Biomimetic Synthesis of (.+-.)-Galanthamine and Asymmetric Synthesis of (-)-Galanthamine Using Remote Asymmetric Induction

(+/-)-Galanthamine (1) was synthesized in excellent yield by applying PIFA-mediated oxidative phenol coupling of N-(4-hydroxy)phenethyl-N-(3',4',5'-trialkoxy)benzyl formamide (15b) as a key step. Because of the symmetrical characteristics of the pyrogallol moiety in the substrate (15b), the phenol coupling resulted in a sole coupling product except for volatile components from the oxidizing agent. On the basis of the successful results of the above strategy, (-)-galanthamine (1) was synthesized by employing a novel remote asymmetric induction, where conformation of the seven-membered ring in the product of the phenol coupling was restricted by forming a fused-chiral imidazolidinone ring with D-phenylalanine on the benzylic C-N bond of the tri-O-alkylated gallyl amino moiety. The conformational restriction and successive debenzylation of the protected hydroxyl groups on the pyrogallol ring caused diastereoselective cyclization to yield a cyclic ether having the desired stereochemistry for the synthesis of (-)-1.

An efficient synthesis of (±)-narwedine and (±)-galanthamine by an improved phenolic oxidative coupling

Old problems, new ideas! The biomimetic phenol coupling of norbelladine derivatives such as 1 (Bn = benzyl) to form galanthamine (2), a drug used in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease, has been greatly improved by the use of the hypervalent-iodine oxidation reagent phenyliodine(III) bis(trifluoroacetate) (PIFA).

Analysis of linkage positions in 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucopyranosyl residues by the reductive-cleavage method

The fate of methylated 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-D-glucopyranosyl residues under reductive-cleavage conditions was investigated by using methyl 2-(acetylmethylamino)-2-deoxy-3,4,6-tri-O-methyl-beta-D-glucopyran oside (1), its alpha anomer (8), and fully methylated lacto-N-tetraitol as test compounds. Treatment of 1 with triethylsilane and trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate in dichloromethane gave rise to (1,2-dideoxy-3,4,6-tri-O-methyl-alpha-D-glucopyrano)-2,3-dimethyl- [2,1-d]-2- oxazolinium trifluoromethanesulfonate. Quenching of the reaction by addition of aqueous sodium hydrogencarbonate resulted in hydrolysis of the oxazolinium salt. Compound 8 was fully stable to reductive-cleavage conditions. Thus, participation by the 2-acetamido group is necessary for glycosidic carbon-oxygen bond-cleavage to occur. Treatment of methyl 2-deoxy-2-(ethylmethylamino)-3,4,6-tri-O-methyl-alpha,beta-D-gluco pyranoside under reductive-cleavage conditions resulted in some anomerization, but neither hydrolysis nor reductive cleavage of the glycosidic carbon-oxygen bond was observed, as expected. Reductive cleavage of fully methylated lacto-N-tetraitol gave the products predicted on the basis of these and prior model studies, including 3-O-acetyl-2-(acetylmethylamino)-2-deoxy-4,6-di-O-methyl-D-glucopy ranose derived from the 3-linked 2-acetamido-2-deoxy-beta-D-glucopyranosyl residue.