The Pinene Path to Taxanes. 6. A Concise Stereocontrolled Synthesis of Taxol

Biosynthesis of oxygen and nitrogen-containing heterocycles in polyketides

This review highlights the biosynthesis of heterocycles in polyketide natural products with a focus on oxygen and nitrogen-containing heterocycles with ring sizes between 3 and 6 atoms. Heterocycles are abundant structural elements of natural products from all classes and they often contribute significantly to their biological activity. Progress in recent years has led to a much better understanding of their biosynthesis. In this context, plenty of novel enzymology has been discovered, suggesting that these pathways are an attractive target for future studies.

Short, Enantioselective Total Synthesis of Highly Oxidized Taxanes

In the realm of natural product chemistry, few isolates have risen to the level of fame justifiably accorded to Taxol (1) and its chemical siblings. This report describes the most concise route to date for accessing the highly oxidized members of this family. As representative members of taxanes containing five oxygen atoms, decinnamoyltaxinine E (2) and taxabaccatin III (3), have succumbed to enantioselective total synthesis for the first time in only 18 steps from a simple olefin starting material. The strategy holistically mimics nature's approach (two-phase synthesis) and features a carefully choreographed sequence of stereoselective oxidations and a remarkable redox-isomerization to set the key trans-diol present in 2 and 3. This work lays the critical groundwork necessary to access even higher oxidized taxanes such as 1 in a more practical fashion, thus empowering a medicinal chemistry campaign that is not wedded to semi-synthesis.

Cascade Metathesis Reactions for the Synthesis of Taxane and Isotaxane Derivatives

Tricyclic isotaxane and taxane derivatives have been synthesized by a very efficient cascade ring‐closing dienyne metathesis (RCDEYM) reaction, which formed the A and B rings in one operation. When the alkyne is present at C13 (with no neighboring gem‐dimethyl group), the RCEDYM reaction leads to 14,15‐isotaxanes 16 a,b and 18 b with the gem‐dimethyl group on the A ring. If the alkyne is at the C11 position (and thus flanked by a gem‐dimethyl group), RCEDYM reaction only proceeds in the presence of a trisubstituted olefin at C13, which disfavors the competing diene ring‐closing metathesis reaction, to give the tricyclic core of Taxol 44.

Accessing low-oxidation state taxanes: is taxadiene-4(5)-epoxide on the taxol biosynthetic pathway?

We have shown for the first time that taxadiene (3) can be epoxidised in a regio- and diastereoselective manner to provide taxadiene-4(5)-epoxide (12) as a single diastereoisomer, and that this epoxide can be rearranged to give taxa-4(20),11(12)-dien-5α-ol (4). Furthermore, the epoxide 12 rearranges under acidic conditions to give taxa-4(20),11(12)-dien-5α-ol (4), the known bridged ether OCT (5) and the new oxacyclotaxane (OCT2) 15. Contrary to previous speculation, taxadiene-4(5)-epoxide (12) is susceptible to rearrangement when exposed to an iron^III porphyrin, and these observations justify consideration of epoxide 12 as a chemically competent intermediate on the taxol biosynthetic pathway.

The endeavor of total synthesis and its impact on chemistry, biology and medicine

The synthesis of urea in 1828 set in motion the discipline of organic synthesis in general and of total synthesis in particular, the art and science of synthesizing natural products, the molecules of living nature. Early endeavors in total synthesis had as their main objective the proof of structure of the target molecule. Later on, the primary goal became the demonstration of the power of synthesis to construct complex molecules through appropriately devised strategies, making the endeavor an achievement whose value was measured by its elegance and efficiency. While these objectives continue to be important, contemporary endeavors in total synthesis are increasingly focused on practical aspects, including method development, efficiency, and biological and medical relevance. In this article, the emergence and evolution of total synthesis to its present state is traced, selected total syntheses from the author's laboratories are highlighted, and projections for the future of the field are discussed.

Organic synthesis: the art and science of replicating the molecules of living nature and creating others like them in the laboratory

Synthetic organic chemists have the power to replicate some of the most intriguing molecules of living nature in the laboratory and apply their developed synthetic strategies and technologies to construct variations of them. Such molecules facilitate biology and medicine, as they often find uses as biological tools and drug candidates for clinical development. In addition, by employing sophisticated catalytic reactions and appropriately designed synthetic processes, they can synthesize not only the molecules of nature and their analogues, but also myriad other organic molecules for potential applications in many areas of science, technology and everyday life. After a short historical introduction, this article focuses on recent advances in the field of organic synthesis with demonstrative examples of total synthesis of complex bioactive molecules, natural or designed, from the author's laboratories, and their impact on chemistry, biology and medicine.

Garner's aldehyde as a versatile intermediate in the synthesis of enantiopure natural products

Since its introduction to the synthetic community in 1984, Garner's aldehyde has gained substantial attention as a chiral intermediate for the synthesis of numerous amino alcohol derivatives. This review presents some of the most successful carbon chain elongation reactions, namely carbonyl alkylations and olefinations. The literature is reviewed with particular attention on understanding how to avoid the deleterious epimerization of the existing stereocenter in Garner's aldehyde.

C-C fragmentation: origins and recent applications

It has been 60 years since Eschenmoser and Frey disclosed the archetypal CC fragmentation reaction. New fragmentations and several variants of the original quickly followed. Many of these variations, which include the Beckmann, Grob, Wharton, Marshall, and Eschenmoser-Tanabe fragmentations, have been reviewed over the intervening years. A close examination of the origins of fragmentation has not been described. Recently, useful new methods have flourished, particularly fragmentations that give alkynes and allenes, and such reactions have been applied to a range of complex motifs and natural products. This Review traces the origins of fragmentation reactions and provides a summary of the methods, applications, and new insights of heterolytic CC fragmentation reactions advanced over the last 20 years.

The role of biocatalysis in the asymmetric synthesis of alkaloids

Alkaloids are not only one of the most intensively studied classes of natural products, their wide spectrum of pharmacological activities also makes them indispensable drug ingredients in both traditional and modern medicine. Among the methods for their production, biotechnological approaches are gaining importance, and biocatalysis has emerged as an essential tool in this context. A number of chemo-enzymatic strategies for alkaloid synthesis have been developed over the years, in which the biotransformations nowadays take an increasingly 'central' role. This review summarises different applications of biocatalysis in the asymmetric synthesis of alkaloids and discusses how recent developments and novel enzymes render innovative and efficient chemo-enzymatic production routes possible.

Total synthesis of taxane terpenes: cyclase phase

A full account of synthetic efforts toward a lowly oxidized taxane framework is presented. A non-natural taxane, dubbed "taxadienone", was synthesized as our first entry into the taxane family of diterpenes. The final synthetic sequence illustrates a seven-step, gram-scale and enantioselective route to this tricyclic compound in 18% overall yield. This product was then modified further to give (+)-taxadiene, the lowest oxidized member of the taxane family of natural products.

Constructing molecular complexity and diversity: total synthesis of natural products of biological and medicinal importance

The advent of organic synthesis and the understanding of the molecule as they occurred in the nineteenth century and were refined in the twentieth century constitute two of the most profound scientific developments of all time. These discoveries set in motion a revolution that shaped the landscape of the molecular sciences and changed the world. Organic synthesis played a major role in this revolution through its ability to construct the molecules of the living world and others like them whose primary element is carbon. Although the early beginnings of organic synthesis came about serendipitously, organic chemists quickly recognized its potential and moved decisively to advance and exploit it in myriad ways for the benefit of mankind. Indeed, from the early days of the synthesis of urea and the construction of the first carbon-carbon bond, the art of organic synthesis improved to impressively high levels of sophistication. Through its practice, today chemists can synthesize organic molecules--natural and designed--of all types of structural motifs and for all intents and purposes. The endeavor of constructing natural products--the organic molecules of nature--is justly called both a creative art and an exact science. Often called simply total synthesis, the replication of nature's molecules in the laboratory reflects and symbolizes the state of the art of synthesis in general. In the last few decades a surge in total synthesis endeavors around the world led to a remarkable collection of achievements that covers a wide ranging landscape of molecular complexity and diversity. In this article, we present highlights of some of our contributions in the field of total synthesis of natural products of biological and medicinal importance. For perspective, we also provide a listing of selected examples of additional natural products synthesized in other laboratories around the world over the last few years.

The early stages of taxol biosynthesis: an interim report on the synthesis and identification of early pathway metabolites

The biosynthesis of the anti-cancer drug taxol (paclitaxel) has required the collaborative efforts of several research groups to tackle the synthesis and labeling of putative biosynthetic intermediates, in concert with the identification, cloning and functional expression of the biosynthetic genes responsible for the construction of this complex natural product. Based on a combination of precursor labeling and incorporation experiments, and metabolite isolation from Taxus spp., a picture of the complex matrix of pathway oxygenation reactions following formation of the first committed intermediate, taxa-4(5),11(12)-diene, is beginning to emerge. An overview of the current state of knowledge on the early-stages of taxol biosynthesis is presented.

Recent advances towards development and commercialization of plant cell culture processes for the synthesis of biomolecules

Plant cell culture systems were initially explored for use in commercial synthesis of several high-value secondary metabolites, allowing for sustainable production that was not limited by the low yields associated with natural harvest or the high cost associated with complex chemical synthesis. Although there have been some commercial successes, most notably paclitaxel production from Taxus sp., process limitations exist with regards to low product yields and inherent production variability. A variety of strategies are being developed to overcome these limitations including elicitation, in situ product removal and metabolic engineering with single genes and transcription factors. Recently, the plant cell culture production platform has been extended to pharmaceutically active heterologous proteins. Plant systems are beneficial because they are able to produce complex proteins that are properly glycosylated, folded and assembled without the risk of contamination by toxins that are associated with mammalian or microbial production systems. Additionally, plant cell culture isolates transgenic material from the environment, allows for more controllable conditions over field-grown crops and promotes secretion of proteins to the medium, reducing downstream purification costs. Despite these benefits, the increase in cost of heterologous protein synthesis in plant cell culture as opposed to field-grown crops is significant and therefore processes must be optimized with regard to maximizing secretion and enhancing protein stability in the cell culture media. This review discusses recent advancements in plant cell culture processing technology, focusing on progress towards overcoming the problems associated with commercialization of these production systems and highlighting recent commercial successes.

Enantioselective synthesis of a taxol C ring

An enantioselective synthesis of a C ring of taxol has been accomplished. The key step is an oxidative cleavage of a derivative of the Wieland–Miescher ketone. A first attempt of a Shapiro reaction modelling the coupling of the C ring with the A fragment of taxol was also successful.

Design and synthesis of simplified taxol analogs based on the T-Taxol bioactive conformation

A series of compounds designed to adopt a conformation similar to the tubulin-binding T-Taxol conformation of the anticancer drug paclitaxel has been synthesized. Both the internally bridged analogs 37-39, 41 and the open-chain analogs 27-29 and 43 were prepared. The bridged analogs 37-39 and 41 were synthesized by Grubbs' metatheses of compounds 30-32 and 33, which, in turn, were prepared by coupling β-lactams 24-26 with alcohols 22 and 23. Both the bridged and the open-chain analogs showed moderate to good cytotoxicity.

Scalable enantioselective total synthesis of taxanes

Taxanes are a large family of terpenes comprising over 350 members, the most famous of which is Taxol (paclitaxel) — a billion-dollar anticancer drug. Here, we describe the first practical and scalable synthetic entry to these natural products via a concise preparation of (+)-taxa-4(5),11(12)-dien-2-one, which possesses a suitable functional handle to access more oxidised members of its family. This route enabled a gram-scale preparation of the ”parent” taxane, taxadiene, representing the largest quantity of this naturally occurring terpene ever isolated or prepared in pure form. The taxane family’s characteristic 6-8-6 tricyclic system containing a bridgehead alkene is forged via a vicinal difunctionalisation/Diels–Alder strategy. Asymmetry is introduced by means of an enantioselective conjugate addition that forms an all-carbon quaternary centre, from which all other stereocentres are fixed via substrate control. This study lays a critical foundation for a planned access to minimally oxidised taxane analogs and a scalable laboratory preparation of Taxol itself.

Natural products synthesis: enabling tools to penetrate Nature's secrets of biogenesis and biomechanism

Selected examples from our laboratory of how synthetic technology platforms developed for the total synthesis of several disparate families of natural products was harnessed to penetrate biomechanistic and/or biosynthetic queries is discussed. Unexpected discoveries of biomechanistic reactivity and/or penetrating the biogenesis of naturally occurring substances were made possible through access to substances available only through chemical synthesis. Hypothesis-driven total synthesis programs are emerging as very useful conceptual templates for penetrating and exploiting the inherent reactivity of biologically active natural substances. In many instances, new enabling synthetic technologies were required to be developed. The examples demonstrate the often untapped richness of complex molecule synthesis to provide powerful tools to understand, manipulate and exploit Nature's vast and creative palette of secondary metabolites.

Inspirations, discoveries, and future perspectives in total synthesis

The last one hundred years have witnessed a dramatic increase in the power and reach of total synthesis. The pantheon of accomplishments in the field includes the total synthesis of molecules of unimaginable beauty and diversity such as the four discussed in this article: endiandric acids (1982), calicheamicin gamma(1)(I) (1992), Taxol (1994), and brevetoxin B (1995). Chosen from the collection of the molecules synthesized in the author's laboratories, these structures are but a small fraction of the myriad constructed in laboratories around the world over the last century. Their stories, and the background on which they were based, should serve to trace the evolution of the art of chemical synthesis to its present sharp condition, an emergence that occurred as a result of new theories and mechanistic insights, new reactions, new reagents and catalysts, and new synthetic technologies and strategies. Indeed, the advent of chemical synthesis as a whole must be considered as one of the most influential developments of the twentieth century in terms of its impact on society.

From nature to the laboratory and into the clinic

Natural products possess a broad diversity of structure and function, and they provide inspiration for chemistry, biology, and medicine. In this review article, we highlight and place in context our laboratory's total syntheses of, and related studies on, complex secondary metabolites that were clinically important drugs, or have since been developed into useful medicines, namely amphotericin B (1), calicheamicin gamma(1)(I) (2), rapamycin (3), Taxol (4), the epothilones [e.g., epothilones A (5) and B (6)], and vancomycin (7). We also briefly highlight our research with other selected inspirational natural products possessing interesting biological activities [i.e., dynemicin A (8), uncialamycin (9), eleutherobin (10), sarcodictyin A (11), azaspiracid-1 (12), thiostrepton (13), abyssomicin C (14), platensimycin (15), platencin (16), and palmerolide A (17)].

Ring-closing metathesis in the synthesis of BC ring-systems of taxol

BC ring-systems of taxol with different or no protecting group for the C1,C2-diol moiety have been efficiently synthesized. The eight-membered B ring is formed by a ring-closing metathesis reaction (RCM) between the C10 and C11 carbon atoms. The influence of the 1,2-diol protecting group on the RCM reaction has been studied in detail.

Studies on Taxol Biosynthesis: Preparation of Taxadiene-diol- and triol-Derivatives by Deoxygenation of Taxusin

The putative taxol biosynthesis metabolites, taxa-4(20),11(12)-diene-5α, 13α -diol (7), taxa-4(20),11(12)-diene-5α, 9α, 13α-triol (9), and taxa-4(20),11(12)-diene-5α, 10β, 13α-triol (10), have been prepared by Barton deoxygenation of the C-9 and C10-hydroxyl groups of protected derivatives of taxusin, a major taxoid metabolite isolated from Yew heart wood. The synthetic protocol devised, is amenable for the preparation of isotopically labeled congeners that will be useful to probe further intermediate steps in the biosynthesis of taxol.