two-directional chain elongations, realizing expeditious synthesis of long-chain polypropionates and polyketides. The stereotriads have also been converted into simpler polypropionates such as the cyclohexanone moiety of baconipyrone A and B, Kishi’s stereoheptad unit of rifamycin S, Nicolaou’s C1–C11-fragment and Koert’s C16–CI fragment of apoptolidin A. This has also permitted the first total synthesis of (-)-dolabriferol.

Iterative Polyketide Synthesis via a Consecutive Carbonyl-Protecting Strategy

To address the difficulty in protecting a β-polycarbonyl compound, a method for the sequential protection of elongating carbonyl groups was demonstrated. The iterative chain elongation of a carboxylic acid with malonic acid half thioester followed by the protection of the resulting β-ketothioester was performed via the stepwise formation of an isoxazole ring using an O-protected oxime functionality. Yangonin and isosakuranetin were synthesized according to this procedure.

Catalytic enantioselective aldol reactions

Recent developments in catalytic asymmetric aldol reactions have been summarized.

Leptolyngbyolides, Cytotoxic Macrolides from the Marine Cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp.: Isolation, Biological Activity, and Catalytic Asymmetric Total Synthesis

Four new macrolactones, leptolyngbyolides A-D, were isolated from the cyanobacterium Leptolyngbya sp. collected in Okinawa, Japan. The planar structures of leptolyngbyolides were determined by extensive NMR studies, although complete assignment of the absolute configuration awaited the catalytic asymmetric total synthesis of leptolyngbyolide C. The synthesis took advantage of the catalytic asymmetric thioamide-aldol reaction using copper(I) complexed with a chiral bidentate phosphine ligand to regulate two key stereochemistries of the molecule at the outset. The present total synthesis demonstrates the utility of this reaction for the construction of complex chemical entities. In addition to the total synthesis, this work reports that leptolyngbyolides depolymerize filamentous actin (F-actin) both in vitro and in cells. Detailed biological studies suggest the probable order of F-actin depolymerization and apoptosis caused by leptolyngbyolides.

Bioinspired iterative synthesis of polyketides

Diverse array of biopolymers and second metabolites (particularly polyketide natural products) has been manufactured in nature through an enzymatic iterative assembly of simple building blocks. Inspired by this strategy, molecules with inherent modularity can be efficiently synthesized by repeated succession of similar reaction sequences. This privileged strategy has been widely adopted in synthetic supramolecular chemistry. Its value also has been reorganized in natural product synthesis. A brief overview of this approach is given with a particular emphasis on the total synthesis of polyol-embedded polyketides, a class of vastly diverse structures and biologically significant natural products. This viewpoint also illustrates the limits of known individual modules in terms of diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity. More efficient and practical iterative strategies are anticipated to emerge in the future development.