Asymmetric total syntheses of aspilactonol F and aspiketolactonol and synthetic studies toward diplofuranoxin

The first asymmetric total synthesis of C9 polyketides, aspilactonol F and aspiketolactonol has been achieved. Ring-closing-metathesis has been employed as the key step in the synthesis. The total synthesis of aspilactonol F and aspiketolactonol was accomplished in 8 and 10 steps, in good overall yields of 28% and 24%, respectively, with only four column purifications for the former. A common strategy for the concise synthesis of the key intermediate of diplofuranoxin is also presented.

Natural Acetogenins, Chatenaytrienins-1, -2, -3 and -4, Mitochondrial Potential Uncouplers and Autophagy Inducers-Promising Anticancer Agents

The present paper details the complete stereoselective synthesis of four natural acetogenins, chatenaytrienins-1, -2, -3 and -4, previously isolated from the roots of fruit trees of the family Annonaceae (A. nutans and A. muricata), as an inseparable mixture. The novel organometallic reactions, developed by the authors, of Ti-catalyzed cross-cyclomagnesiation of O-containing and aliphatic allenes using available Grignard reagents were applied at the key stage of synthesis. We have studied the biological activity of the synthesized individual chatenaytrienins-1, -2, -3 and -4 in vitro, including their cytotoxicity in a panel of tumor lines and their ability to induce apoptosis, affect the cell cycle and mitochondria, and activate the main apoptotic signaling pathways in the cell, applying modern approaches of flow cytometry and multiplex analysis with Luminex xMAP technology. It has been shown that chatenaytrienins affect mitochondria by uncoupling the processes of mitochondrial respiration, causing the accumulation of ROS ions, followed by the initiation of apoptosis. The most likely mechanism for the death of cortical neurons from the consumption of tea from the seeds of Annona fruit is long-term chronic hypoxia, which leads to the development of an atypical form of Parkinson's disease that is characteristic of the indigenous inhabitants of Guam and New Caledonia.

Alkynoates as Versatile and Powerful Chemical Tools for the Rapid Assembly of Diverse Heterocycles under Transition-Metal Catalysis: Recent Developments and Challenges

Heterocycles, heteroaromatics and spirocyclic entities are ubiquitous components of a wide plethora of synthetic drugs, biologically active natural products, marketed pharmaceuticals and agrochemical targets. Recognizing their high proportion in drugs and rich pharmacological potential, these invaluable structural motifs have garnered significant interest, thus enabling the development of efficient catalytic methodologies providing access to architecturally complex and diverse molecules with high atom-economy and low cost. These chemical processes not only allow the formation of diverse heterocycles but also utilize a range of flexible and easily accessible building units in a single operation to discover diversity-oriented synthetic approaches. Alkynoates are significantly important, diverse and powerful building blocks in organic chemistry due to their unique and inherent properties such as the electronic bias on carbon-carbon triple bonds posed by electron-withdrawing groups or the metallic coordination site provided by carbonyl groups. The present review highlights the comprehensive picture of the utility of alkynoates (2007-2019) for the synthesis of various heterocycles (> 50 types) using transition-metal catalysts (Ru, Rh, Pd, Ir, Ag, Au, Pt, Cu, Mn, Fe) in various forms. The valuable function of versatile alkynoates (bearing multifunctional groups) as simple and useful starting materials is explored, thus cyclizing with an array of coupling partners to deliver a broad range of oxygen-, nitrogen-, sulfur-containing heterocycles alongside fused-, and spiro-heterocyclic compounds. In addition, these examples will also focus the scope and reaction limitations, as well as mechanistic investigations into the synthesis of these heterocycles. The biological significance will also be discussed, citing relevant examples of drug molecules highlighting each class of heterocycles. This review summarizes the recent developments in the synthetic methods for the synthesis of various heterocycles using alkynoates as readily available starting materials under transition-metal catalysis.

Ti-Catalyzed Cross-Cyclomagnesiation of 1,2-Dienes in the Total Z,Z,Z-Stereoselective Synthesis of Natural Acetogenin-Chatenaytrienin-1

The first total synthesis of natural acetogenin, chatenaytrienin-1, was performed in 10 steps and in 41% overall yield using cross-cyclomagnesiation of (6Z)-heptadeca-1,2,6-triene and trideca-11,12-dien-1-ol tetrahydropyran acetal with EtMgBr in the presence of Mg metal and the Cp₂TiCl₂ catalyst (10 mol %) as the key step of the synthesis.

The first total synthesis of the marine acetylenic alcohol, lembehyne B - a selective inducer of early apoptosis in leukemia cancer cells

The communication reports a new stereoselective method for the synthesis of a natural acetylenic alcohol, lembehyne B. The key stage of the process uses new cross-cyclomagnesiation reaction of aliphatic and oxygenated 1,2-dienes with Grignard reagents in the presence of a catalytic amount of Cp₂TiCl₂. A study of the cytotoxic properties of lembehyne B on tumor cell lines using flow cytometry demonstrated that this is a selective inducer of early apoptosis of the Jurkat, HL-60 and K562 cell cultures and hypodiploid (sub-G1) sub-population inducer in cell cycle studies for all cell lines used.

A protecting-group-free synthesis of (+)-nephrosteranic, (+)-protolichesterinic, (+)-nephrosterinic, (+)-phaseolinic, (+)-rocellaric acids and (+)-methylenolactocin

A collective synthesis of a γ-butyrolactone class of paraconic acids such as (+)-methylenolactocin, (+)-phaseolinic acid, (+)-nephrosteranic acid, (+)-nephrosterinic acid, (+)-rocellaric acid and (+)-protolichesterinic acid is described.