Asymmetric total synthesis of cryptoconcatone I

Synthetic studies towards naturally occurring aporpinones: asymmetric synthesis of 1'-deshydroxymethyl analogues of aporpinone A, aporpinone B and 4'-hydroxyaporpinone A

Herein, we disclose the asymmetric total synthesis of 1'-deshydroxymethyl analogues of naturally occurring aporpinone A, aporpinone B, and 4'-hydroxyaporpinone A, featuring a γ-Z-alkylidene butenolide framework. Bimetallic (Pd-Cu) cascade cyclization on a properly functionalized bis-alkyne with Z-2-bromoacrylic acid was employed to construct the butenolide framework with an alkyne appendage. Late-stage enzymatic kinetic resolution (EKR) was adopted for the synthesis of (R)-1'-deshydroxymethyl aporpinone A and (S)-1'-deshydroxymethyl acetyl aporpinone A. The enantiopure bis-alkyne required for the synthesis of (S)-1'-deshydroxymethyl aporpinone B and (R)-1'-deshydroxymethyl 4'-hydroxyaporpinone A was constructed through the Sonogashira cross-coupling reaction.

Molecular Docking of Cryptoconcatones to α-Tubulin and Related Pironetin Analogues

Cryptoconcatones A-L represent a series of 12 dihydropyrone derivatives isolated from the evergreen tree Cryptocarya concinna Hance, which is well distributed in southeast Asia. The lead compound in the series, cryptoconcatone L, has revealed antiproliferative activity against cultured cancer cells but its mechanism of action remains unknown. Based on a structural analogy with the anticancer natural product pironetin, which is well known for binding covalently to α-tubulin and for functioning as a microtubule polymerization inhibitor, we investigated the interaction of cryptoconcatones with tubulin dimers using molecular docking. The α-tubulin binding capacity of each compound was quantified (through calculation of the empirical energy of interaction ΔE) and structure-binding relationships were delineated. Two compounds were found to interact with α-tubulin much more potently than pironetin: cryptoconcatones F and L. In both cases, the facile formation of a covalent bond with Cys316 was evidenced, as observed with the parent compound pironetin. A few other pironetin analogues were investigated, including spicigerolide, which is an analogue of another known α-tubulin binder. Altogether, this study points to the identification of a series of 5,6-dihydro-α-pyrones as α-tubulin-binding agents. The study contributes to a better understanding of the mechanism of action of cryptoconcatones and should help the design of analogues targeting the pironetin site of α-tubulin.

Synthetic studies towards naturally occurring γ-(Z)/(E)-alkylidenebutenolides through bimetallic cascade cyclization and an adventitious photoisomerization method

A general and flexible visible light-induced photoisomerization method of γ-(Z)-alkylidenebutenolides to their corresponding E-components was reported in this article. Initially, a series of naturally occurring enantiopure γ-(Z)-alkylidenebutenolides was synthesized by employing a "Pd-Cu" bimetallic cascade cyclization protocol. In the later part, the synthesized γ-(Z)-alkylidenebutenolides were photoisomerized in the presence of a triplet photosensitizer to γ-(E)-alkylidenebutenolides in reasonably acceptable yields. Total synthesis of goniobutenolides, hygrophorones, ramariolide D, melodorinols/acetyl-melodorinols, versicolactones, and phomopsolidones was achieved by employing the developed methods.

Recent reports on the synthesis of γ-butenolide, γ-alkylidenebutenolide frameworks, and related natural products

γ-Butenolides are fundamental frameworks found in many naturally occurring compounds, and they exhibit tremendous biological activities. γ-Butenolides also have proven their potential as useful synthetic intermediates in the total synthesis of natural compounds. Over the years, many γ-butenolide natural products have been isolated, having exocyclic γ-δ unsaturation in their structure. These natural products are collectively referred to as γ-alkylidenebutenolides. Considering the different biological profiles and wide-ranging structural diversity of the optically active γ-butenolide, the development of synthetic strategies for assembling such challenging scaffolds has attracted significant attention from synthetic chemists in recent times. In this report, a brief discussion will be provided to address isolation, biogenesis, and current state-of-the-art synthetic protocols for such molecules. This report aims to focus on synthetic strategies for γ-butenolides from 2010-2020 with a particular emphasis on γ-alkylidenebutenolides and related molecules. Metal-mediated catalytic transformation and organocatalysis are the two main reaction types that have been widely used to access such molecules. Mechanistic considerations, enantioselective synthesis, and practical applications of the reported procedures are also taken into consideration.

Iodine/water-mediated deprotective oxidation of allylic ethers to access α,β-unsaturated ketones and aldehydes

The first iodine/water-mediated deprotective oxidation of allylic ethers to access α,β-unsaturated ketones and aldehydes was achieved. The reaction tolerates a wide range of functionalities. Furthermore, this protocol was found to be applicable to the oxidative transformation of allylic acetates. The proposed mechanism involves an oxygen transfer from solvent water to the carbonyl products.

The first iodine/water-mediated deprotective oxidation of allylic ethers to access α,β-unsaturated ketones and aldehydes was effectively achieved.