Synthesis of an F-H gambierol subunit using a C-glycoside-centered strategy

MOP and EE Protecting Groups in Synthesis of α- or β-Naphthyl-C-Glycosides from Glycals

The development of effective protection strategies is essential in the synthesis of complex carbohydrates and glycomimetics. This article describes a versatile four-stage protocol for the synthesis of α- or β-aryl-C-glycosides from unprotected d-glycals using two acetal protecting groups, ethoxyethyl and methoxypropyl, which are stable under harsh basic conditions and convenient for the C-1 metalation of glycals. Their stability was investigated in subsequent cross-coupling reactions with 1-iodonaphthalene followed by oxidative/reductive transformations to naphthyl-C-glycosides.

A practical and scalable synthesis of carbohydrate based oxepines

An efficient, seven-step synthesis of carbohydrate based oxepines is reported using per-O-acetyl septanoses as key intermediates. The scope of the synthesis was evaluated by varying both the pyranose starting materials and protecting groups incorporated into the oxepine products. The practicality of the method make it amenable to scale up as demonstrated by the gram-scale synthesis of the d-glucose derived oxepine.

Maitotoxin: An Inspiration for Synthesis

Maitotoxin holds a special place in the annals of natural products chemistry as the largest and most toxic secondary metabolite known to date. Its fascinating, ladder-like, polyether molecular structure and diverse spectrum of biological activities elicited keen interest from chemists and biologists who recognized its uniqueness and potential as a probe and inspiration for research in chemistry and biology. Synthetic studies in the area benefited from methodologies and strategies that were developed as part of chemical synthesis programs directed toward the total synthesis of some of the less complex members of the polyether marine biotoxin class, of which maitotoxin is the flagship. This account focuses on progress made in the authors' laboratories in the synthesis of large maitotoxin domains with emphasis on methodology development, strategy design, and structural comparisons of the synthesized molecules with the corresponding regions of the natural product. The article concludes with an overview of maitotoxin's biological profile and future perspectives.

Synthesis of the WXYZA' domain of maitotoxin

A synthesis of the WXYZA' domain (7) of the marine neurotoxin maitotoxin (1) is reported. The convergent synthetic strategy involves construction of key building blocks 11 and 12, their coupling, and the elaboration of the resulting ester (10) to the target molecule through a ring-closing metathesis and a hydroxy dithioketal cyclization as the key steps. For the construction of fragment 11, the Noyori reduction/Achmatowicz rearrangement and hydroxy epoxide opening technologies were applied (starting from furfuryl alcohol (13)), whereas for the synthesis of fragment 12, a carbohydrate-based approach was adopted (starting from 2-deoxy-D-ribose (14)). The synthesized WXYZA' domain (7) of maitotoxin (1) exhibited the expected (13)C NMR chemical shifts, supporting the originally assigned structure of the corresponding region of the natural product.

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.

Diverging Rh(I)-catalyzed carbocylization strategy to prepare a library of unique cyclic ethers

A library of 90 carboxamide-containing oxepines and pyrans was synthesized. A dual-branching strategy was used where a common intermediate, an allenyl-hydroxy ester, was either allylated or propargylated then subjected to rhodium(I)-catalyzed carbocyclization reaction conditions to afford an oxepine- or triene-containing pyran, respectively. The oxepines were selectively reduced to afford two functionally unique scaffolds using complementary hydrogenation conditions. Diversification of the oxepines and pyrans involved conversion of the methyl carboxylate group to a carboxamide via either a microwave-assisted amidation using polymer-bound carbodiimide (DCC) and 1-hydroxybenzotriazole (HOBt) or a NaCN-catalyzed aminolysis. The scope of a rarely used carbonyl-yne reaction was expanded to the preparation of 10 new allenyl-hydroxy esters using microwave irradiation. Finally, a cell-based diversity analysis using BCUT (Burden (B) CAS (C) Pearlman at the University of Texas (UT)) metrics calculations and two-dimensional fingerprint similarity approaches shows that when compared to the 100,000 Pittsburgh Molecular Library Screening Center (PMLSC) compound database and PubChem the new compound library occupies a unique chemical space.

Convergent strategies for the total synthesis of polycyclic ether marine metabolites

Marine polycyclic ether natural products continue to fascinate chemists and biologists due to their exceptionally large and complex molecular architectures and potent and diverse biological activities. Tremendous progress has been made over the past decade toward the total synthesis of marine polycyclic ether natural products. In this area, a convergent strategy for assembling small fragments into an entire molecule always plays a key role in successful total synthesis. This review describes our efforts to develop convergent strategies for the synthesis of polycyclic ethers and their application to the total synthesis of gambierol, gymnocin-A, and brevenal, and to the partial synthesis of the central part of ciguatoxins and the nonacyclic polyether skeleton of gambieric acids.

The continuing saga of the marine polyether biotoxins

The unprecedented structure of the marine natural product brevetoxin B was elucidated by the research group of Nakanishi and Clardy in 1981. The ladderlike molecular architecture of this fused polyether molecule, its potent toxicity, and fascinating voltage-sensitive sodium channel based mechanism of action immediately captured the imagination of synthetic chemists. Synthetic endeavors resulted in numerous new methods and strategies for the construction of cyclic ethers, and culminated in several impressive total syntheses of this molecule and some of its equally challenging siblings. Of the marine polyethers, maitotoxin is not only the most complex and most toxic of the class, but is also the largest nonpolymeric natural product known to date. This Review begins with a brief history of the isolation of these biotoxins and highlights their biological properties and mechanism of action. Chemical syntheses are then described, with particular emphasis on new methods developed and applied to the total syntheses. The Review ends with a discussion of the, as yet unfinished, story of maitotoxin, and projects into the future of this area of research.

Synthesis of an A-E gambieric acid subunit with use of a C-glycoside centered strategy

This paper describes our synthesis of the A-E subunit of gambieric acid (GA) in addition to the synthesis of the A-ring and the C-E tricycle. The use of an enol ether-olefin RCM strategy to couple the A and C-E subunits and, in the process, generate the B-ring is noteworthy.

Metathesis reactions in total synthesis

With the exception of palladium-catalyzed cross-couplings, no other group of reactions has had such a profound impact on the formation of carbon-carbon bonds and the art of total synthesis in the last quarter of a century than the metathesis reactions of olefins, enynes, and alkynes. Herein, we highlight a number of selected examples of total syntheses in which such processes played a crucial role and which imparted to these endeavors certain elements of novelty, elegance, and efficiency. Judging from their short but impressive history, the influence of these reactions in chemical synthesis is destined to increase.

Total Synthesis of Gambierol: Subunit Coupling and Completion

The preceding manuscript detailed our synthesis of the gambierol A-C and F-H ring precursors. Reported herein is a description of the coupling of the two precursors and the conversion of the coupled material into gambierol. Coupling of the subunits involved ester formation, enol ether RCM, and mixed thioketal formation and reduction. By employing this strategy we were able to bring highly advanced subunits into the coupling and, as a result, we were able to minimize the number of post-coupling transformations required to complete gambierol. At the completion of the synthesis, we generated 7.5 mg (1.5 % overall yield) of (-)-gambierol in 44 steps (longest linear sequence).

Total Synthesis of Gambierol: The Generation of the A–C and F–H Subunits by Using a C-Glycoside Centered Strategy

Gambierol, a representative of the marine ladder toxin family, consists of eight ether rings, 18 stereocenters, and two challenging pyranyl rings having methyl groups that are in a 1,3-diaxial orientation to one another. Herein we describe the generation of gambierol's A-C and F-H ring systems and demonstrate the versatility of the glycosyl anhydride, enol ether-olefin RCM strategy to fused polycyclic ethers. This work has both enabled us to generate sufficient quantities of the gambierol precursors and has enabled us to better understand the chemical transformations that were key to these efforts. Fundamental work included efforts to C-glycosides and C-ketosides, Claisen rearrangements, and enol ether-olefin RCM reactions.

Construction of fused polycyclic ethers by strategies involving ring-closing metathesis

Large fused polycyclic ether natural products of marine origin are some of the most complex and formidable synthetic targets found in Nature, and they continue to fascinate and inspire those engaged in target-directed synthesis and the development of new synthetic methods. Novel strategies for the rapid and stereoselective assembly of fused polyethers have been devised in which ring-closing metathesis reactions are used to accomplish cyclic ether construction. Two-directional and iterative ring construction approaches involving ring-closing metathesis are being employed to assemble polyether sequences found in marine natural products such as the ciguatoxins and gambieric acids.

Regioselective debenzylation of C-glycosyl compounds by boron trichloride

Boron trichloride has been found to promote selective deprotection of 1,2- or 1,3-cis oriented secondary benzyl ethers of per-benzylated C-glycosyl derivatives. The reactivity towards BCl(3) follows the order: C-4>or=C-2>C-6>C-3 for C-glucopyranosyl derivatives and C-3>or=C-4>C-6>C-2 for C-galactopyranosyl derivatives. Preparatively useful selective debenzylation at secondary positions was possible after careful control of reaction conditions.

Synthesis of the ABCD Ring of Gambierol

A fully functionalized ABCD ring moiety of gambierol, a marine polycyclic ether toxin, was synthesized by the use of the oxiranyl anion strategy and reductive cycloetherification of a beta,delta-dihydroxy ketone.

From C-Glycosides to Pyranopyrans: An Approach to Thyrsiferol Using Titanium(III)-Promoted Redox Couplings

An approach to the pyranopyran ring system that is found in many natural products, including thyrsiferol, is described. The route entails the assembly of an alpha,beta-unsaturated ketone (11) from geraniol and dihydropyran (23) from acetyl acetaldehyde dimethyl acetal (19) and their titanium(III)-promoted coupling to afford a respectable 60% yield of keto alcohol 26. The sigma-bond formed in this process corresponds to the pro-C(9)-C(10) bond of thyrsiferol (4). Attempts to invert the stereochemistry at the pro-C(11) center were thwarted by the congestion imparted by the presence of the vicinal TBS-ether. Consequently, cyclization of the coupling adduct under conditions developed by Olah and Prakash and co-workers led to the cis-fused pyranopyran 27. X-ray analysis of this crystalline material confirmed each of the stereochemical assignments. After much effort, it was determined that the hydroxyl group at C(12) could be removed by treating the derived methyl xanthate with a tri-n-butylphosphine-borane complex under radical-forming conditions. The reaction sequence worked well, despite the hindered working environment and the presence of a potentially labile C-Br bond.

Sequential Cyclization−Elimination Route to Carbohydrate-Based Oxepines

A five-step preparation of carbohydrate-based oxepines from hept-1-enitols is presented. The hept-1-enitols were subjected to silyl protection and hydroboration/oxidation to give the protected heptan-1-itols. Swern oxidation of the homologated alcohols followed by sequential acetal formation/cyclization provided methyl 2-deoxyseptanosides that underwent elimination reactions to give the carbohydrate-based oxepines. The new sequence is an alternative to the ring-closing metathesis for the synthesis of carbohydrate-based oxepines from protected pyranose sugars. The product oxepines can serve as glycosyl donors in the synthesis of novel septanose carbohydrates. In addition, C-methylenealdehydo arabinofuranoside 16 was formed from 2-deoxyseptanoside 10 as the only product during protic acid mediated elimination reactions. This novel ring contraction complements other reported preparations of C-methylenaldehydo furanosides and underscores the acid-mediated reactivity introduced by competing eliminations between the C-1/C-2 and C-2/C-3 bonds.

Substitution and Remote Protecting Group Influence on the Oxidation/Addition of α-Substituted 1,2-Anhydroglycosides: A Novel Entry into C-Ketosides

[reaction: see text] C-Ketosides are valuable intermediates in chemical synthesis and as glycoside mimics. This manuscript describes the efficient generation of these substrates from alpha-alkyl-substituted glycals and an oxidative, C-C bond-forming sequence where the choice of C(3) protecting group was critical.

Marine natural products: synthetic aspects

An overview of marine natural products synthesis during 2003 is provided. The emphasis on total syntheses of molecules of contemporary interest, new total syntheses, and syntheses that have resulted in structure conformation or stereochemical assignments.

The Total Synthesis of Gambierol

This communication describes the total synthesis of the marine polyether toxin, gambierol. This work couples our iterative C-glycoside/enol ether-olefin metathesis strategy to the subunits with a unique olefin metathesis/carbonyl olefination reaction to bring the subunits together.

Convergent Total Syntheses of Gambierol and 16-epi-Gambierol and Their Biological Activities

The convergent total syntheses of gambierol (1) and 16-epi-gambierol (2) have been achieved. The ABC and FGH ring segments 4 and 5 were prepared from known compounds 6 and 13, respectively, by linear manners. The fragments prepared were connected by our own synthetic strategy including the intramolecular allylation of alpha-acetoxy ether followed by ring-closing metathesis to furnish the octacyclic ether 3. The diiodoalkene 45, prepared from 3, was converted to the Z-iodoalkene 50 via a novel and stereoselective hydrogenolysis followed by deprotection. Construction of the triene side chain was performed by the modified Stille coupling of 50 with the Z-vinylic stannane 41 to afford 1. The similar transformations were carried out on the epimeric octacycle 34 to give 2, which showed no toxicity against mice at the concentration of 14 mg/kg.

Synthesis and biological evaluation of gambierol analogues

Gambierol is a polycyclic ether toxin, isolated as a toxic constituent from the marine dinoflagellate Gambierdiscus toxicus. We describe here the synthesis and biological evaluation of structural analogues of gambierol. The present preliminary structure-activity relationship studies clearly indicate that the H ring functionality and the unsaturated side chain of gambierol are crucial for its potent toxicity.