Penaresidin A 3, isolated from the Okinawan marine sponge Penares sp., is a potent activator of actomyosin ATPase. B. V. Subba Reddy of the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology prepared (Tetrahedron Lett. 2014, 55, 49) the azetidine ring of 3 by mesylation of the hydroxy sulfonamide 2, derived from 1, followed by cyclization. Allokainic acid 6 has become a useful tool for neurological studies. Radomir N. Saicic of the University of Belgrade found (Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 34) that the Tsuji–Trost cyclization of 4 to 5 proceeded with high diastereoselectivity, presumably by way of the enamine of the aldehyde. Floris P. J. T. Rutjes of Radboud University Nijmegen prepared (Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 2038) the starting material 7 for (−)-sedacryptine 9 via an enantioselective Mannich addition. The reagent of choice for the Aza–Achmatowicz rearrangement of 7 to 8 proved to be mCPBA. The intriguing tricyclic alkaloid (−)-lepistine 12 was isolated from the mushroom Clitocybe fasciculate. En route to the first-ever synthesis of 12, Satoshi Yokoshima and Tohru Fukuyama of Nagoya University cyclized (Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 2862) the glycidol-derived sulfonamide 10 to the azacycle 11. (+)-Septicine 15 is the biogenetic precursor to the phenanthrene alkaloid (+)-tylophorine. Stephen Hanessian of the Université de Montréal prepared (Org. Lett. 2014, 16, 232) 15 by condensing the proline-derived ketone 13 with the aldehyde 14. Mingji Dai of Purdue University elaborated (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2014, 53, 3922) the amine 16 to the enone 17 by intramolecular Mannich alkylation followed by methylenation and allylic oxidation. Condensation with the sulfoxide 18 then delivered lyconadin C 19.
Densazalin, a New Cytotoxic Diazatricyclic Alkaloid from the Marine Sponge Haliclona densaspicula