ABSTRACT
Indolizinones are under-explored N-heterocycles that react with exquisite chemo- and stereoselectivity. An exploration of the fundamental reactivity of these azabicycles demonstrates the potential to relay stereochemical information from the ring-fusion to newly formed stereocenters on the bicyclic core. The indolizinone diene undergoes selective hydrogenation and readily participates in Diels-Alder cycloadditions as well as ene reactions. The vinylogous amide embedded in the five-membered ring is resistant to reaction when the diene is in place. However, removal of the diene allows for diastereoselective hydrogenation of, and 1,4-additions to, the vinylogous amide. These fundamental reactions with indolizinones have provided a structurally diverse array of products that hold promise in the context of natural product synthesis.
ABSTRACT
A second-generation synthesis of the pentacyclic core of the cortistatins, a family of rearranged steroidal alkaloids that have recently attracted much attention, is reported. The improved sequence provides access to significant quantities of this key compound, which enabled a formal total synthesis of (±)-cortistatin A by conversion to the key Nicolaou/Hirama dienone. It is anticipated that this new, robust route to the pentacyclic core will facilitate the total synthesis of a range of natural products in the cortistatin family, as well as the construction of key structural analogs to probe the promising biological activity of these important compounds.
ABSTRACT
Hetero-cycloisomerization reactions of propargylic alcohol derivatives leading to indolizines have been demonstrated to proceed in the presence of water alone. This stands as a significant advance over the previous methods using Pt, Cu or Ag salts paired with ligands in organic solvents such as benzene, acetonitrile or methylene chloride.