The Keck Synthesis of Epothilone B

The total synthesis of Epothilone B 4, the first natural product (with Epothilone A) to show the same microtubule-stabilizing activity as paclitaxel (Taxol®), has attracted a great deal of attention since that activity was first reported in 1995. The total synthesis of 4 devised (J. Org. Chem. 2008, 73, 9675) by Gary E. Keck of the University of Utah was based in large part on the stereoselective allyl stannane additions (e.g. 1 + 2 → 3 ) that his group originated. The allyl stannane 2 was prepared from the acid chloride 5. Exposure of 5 to Et3N generated the ketene, that was homologated with the phosphorane 6 to give the allene ester 7. Cu-mediated conjugate addition of the stannylmethyl anion 8 then delivered 2. The silyloxy aldehyde 1 was prepared from the ester 9 by reduction with Dibal. Felkincontrolled 1,2-addition of the allyl stannane 2 established the relative configuration of the secondary alcohol of 3, that was then used to control the relative configuration of the new alcohol in 10. Addition of the crotyl borane 12 to the derived aldehyde 11 also proceeded with high diastereocontrol. The other component of 4 was prepared from the aldehyde 14. Enantioselective allylation, by the method the authors developed, delivered the alcohol 16. The Z trisubstituted alkene was then assembled by condensing the aldehyde 17 with the phosphorane 18. Dibal reduction of the product lactone 19 gave a diol, the allylic alcohol of which was selectively converted to the chloride with the Corey-Kim reagent. Hydride reduction then delivered the desired homoallylic alcohol, that was converted to the phosphonium salt 21. Condensation of 21 with 13 gave the diene, that was carried on to Epothilone B 4. The synthesis of Epothilone B 4 as originally conceived by the authors depended on ring-closing metathesis of the triene 22. They prepared 22, but on exposure to the second-generation Grubbs catalyst it was converted only to 23. The authors concluded that the trans acetonide kept 22 in a conformation that did not allow the desired macrocyclization.

The Paquette Synthesis of Fomannosin

The compact sesquiterpene ( + )-fomannosin 3, isolated from the pathogenic fungus Fomes annonsus, presents an interesting set of challenges for the organic synthesis chemist, ranging from the strained cyclobutene to the easily epimerized cyclopentanone. In the synthesis of 3 developed (J. Org. Chem . 2008, 73, 4548) by Leo A. Paquette of Ohio State University, the cyclopentane was constructed by ring-closing metathesis of 1. The real challenge of the synthesis was the enantiospecific preparation of 1 from D-glucose. The starting point for the preparation of 1 was the glucose derivative 4. Selective acetonide hydrolysis followed by oxidative cleavage gave the ester 5, which on base treatment followed by hydrogenation delivered the endo ester 6. Condensation of the enolate of 6 with formaldehyde proceeded with high diastereoselectivity, to give, after protection, the ester 7. Conversion of the ester to the vinyl group, exposure to methanolic acid and ether formation completed the preparation of 9. The construction of the cyclobutane of 1 was effected by an interesting application of the Negishi reagent (Cp2ZrCl2/2 x BuLi). Complexation of Cp2Zr with the alkene followed by elimination generated an allylic organometallic 11, which added to the released aldehyde to give the cyclobutanes 12 and 13 in a 2.4:1 diastereomeric ratio. Homologation of the aldehyde 13 and subsequent oxidation were straightforward, but subsequent methylenation of the hindered carbonyl was not. At last, it was found that Peterson olefination worked well. Metathesis then delivered the cyclopentene 2. The last carbons of the skeleton were added by intramolecular aldol cyclization of the thioester 16. The seemingly simple task of converting the alkene of 17 into a ketone proved challenging. Eventually, dihydroxylation followed by oxidation, and then SmI2 reduction, completed the transformation. This still left the challenge of controlling the cyclopentane stereogenic center. Remarkably, dehydration and epimerization led to (+)-Fomannosin 3 as a single dominant diastereomer.

The Roush Synthesis of ( + )-Superstolide A

( + )-Superstolide A 3, isolated from the New Caledonian sponge Neosiphonia superstes, shows interesting cytotoxicity against malignant cell lines at ~ 4 ng/mL concentration. The key transformation in the synthesis of 3 described (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 2722) by William R. Roush of Scripps Florida was the transannular Diels-Alder cyclization of 2, which established, in one step with high diastereocontrol, both the cis decalin and the macrolactone of 3. The octaene 1 was assembled from four stereodefined fragments. The first, the linchpin 6, was prepared from the stannyl aldehyde 4. Homologation gave the enyne 5, which on hydroboration and oxidation gave 6. Earlier, Professor Roush had optimized the crotylation of the protected alaninal 7. In this case, the Brown reagent 8 delivered the desired Felkin product 9. Protection followed by ozonolysis gave the aldehyde 10. Crotylation with the Roush-developed tartrate 11 then gave the alkene 12, setting the stage for conversion to the iodide 13. Coupling of 13 with 6 completed the preparation of 14. The third component of (+)-superstolide A 3, the phosphonium salt 21, was assembled by Brown allylation of the aldehyde 15, to give 17. Protecting group interchange followed by ozonolysis delivered 18, which via Still-Gennari homologation was carried on to 21. Condensation with the fourth component, the aldehyde 22 , and esterification with 14 then gave 1. Under high dilution Suzuki conditions 1 was converted to 2. Storage in CDCl3 for five days, or brief warming, cyclized 2 to a single diastereomer of the transannular Diels-Alder product, that was carried on to (+)-superstolide A 3. While acyclic trienes comparable to 2 could be induced to cyclize, the transannular Diels-Alder reaction proceeded with much higher diastereocontrol.

The Toste Synthesis of ( + )-Fawcettimine

The tetracyclic Lycopodium alkaloid fawcettimine 3 and its derivatives are of interest as inhibitors of acetylcholine esterase. F. Dean Toste of the University of California, Berkeley recently reported (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 7671) the first enantioselective synthesis of 3. The key to the synthesis was the rapid assembly of the enantiomerically-enriched hydrindane 2. The preparation of 2 began with the enantioselective Robinson annulation of the β-keto ester 4 with crotonaldehyde 5, mediated by the organocatalyst 6. In this protocol, originally developed by Karl Anker Jørgensen, the single stereogenic center was established by conjugate addition, presumably to the chiral iminium salt generated by the condensation of 5 with 6. Subsequent aldol (or more likely Mannich) cyclization followed by elimination gave 7. Hydrolysis and decarboxylation by heating with p-TsOH converted 7 to 1. This procedure was robust enough to allow preparation of a ten gram batch of 1. This Jørgensen annulation is the current method of choice for the enantioselective preparation of 2,5-dialkyl cyclohexenones. Conjugate addition of the propargyl anion equivalent 8 to 1 proceeded with the expected > 95:5 axial diastereoselectivity, to give the silyl enol ether 9. Exposure of the derived iodide 10 to catalytic [Ph3 PAu]Cl and AgBF4 induced smooth cyclization to the cis hydrindane 2. Before constructing the nine-membered ring amine of fawcettimine 3, it was first necessary to protect the ketone as the ketal. Pd-mediated coupling of the alkenyl iodide with the organoborane derived from 11 then proceeded smoothly, as did the subsequent hydroboration of the terminal alkene. Neither the mesylate nor the tosylate derived from 12 could be induced to cyclize. In contrast, intramolecular displacement of the iodide proceeded well, to give 13. Hydroboration followed by oxidation then gave 15, which on deprotection cyclized to (+)-fawcettimine 3. Several aspects of this synthesis are attractive. While the stereochemical outcome of the hydroboration of 14 could not necessarily be predicted with confidence, in fact it did not matter, as the stereogenic center adjacent to the ketone could be epimerized under the trifluoroacetic acid deprotection conditions, and only the desired diastereomer would be able to add in an intramolecular fashion to the cyclohexanone.

The Burke Synthesis of ( + )-Didemniserinolipid B

The sulfate ( + )-didemniserinolipid B 3, isolated from the tunicate Didemnum sp, has an intriguing spiroether core. A key step in the synthesis of 3 reported (Organic Lett. 2007, 9, 5357) by Steven D. Burke of the University of Wisconsin was the selective ring-closing metathesis of 1 to 2. The diol 6 that was used to prepare the ketal 1 was readily prepared from the inexpensive D-mannitol 4. Many other applications can be envisioned for the enantiomerically-pure diol 6 and for the monoacetate and bis acetate that are precursors to it. To set up the metathesis, the β, γ-unsaturated ketone 10 was needed. To this end, the keto phosphonate derived from the addition of the phosphonate anion 8 to the lactone 7 was condensed with phenyl acetaldehyde 9. The derived enone 10 was a 5:1 mixture of β, γ- and α, β-regioisomers. The diol 6 is C2 -symmetrical, but formation of the ketal 1 dissolved the symmetry, with one terminal vinyl group directed toward the styrene double bond, and the other directed away from it. On exposure to the first generation Grubbs catalyst, ring formation proceeded efficiently, to give 2. Williamson coupling with the serine-derived alcohol 11 then gave 12. To establish the secondary alcohol of 13 and so of 3, the more electron rich alkene of 12 was selectively epoxidized, from the more open face. Diaxial opening with hydride then gave 13. With 13 in hand, another challenge of selectivity emerged. The plan had been to attach the ester-bearing sidechain to 13 using alkene metathesis, then hydrogenate. As the side-chain of 3 contained an additional alkene, this had to be present in masked form. To this end, the α-phenylselenyl ester 14 was prepared. Alkene metathesis with 13 proceeded smoothly, this time using the second generation Grubbs catalyst. The unwanted alkene was then removed by reduction with diimide, and the selenide was oxidized to deliver the α, β-unsaturated ester.

The Rychnovsky Synthesis of Leucascandrolide A

The macrolactone leucascandrolide A 4, isolated from the calcareous sponge L. caveolata, has both cytotoxic and antifungal activity. The key step in the synthesis of 4 reported (J. Org. Chem. 2007, 72, 5784) by Scott D. Rychnovsky of the University of California, Irvine, was the stereoselective condensation of the aldehyde 1 with the allyl vinyl ether 2 to give 3. The cyclic ether of 1 was assembled from the crotyl addition product 5. Tandem Ru-catalyzed metathesis/hydrogenation converted 5 to the lactone 6. Reduction of 6 to the lactol followed by activation as the acetate gave 7, axial-selective condensation of which with the enol ether 8 delivered the enone 9. Diastereoselective Itsuno-Corey reduction of 9 followed by protecting group exchange and oxidation then gave 1, containing four of the eight stereogenic centers of leucascandrolide A 4. The vinyl ether 2 was readily prepared from the corresponding homoallylic alcohol. Condensation of 1 with 2 involved Lewis acid activation of the aldehyde, addition of the resulting carbocation to the vinyl ether, and cyclization with trapping by bromide ion. In this process, the other four of the eight stereogenic centers were assembled. Three of those centers were formed in the course of the reaction. While stereocontrol was not perfect, the route is pleasingly succinct, so practical quantities of diastereomerically pure 3 could be prepared. To complete the synthesis, the secondary alcohol of 3 was methylated. Selective desilyation of the primary alcohol followed by oxidation and desilylation then set the stage for the Mitsunobu macrolactonization. The intermediates in the Mitsunobu reaction are such that the lactonization can proceed with either inversion of absolute configuration at the secondary center, or retention. While the usually-employed Ph3P gave the lactone with retention of absolute configuration, Bu3P led to clean inversion. The last challenge was the establishment of the (Z) alkene of the side chain. This was accomplished using the Toru protocol. Coupling of the secondary bromide with the Cs salt 12 proceeded with inversion of absolute configuration, to give 13.

Transition Metal Catalyzed Construction of Carbocyclic Rings: (-)-Hamigeran B

Several elegant methods for the enantioselective transformation of preformed prochiral rings have been put forward. Derek R. Boyd of Queen’s University, Belfast devised (Chem. Commun. 2008, 5535) a Cu catalyst that effected allylic oxidation of cyclic alkenes such as 1 with high ee. Christoph Jaekel of the Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg established (Adv. Synth. Cat. 2008, 350, 2708) conditions for the enantioselective hydrogenation of cyclic enones such as 3. Marc L. Snapper of Boston College developed (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 5049) a Cu catalyst for the enantioselective allylation of activated cyclic enones such as 5. Alexandre Alexakis of the University of Geneva showed (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 9122) that dienones such as 8 could be induced to undergo 1,4 addition, again with high ee. Tsutomu Katsuki of Kyushu University originated (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 10327) an Ir catalyst for the addition of diazoacetate 11 to alkenes such as 10 to give the cyclopropane 12 with high chemo-, enantio- and diastereoselectivity. Weiping Tang of the University of Wisconsin found (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2008, 47, 8933) a silver catalyst that rearranged cyclopropyl diazo esters such as 13 to the cyclobutene 14 with high regioselectivity. Zhang-Jie Shi of Peking University demonstrated (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 12901) that under oxidizing conditions, a Pd catalyst could cyclize 15 to 16. Sergio Castillón of the Universitat Rovira i Virgili, Tarragona devised (Organic Lett. 2008, 10, 4735) a Rh catalyst for the enantioselective cyclization of 17 to 18. Virginie Ratovelomanana-Vidal of the ENSCP Paris and Nakcheol Jeong of Korea University established (Adv. Synth. Cat. 2008, 350, 2695) conditions for the enantioselective intramolecular Pauson-Khand cyclization of 19 to give, after hydrolysis, the cyclopentenone 20. Quanrui Wang of Fudan University, Several elegant methods for the enantioselective transformation of preformed prochiral rings have been put forward. Derek R. Boyd of Queen’s University, Belfast devised (Chem. Commun. 2008, 5535) a Cu catalyst that effected allylic oxidation of cyclic alkenes such as 1 with high ee.

Transition Metal-Mediated Construction of Carbocycles: Dimethyl Gloiosiphone A (Takahashi), Pasteurestin A (Mulzer), and Pentalenene (Fox)

There continue to be new developments in transition metal- and lanthanide-mediated construction of carbocycles. Although a great deal has been published on the asymmetric cyclopropanation of styrene, relatively little had been reported for other classes of alkenes. Tae-Jeong Kim of Kyungpook National University has devised (Tetrahedron Lett. 2007, 48, 8014) a Ru catalyst for the cyclopropanation of simple α-olefins such as 1. X. Peter Zhang of the University of South Florida has developed (J. Am.Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 12074) a Co catalyst for the cyclopropanation of alkenes such as 5 having electron-withdrawing groups. Alexandre Alexakis of the Université de Genève has reported(Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 7462) simple monophosphine ligands that enabled enantioselective conjugate addition to prochiral enones, even difficult substrates such as 8. Seunghoon Shin of Hanyang University has found (Organic Lett. 2007, 9, 3539) an Au catalyst that effected the diastereoselective cyclization of 10 to the cyclohexene 11, and Radomir N. Saicic of the University of Belgrade has carried out (Organic Lett. 2007, 9, 5063), via transient enamine formation, the diastereoselective cyclization of 12 to the cyclohexane 13. Alois Fürstner of the Max-Planck- Institut, Mülheim has devised (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 14836) a Rh catalyst that cyclized the aldehyde 14 to the cycloheptenone 15. Some of the most exciting investigations reported in recent months have been directed toward the direct diastereo- and enantioselective preparation of polycarbocyclic products. Rai-Shung Liu of National Tsing-Hua University has extended (J. Org. Chem. 2007, 72, 567) the intramolecular Pauson-Khand cyclization to the epoxy enyne 16, leading to the 5-5 product 17. Michel R. Gagné of the University of North Carolina has devised (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 11880) a Pt catalyst that smoothly cyclized the polyene 18 to the 6-6 product 19. Yoshihiro Sato of Hokkaido University and Miwako Mori of the Health Science University of Hokkaido have described (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 7730) a Ru catalyst for the cyclization of 20 to the 5-6-5 product 21. Each of these processes proceeded with high diastereocontrol.

Enantioselective Organocatalytic Construction of Carbocycles: The Nicolaou Synthesis of Biyouyanagin A

One of the more powerful routes to enantiomerically-pure carbocycles is the desymmetrization of a prochiral ring. Karl Anker Jørgensen of Aarhus University has found (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 441) that many cyclic β-ketoesters, including the vinylogous carbonate 1, can be homologated with 2 to the corresponding alkyne 3, in high ee. Sanzhong Luo of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, and Jin-Pei Cheng, of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Nankai University, have shown (J. Org. Chem. 2007, 72, 9350) that the catalyst 6 mediated the selective addition of 4-substituted cyclohexanones such as 4 to the nitroalkene 5, establishing three new stereogenic centers. Organocatalysts, alone or complexed with activating metals, have also been used to effect enantioselective ring construction. E. J. Corey of Harvard University has established (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 12686) that the proline-derived complex 10 will mediate the 2 + 2 addition of a cyclic enol ether with an acrylate to give the cyclobutane 11. Further elaboration led to the cyclohexenone 12. Armando Córdova of Stockholm University has described (Tetrahedron Lett. 2007, 48, 5835) a novel route to cyclopentanones such as 16, via tandem conjugate addition/intramolecular alkylation. Professor Jørgensen has reported (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed . 2007, 46 , 9202) the double addition of 18 to the unsaturated aldehyde 17 to give 20. Earlier last year, Yujiro Hayashi of the Tokyo University of Science had shown (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2007, 46, 4922) that the double addition of the inexpensive 21 to 5 could, depending on conditions, be directed selectively to 22, 23, or 24. As illustrated by the conversion of 8 to 13, organocatalysis can be used to effect the enantioselective construction of polycarbocyclic products. The initial ring prepared in enantiomerically-pure form by organocatalysis can also set the chirality of a polycyclic system. Professor Corey has reported (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2007, 129, 10346) that Itsuno-Corey reduction of the prochiral diketone 25 led to the ketone 27. Cyclization followed by oxidation and reduction then delivered estrone methyl ether 28.

Preparation of Heteroaromatic Derivatives

Several new routes to furans and to pyrroles have recently been put forward. Inspired by the Achmatowicz ring expansion, Patrick J. Walsh of the University of Pennsylvania developed (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 4097) the oxidative rearrangement of 3-hydrox-alkyl furans such as 1 to the 3-aldehyde 2. José M. Aurrecoechea of the Universidad del País Vasco established (J. Org. Chem. 2008, 73, 3650) that cumulated alcohols, available by reduction of alkynes such as 3 with SmI2, rearrange under Pd catalysis, and then add to an acceptor alkene such as 4, to give the furan 5. Vladimir Gevorgyan of the University of Illinois at Chicago used (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2008, 130, 1440) an Au catalyst to rearrange an allene such as 6 to the bromo furan 7. Fabien L. Gagosz of the Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau, also found (Organic Lett. 2007, 9, 3181) that an Au catalyst rearranged the eneyne 8 to the pyrrole 9. Azido esters such as 10 are readily prepared from the corresponding aldehyde by phosphonate condensation. Shunsuke Chiba and Koichi Narasaka of Nanyang Technology University demonstrated (Organic Lett. 2008, 10, 313) that thermal condensation of 10 with acetyl acetone 11 gave the pyrrole 12, while Cu catalyzed condensation with acetoacetate 13 gave the complementary pyrrole 14. Huan-Feng Jiang of South China University of Technology observed (Tetrahedron Lett. 2008, 49, 3805) that condensation of an acid chloride 15 with an alkyne 16, presumably to give the alkynyl ketone, followed by the addition of hydrazine delivered the pyrazole 17. Masanobu Uchiyama of RIKEN and Florence Mongin of the Université de Rennes 1 established (J. Org. Chem. 2008, 73, 177) that a pre-formed pyrazole 18 could be metalated and then iodinated, to give 19. Xiaohu Deng of Johnson & Johnson, San Diego reported (Organic Lett. 2008, 10, 1307; J. Org. Chem. 2008, 73, 2412) complementary routes to pyrazoles, combining 20 and 21 under acidic conditions to give 22, and under basic conditions to give 23.