Formal synthesis of (+)-gliocladin C

Total Syntheses of Iheyamines A and B

An efficient synthetic route to iheyamine A and its analogues was discovered; the crucial one-pot transformation included a C-C migration to form the characteristic seven-membered ring. Subsequent addition of acetone to iheyamine A initiated a cascade process to complete the total synthesis of iheyamine B.

Enantioselective Synthesis of Quaternary Oxindoles: Desymmetrizing Staudinger-Aza-Wittig Reaction Enabled by a Bespoke HypPhos Oxide Catalyst

This paper describes a catalytic asymmetric Staudinger-aza-Wittig reaction of (o-azidoaryl)malonates, allowing access to chiral quaternary oxindoles through phosphine oxide catalysis. We designed a novel HypPhos oxide catalyst to enable the desymmetrizing Staudinger-aza-Wittig reaction through the PIII/PV═O redox cycle in the presence of a silane reductant and an IrI-based Lewis acid. The reaction occurs under mild conditions, with good functional group tolerance, a wide substrate scope, and excellent enantioselectivity. Density functional theory revealed that the enantioselectivity in the desymmetrizing reaction arose from the cooperative effects of the IrI species and the HypPhos catalyst. The utility of this methodology is demonstrated by the (formal) syntheses of seven alkaloid targets: (-)-gliocladin C, (-)-coerulescine, (-)-horsfiline, (+)-deoxyeseroline, (+)-esermethole, (+)-physostigmine, and (+)-physovenine.

Mn(iii)-Catalyzed cascade cyclization reaction of o-acyl aromatic isocyanides with boronic acids

A Mn(iii)-catalyzed cascade cyclization of o-acyl aromatic isocyanides with boronic acids was examined to give a series of 3-hydroxyindolenines in single-step. This cascade process involved a transmetalation/nucleophilic addition/intramolecular cyclization sequence.

Rhodium-Catalyzed Formal C-O Insertion in Carbene/Alkyne Metathesis Reactions: Synthesis of 3-Substituted 3 H-Indol-3-ols

An efficient and novel rhodium-catalyzed formal C-O insertion reaction of alkyne-tethered diazo compounds for the synthesis of 3 H-indol-3-ols is described. A type of donor/donor rhodium carbene generated in situ via a carbene/alkyne metathesis (CAM) process is the key intermediate and terminates in a unique transformation different from donor/acceptor carbenoids. In addition, ¹⁸O-labeling experiments indicate that intramolecular oxygen-atom transfer from the amide group to the carbon-carbon triple bond occurs during this transformation.

Metal-Free Oxidative Cross Coupling of Indoles with Electron-Rich (Hetero)arenes

A new method for the synthesis of bi-heteroaryls is reported, based on the umpolung of indoles with benziodoxol(on)e hypervalent iodine reagents (IndoleBX). The oxidative coupling of IndoleBX with an equimolar amount of electron-rich benzenes, indoles, pyrroles, and thiophenes proceeded under mild transition-metal-free conditions. Functionalized non-symmetrical bi-indolyl heterocycles were accessed efficiently. Introduction of a new type of C2-substituted indole benziodoxole reagents further allowed extending the scope of the reaction to NH unprotected and C3-alkylated indoles. The obtained bi-heterocycles are important building blocks in synthetic and medicinal chemistry, and could be easily transformed into more complex heterocyclic systems.

Regio- and Stereospecific Construction of 3a-(1H-Indol-3-yl)pyrrolidinoindolines and Application to the Formal Syntheses of Gliocladins B and C

A one-pot regio- and stereospecific strategy for the construction of 3a-(3-indolyl)-hexahydropyrrolo[2,3-b]indoles based on the condensation of an indole and an in situ generated cyclopropylazetoindoline has been developed. This unified strategy works with a variety of substituted indoles to produce 3a-(3-indolyl)hexahydropyrrolo[2,3-b]indole products in high yields. The utility of this transformation was highlighted in the formal total syntheses of gliocladins B and C.

Recent advances on the total synthesis of alkaloids in mainland China

Alkaloids are a large family of natural products that mostly contain basic nitrogen atoms. Because of their intriguing structures and important functions, they have long been popular targets for synthetic organic chemists. China's chemists have made significant progress in the area of alkaloid synthesis over past decades. In this article, selected total syntheses of alkaloids from research groups in mainland China during the period 2011–16 are highlighted.

Simple indole alkaloids and those with a nonrearranged monoterpenoid unit

This review summarizes the isolation, structure determination, total syntheses and biological activities of simple indole alkaloids and those with a nonrearranged monoterpenoid unit, with literature coverage from 2012 to 2013.

Regioselective hydroarylation reactions of C3 electrophilic N-acetylindoles activated by FeCl3: an entry to 3-(hetero)arylindolines

A method for the direct and rare umpolung of the 3 position of indoles is reported. The activation of N-acetylindole with iron(III) chloride allows the C-H addition of aromatic and heteroaromatic substrates to the C2=C3 double bond of the indole nucleus to generate a quaternary center at C3 and leads regioselectively to 3-arylindolines. Optimization, scope (50 examples), practicability (gram scale, air atmosphere, room temperature), and mechanistic insights of this process are presented. Synthetic transformations of the indoline products into drug-like compounds are also described.

Total synthesis, stereochemical assignment, and biological activity of all known (-)-trigonoliimines

A full account of our concise and enantioselective total syntheses of all known (-)-trigonoliimine alkaloids is described. Our retrobiosynthetic analysis of these natural products enabled identification of a single bistryptamine precursor as a precursor to all known trigonoliimines through a sequence of transformations involving asymmetric oxidation and reorganization. Our enantioselective syntheses of these alkaloids enabled the revision of the absolute stereochemistry of (-)-trigonoliimines A, B, and C. We report that trigonoliimines A, B, C and structurally related compounds showed weak anticancer activities against HeLa and U-937 cells.

Enantioselective total syntheses of plectosphaeroic acids B and C

Evolution of the synthetic strategy that culminated in the first total syntheses of the structurally unique plectosphaeroic acids B (2) and C (3) is described. The successful enantioselective route to (+)-2 and (+)-3 proceeds in 6 and 11 steps from the known hexahydro-2H-pyrazinopyrrolo[2,3-b]indole-1,4-dione 39, which in turn is available in enantiomerically pure form by chemical synthesis. The central challenge in this synthesis endeavor was uniting the hexahydro-2H-pyrazinopyrrolo[2,3-b]indole-1,4-dione and cinnabarinic acid fragments of these marine alkaloids. Critical for achieving this successful C-N bond formation was the use of an iodocinnabarinic acid diester in which the amino group was masked with two Boc substituents, a Cu(I) carboxylate complex and the weak base KOAc. The highly congested C-N bond generated in this coupling, in conjunction with the delicate nature of the densely functionalized coupling partners, provided a striking testament to the power of modern copper-mediated amination methods. Two approaches, one stereoselective, for introducing the methylthio substituents of (+)-plectosphaeroic acid B were developed. The epitrisulfide ring of (+)-plectosphaeroic acid C was formed by ring expansion of an epidisulfide precursor.

Enantioselective total synthesis of plectosphaeroic acid B

The first total synthesis of a member of the plectosphaeroic acid family of fungal natural products is reported. Key steps include the late-stage formation of the hindered N6-C9" bond and stereoselective introduction of the two methylthio substituents.