Total Synthesis of (+)-Erogorgiaene and the Pseudopterosin A-F Aglycone via Enantioselective Cobalt-Catalyzed Hydrovinylation.

Due to their pronounced bioactivity and limited availability from natural resources, metabolites of the soft coral Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae, such as erogorgiaene and the pseudopterosines, represent important target molecules for chemical synthesis. We have now developed a particularly short and efficient route towards these marine diterpenes exploiting an operationally convenient enantioselective cobalt-catalyzed hydrovinylation as the chirogenic step. Other noteworthy C-C bond forming transformations include diastereoselective Lewis acid-mediated cyclizations, a Suzuki coupling and a carbonyl ene reaction. Starting from 4-methyl-styrene the anti-tubercular agent (+)-erogorgiaene (>98 % ee) was prepared in only 7 steps with 46 % overall yield. In addition, the synthesis of the pseudopterosin A aglycone was achieved in 12 steps with 30 % overall yield and, surprisingly, was found to exhibit a similar anti-inflammatory activity (inhibition of LPS-induced NF-κB activation) as a natural mixture of pseudopterosins A-D or iso-pseudopterosin A, prepared by ß-D-xylosylation of the synthetic aglycone.

Low-Pressure Cobalt-Catalyzed Enantioselective Hydrovinylation of Vinylarenes.

An efficient and practical protocol for the enantioselective cobalt-catalyzed hydrovinylation of vinylarenes with ethylene at low (1.2 bar) pressure has been developed. As precatalysts, stable [L2 CoCl2 ] complexes are employed that are activated in situ with Et2 AlCl. A modular chiral TADDOL-derived phosphine-phosphite ligand was identified that allows the conversion of a broad spectrum of substrates, including heterocyclic vinylarenes and vinylferrocene, to smoothly afford the branched products with up to 99 % ee and virtually complete regioselectivity. Even polar functional groups, such as OH, NH2 , CN, and CO2 R, are tolerated.