Studies directed toward the total synthesis of azaspiracid: stereoselective construction of C(1)-C(12), C(13)-C(19), and C(21)-C(25) fragments.

[reaction: see text] The efficient entry to the C(1)-C(12), C(13)-C(19), and C(21)-C(25) fragments of azaspiracid is outlined. The C(1)-C(12) portion is constructed using a key asymmetric allenyl borane addition to the corresponding alpha,beta-unsaturated aldehyde. The synthesis of the C(13)-C(19) portion utilizes an Evans asymmetric alkylation followed by Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation. In addition, a novel solution to the mismatched effects of a neighboring chiral oxazolidinone during a Sharpless dihydroxylation is detailed.