Total synthesis of berkelic acid.

A productive total synthesis of both enantiomers of berkelic acid (1) is outlined that takes the structure revision of this bioactive fungal metabolite previously proposed by our group into account. The successful route relies on a fully optimized triple-deprotection/1,4-addition/spiroacetalization cascade reaction sequence, which delivers the tetracyclic core 32 of the target as a single isomer in excellent yield. The required cyclization precursor 31 is assembled from the polysubstituted benzaldehyde derivative 20 and methyl ketone 25 by an aldol condensation, in which the acetyl residue in 20 transforms from a passive protecting group into an active participant. Access to fragment 25 takes advantage of the Collum-Godenschwager variant of the ester enolate Claisen rearrangement, which clearly surpasses the classical Ireland-Claisen procedure in terms of diastereoselectivity. Although it is possible to elaborate 32 into the target without any additional manipulations of protecting groups, a short detour consisting in the conversion of the phenolic -OH into the corresponding TBS-ether is beneficial. It tempers the sensitivity of the compound toward oxidation and hence improves the efficiency and reliability of the final stages. Orthogonal ester groups for the benzoate and the aliphatic carboxylate terminus of the side chain secure an efficient liberation of free berkelic acid in the final step of the route.

Helical triskelion monophosphites as ligands in asymmetric catalysis.

Members of a new family of chiral triskelion P ligands, namely helical C(3)-symmetric monophosphites P(OR)(3), have been prepared in two steps by monoacylation of (R)- or (S)-1,1'-binaphthyl-2,2'-diol (BINOL) or diphenol using a carboxylic acid chloride followed by PCl(3) phosphorylation. The most sterically hindered member of these monophosphites, derived from the compound accessible by monoacylation of BINOL using adamantane carboxylic acid chloride, has been characterized by X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy as a single well-defined compound. It exists exclusively in the syn conformation, with a propeller-like (twisted) geometry resulting in helicity. Upon utilization of (R)- or (S)-BINOL in the two-step synthesis, the helicity proves to be P or M, respectively. When used as ligands in the Rh-catalyzed asymmetric hydrogenation of prochiral homoallylic alcohols, these bulky helical ligands lead to respectable enantioselectivities (79-98% ee). In contrast, the less sterically congested and more flexible BINOL-derived phenyl analogue exists in several conformeric forms, even in the crystal, and this leads to poor enantioselectivity in the model reactions (ee = 32%). For the purpose of structural comparison, the analogous monophosphites derived from diphenol were also prepared and characterized. These compounds, again in contrast to the BINOL-derived adamantyl derivatives, occur in several different conformeric states.

Elementary steps of gold catalysis: NMR spectroscopy reveals the highly cationic character of a "gold carbenoid".

What are you? Even though the metal-induced ring opening of 3,3-disubstituted cyclopropenes is known to serve as a genuine carbene generator, the use of Au(I) in this reaction leads to a reactive intermediate with highly cationic character. This result has important implications for gold catalysis in general, which in the past has been commonly attributed to the intervention of gold carbenes.

Total synthesis of myxovirescin A1.

A convergent total synthesis of the antibiotic macrolide myxovirescin A1 (1) is described that is largely based on reagent- and catalyst-controlled transformations. This includes a highly regioselective Negishi reaction of dibromo-alkene 48 with an alkynylzinc reagent, and a palladium catalyzed alkyl-Suzuki coupling of the resulting enyne derivative 12 with the 9-BBN-adduct derived from alkene 61. The latter was obtained via an asymmetric hydrogenation of the chlorinated beta-ketoester 49 and an anti-selective oxyallylation of the functionalized aldehyde 53 as the key steps. The preparation of the bis-borylated allyl-donor 57 used in the oxyallylation step, however, required careful optimization and led to important insights into the nature of the classical hydroborating agent "di(isopinocampheyl)borane (Ipc2BH)". It was unambiguously shown by X-ray crystallography that in the solid state this compound is dimeric, but it is prone to undergo an essentially quantitative mono-deborylation when dissolved in CH2Cl2 or benzene; its composition in ethereal solvents is even more complex as evident from 11B NMR data. Product 71 derived from 12 and 61 was elaborated into the enyne-yne derivative 75, which served as the substrate for an exquisitely selective ring closing alkyne metathesis reaction (RCAM) catalyzed by the molybdenum tris-amido complex 20 activated in situ with CH2Cl2. The resulting cyclic enyne 76 was subjected to a ruthenium catalyzed trans-hydrosilylation/proto-desilylation tandem. Although [Cp*Ru(MeCN)3]PF6 had previously been recommended as catalyst of choice for trans-hydrosilylation reactions of internal alkynes, this complex failed to afford the desired product, whereas its sterically less hindered congener [CpRu(MeCN)3]PF6 permitted the reaction to be performed in appreciable yield, but at the expense of a lower stereoselectivity. AgF-mediated proto-desilylation of the isomeric silanes 79 and 80 followed by cleavage of the remaining acetal protecting groups afforded myxovirescin A1 and its hitherto unknown 14Z-isomer 81, respectively.

Total synthesis, molecular editing and evaluation of a tripyrrolic natural product: the case of "butylcycloheptylprodigiosin".

Conflicting reports are found in the literature on whether the ortho-pyrrolophane derivative 6, which has been named "butylcycloheptylprodigiosin" even though it is a cyclononane derivative, is a natural product or merely a mis-assigned structure. This dispute has now been resolved by an unambiguous total synthesis of this complex alkaloid which confirms the initial structure assignment. The chosen approach is largely catalysis-based, featuring the first application of a "Narasaka-Heck" reaction in natural product chemistry. This palladium-catalyzed transformation allows the unsaturated oxime ester 26 to be converted into the bicyclic dihydropyrrole 27. Other notable reactions of the reported approach to 6 are a regioselective Tsuji-Trost reaction of the doubly allylic acetate 21 with methyl acetoacetate, a base-induced aromatization of 27 to the corresponding pyrrole 28, a chemoselective oxidation of the benzylic methyl group in 33 with cerium ammonium nitrate in a biphasic reaction medium that does not affect the labile pyrrole nucleus, and a Suzuki cross-coupling for the completion of the heterocyclic domain. Diversification in the latter step leads to a set of analogues that differ from the natural product in the terminal (hetero)arene ring. This structural modification results in complete loss of the very pronounced ability of the parent compound 6 to induce oxidative cleavage in double stranded DNA in the presence of Cu(II). Several cyclononane-, cyclononene- and cyclononadiene derivatives prepared en route to 6 have been characterized by crystal structure analysis, allowing the conformational behavior of nine-membered carbocycles to be studied.

Total syntheses of the actin-binding macrolides latrunculin A, B, C, M, S and 16-epi-latrunculin B.

The latrunculins are highly selective actin-binding marine natural products and as such play an important role as probe molecules for chemical biology. A short, concise and largely catalysis-based approach to this family of bioactive macrolides is presented. Specifically, the macrocyclic skeletons of the targets were forged by ring-closing alkyne metathesis (RCAM) or enyne-yne metathesis of suitable diyne or enyne-yne precursors, respectively. This transformation was best achieved with the aid of [(tBu)(Me(2)C(6)H(3))N](3)Mo (37) as precatalyst activated in situ with CH(2)Cl(2), as previously described. This catalyst system is strictly chemoselective for the triple bond and does not affect the olefinic sites of the substrates. Moreover, the molybdenum-based catalyst turned out to be broader in scope than the Schrock alkylidyne complex [(tBuO)(3)W[triple chemical bond]CCMe(3)] (38), which afforded cycloalkyne 35 in good yield but failed in closely related cases. The required metathesis precursors were assembled in a highly convergent fashion from three building blocks derived from acetoacetate, cysteine, and (+)-citronellene. The key fragment coupling can either be performed via a titanium aldol reaction or, preferentially, by a sequence involving a Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons olefination followed by a protonation/cyclization/diastereoselective hydration cascade. Iron-catalyzed C--C-bond formations were used to prepare the basic building blocks in an efficient manner. This synthesis blueprint gave access to latrunculin B (2), its naturally occurring 16-epimer 3, as well as the even more potent actin binder latrunculin A (1) in excellent overall yields. Because of the sensitivity of the 1,3-diene motif of the latter, however, the judicious choice of protecting groups and the proper phasing of their cleavage was decisive for the success of the total synthesis. Since latrunculin A and B had previously been converted into latrunculin S, C and M, respectively, formal total syntheses of these congeners have also been achieved. Finally, a previously unknown acid-catalyzed degradation pathway of these bioactive natural products is described. The cysteine-derived ketone 18, the tetrahydropyranyl segment 31 serving as the common synthesis platform for the preparation of all naturally occurring latrunculins, as well as the somewhat strained cycloalkyne 35 formed by the RCAM reaction en route to 2 were characterized by X-ray crystallography.

Synthesis and characterisation of nonclassical ruthenium hydride complexes containing chelating bidentate and tridentate phosphine ligands.

The synthesis and characterisation of nonclassical ruthenium hydride complexes containing bidentate PP and tridentate PCP and PNP pincer-type ligands are described. The mononuclear and dinuclear ruthenium complexes presented have been synthesised in moderate to high yields by the direct hydrogenation route (one-pot synthesis) or in a two-step procedure. In both cases [Ru(cod)(metallyl)(2)] served as a readily available precursor. The influences of the coordination geometry and the ligand framework on the structure, binding, and chemical properties of the M--H(2) fragments were studied by X-ray crystal structure analysis, spectroscopic methods, and reactivity towards N(2), D(2), and deuterated solvents.

Why are BINOL-based monophosphites such efficient ligands in Rh-catalyzed asymmetric olefin hydrogenation?

Whereas recent synthetic studies concerning Rh-catalyzed olefin hydrogenation based on BINOL-derived monodentate phosphites have resulted in an efficient and economically attractive preparative method, very little is known concerning the source of the unexpectedly high levels of enantioselectivity (ee often 90-99%). The present mechanistic study, which includes the NMR characterization of the precatalysts, kinetic measurements with focus on nonlinear effects, and DFT calculations, constitutes a first step in understanding this hydrogenation system. The two most important features which have emerged from these efforts are the following: (1) two monodentate P-ligands are attached to rhodium, and (2) the lock-and-key mechanism holds, in which the thermodynamics of Rh/olefin complexation with formation of the major and minor diastereomeric intermediates dictates the stereochemical outcome. The major diastereomer leads to the favored enantiomeric product, which is opposite to the state of affairs in classical Rh-catalyzed olefin hydrogenation based on chiral chelating diphosphines (anti lock-and-key mechanism as proposed by Halpern).

Total synthesis of woodrosin I--part 1: preparation of the building blocks and evaluation of the glycosylation strategy.

The preparation of three building blocks required for the total synthesis of woodrosin I (1) is outlined, a complex resin glycoside bearing a macrolide ring which spans four of the five sugars of its oligosaccharide backbone. Key steps involve the enantioselective, titanium-catalyzed addition of dipentylzinc to 5-hexenal, the glycosylation of the resulting alcohol 18 with the glucose-derived trichloroacetimidate 7, and further elaboration of the resulting product 19 into disaccharide 22 on treatment with the orthogonally protected glycosyl donor 15. The trichloroacetimidate method is also used for the formation of the second synthon represented by disaccharide 38. A model study shows that the assembly of the pentasaccharidic perimeter of 1 depends critically on the phasing of the glycosylation events between fragments 22, 38 and the rhamnosyl donor 27 due to the severe steric hindrance in the product. A particularly noteworthy finding is the fact that diol 22 can be regioselectively glycosylated at the 3'-OH group in high yield without protection of the neighboring 2'-OH function.

Total synthesis of woodrosin I--part 2: final stages involving RCM and an orthoester rearrangement.

The completion of the first total synthesis of the complex resin glycoside woodrosin I (1) is outlined using the building blocks described in the preceding paper. Key steps involve the TMSOTf-catalyzed coupling of diol 2 with trichloroacetimidate 3 which leads to the selective formation of orthoester 5 rather than to the expected tetrasaccharide. Diene 5, on treatment with catalytic amounts of the Grubbs carbene complex 6 or the phenylindenylidene ruthenium complex 7, undergoes a high yielding ring closing olefin metathesis reaction (RCM) to afford macrolide 8. Exposure of the latter to the rhamnosyl donor 4 in the presence of TMSOTf under "inverse glycosylation" conditions delivers compound 9 by a process involving glycosylation of the sterically hindered 2'-OH group and concomitant rearrangement of the adjacent orthoester into the desired beta-glycoside. This transformation constitutes one of the most advanced applications of the Kochetkov glycosidation method reported to date. Cleavage of the chloroacetate followed by exhaustive hydrogenation completes the total synthesis of the targeted glycolipid 1.

Total syntheses of the phytotoxic lactones herbarumin I and II and a synthesis-based solution of the pinolidoxin puzzle.

A concise approach to a family of potent herbicidal 10-membered lactones is described on the basis of ring-closing metathesis (RCM) as the key step for the formation of the medium-sized ring. This includes the first total syntheses of herbarumin I (1) and II (2) as well as the synthesis of several possible macrolides of the pinolidoxin series. A comparison of their spectral and analytical data with those of the natural product allowed us to establish the stereostructure of pinolidoxin, a potent inhibitor of induced phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) activity, as shown in 46. This finding, however, makes clear that a previous study dealing with the relative and absolute stereochemistry of this phytotoxic agent cannot be correct. An important aspect from the preparative point of view is the fact that the stereochemical outcome of the RCM reaction can be controlled by the choice of the catalyst. Thus, use of the ruthenium indenylidene complex 16 always leads to the corresponding (E)-alkenes, whereas the second generation catalyst 17 bearing an N-heterocyclic carbene ligand affords the isomeric (Z)-olefin with good selectivity. This course is deemed to reflect kinetic versus thermodynamic control of the cyclization reaction and therefore has potentially broader ramifications for the synthesis of medium-sized rings in general. A further noteworthy design feature is the fact that D-ribose is used as a convenient starting material for the preparation of both enantiomers of the key building block 14 by means of a "head-to-tail" interconversion strategy.