Total Synthesis of (±)-Communesin F via a Cycloaddition with Indol-2-one

Johannes Belmar and Raymond L. Funk

 DOI: http:// dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja307277w

It has been some time since my last entry. I was very busy with moving to the US and starting my master’s thesis. But as you can see after about 12 weeks I am back. I chose a rather short synthesis but there is still some work to be covered within the next weeks which should result in much more detailed write-ups.

The communesins are known to the synthetic community for quite a while and were the targets of extensive research and synthetic studies. The current paper utilized some nice methodology developed by the group and published in an earlier synthesis of perophoramidine. [1]

The synthesis begins with the union of azide 1 and bromooxindole 2. Because their initially reported conditions did not give any product at all it was found that the reaction proceeded smoothly in the presence of substoichiometric amounts of silver carbonate yielding 3. After tosylation the mixture was exposed to methanolysis to produce the backbone structure 4 of communesin F. Methylation with Meerweins’s salt, hydrogenolysis of the azide with subsequent Boc-protection and detosylation furnished amide 5.

 Scheme 1

The bromine was then used as a handle to introduce the prenyl sidechain with a Heck reaction to give an intermediate allylic alcohol. In the presence of mercury salts a cyclization took place constructing the crucial seven-membered amine ring. Deprotection of the amine under mild conditions using TBSOTf was followed by amide formation with some help from trimethylaluminium. The second side-chain was introduced in the usual sequence of deprotonation and subsequent alkylation with iodoacetonitrile.

 Scheme 2

The last ring was closed in a straightforward manner. Reduction of the nitrile to the aldehyde and the amide to the hemiaminal gave tetrahydrofuran 9. Reductive amination and acetylation finally produced communesin F in an overall yield of 6.7 %.

Scheme 3

The mechanism of the key step is pretty straightforward but nevertheless a nice one. After tosylating the oxindole nitrogen the resulting amide can be cleaved by methoxide to give an anilide anion which undergoes intramolecular attack on the indolenine 2 position to close the ring.

Scheme 4

[1] J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2004, 126, 5068

Yeah… that is it for the moment. I found some new interesting stuff to write-up, so I promise I will be up to date from now on J

Scalable Total Synthesis of (-)-Berkelic Acid Using a Protecting-Group-Free Strategy

Scalable Total Synthesis of (-)-Berkelic Acid Using a Protecting-Group-Free Strategy[1]

Francisco J. Fananás, Abraham Mendoza, Tamara Arto, Baris Temelli, and Felix Rodriguez

 DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201109076

Berkelic acid is a rather old target to the synthetic community and three total syntheses have been published to date. Interestingly the material provided by synthesis produced contradictory biological results compared to earlier studies. So besides showing the power of their methodology the group planned to provide enough material for refined studies.

 Scheme 1

As can be seen from scheme 1 the group planned to construct almost the whole framework in one single step after disconnection of the side. It should be noted that the group has some experience with this kind of cascade transformations of which they can rely on. Nevertheless instead of employing palladium catalysts the group turned their attention to silver catalysis. With this cascade reaction in mind they hoped that the stereogenic methyl group would control the stereoselectivity of the whole transformation.

The three key building blocks were prepared in a straightforward manner. Starting from commercially available butynol 1 the hydroxy functionality was mesylated and replaced by diethylmalonate to give after complete reduction diol 2. Starting from ester 3 the second fragment was prepared by triflation of the least hindered hydroxy group followed by Suzuki cross coupling with the trifluoroborate of heptyne. Hydroxy-directed reaction with formaldehyde and subsequent oxidation produced ester 4. The last building block stems from dimethyl malate which was doubly alkylated in the first place. Then the a-hydroxy ester was used for a periodate cleavage followed by cyanohydrin formation which was catalyzed by PNPCl.[2]

 Scheme 2

 

Combination of the red fragment 2 and orange fragment 4 was accomplished in the presence of 5 mol% silver(II). Subsequent hydrogenation of the resulting double bond yielded 7 in good yield and diastereoselectivity favoring the desired one. Appel reaction under standard conditions was followed by cyanohydrin alkylation and unmasking of the ketone to give protected Berkelic acid 9. Small amounts of Berkelic acid can be produced in good yield by selective saponification of the more active ester. This was only done when material was needed for testing or analysis as the natural product is a short-lived compound.

 Scheme 3

 

The mechanism of the cool key step is presented below. On one hand the red fragment underwent a 5-exo-dig cyclization thus desymmetrizing the propanediol moiety to give after protodemetallation a tetrahydrofuran ring. On the other hand the carbonyl of the orange fragment underwent a 6-endo-dig cyclization. Supported by keto-enol tautomerism of the hydroxy functionality an ortho-quinone methide is formed. Michael addition of the enol ether from the red fragment onto the quinone methide was followed by acetal formation by the phenol. Hydrogenation of the newly formed double bond then gave intermediate 7.[3]

 Scheme 4

 

[1] I was pointed to the title which says “[...] protecting-group-FREE strategy”… I am not particularly sure how they got the title but I see almost two protecting groups: the TES-cyanohydrin and one of the methyl esters. Maybe the title refers to the neat cascade reaction in which no protecting groups are necessary…

[2] It is the first time I ever saw this reagent in action. It is usually used for halogenation reactions. The cited paper in this step found that in the presence of PNPCl the cyanohydrin formation is much faster which was ascribed to an activation of the carbonyl oxygen by the high oxophilicity of phosphorous.

[3] At first sight one might think of a Diels-Alder reaction. But brief examination of the stereochemistry on the newly formed pyran ring shows that only a stepwise mechanism can form this particular anti-substitution pattern.

Addendum: If you are interested in earlier studies of the group you should have a look into these two papers

Big THX to Bobby for proofreading.

Synthesis of Dragmacidin D via Direct C-H Couplings

Debashis Mandal, Atsushi D. Yamaguchi, Junichiro Yamaguchi, and Kenichiro Itami

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1021/ja209945x

I thought about writing this review a few months ago but never found the time to get it done. But here it is and I hope you enjoy this cool paper as I did. I am a big fan of “flat” chemistry and C-H activation so naturally this piece had to be reviewed. Dragmacidin D itself shows some promising activity in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease. Only one total synthesis has been published by the Stoltz group in 2002 so there is still room for improvement. Retrosynthetically the group planned to stick all parts together via C-H activation/C-C coupling reactions.

 Scheme 1

The “sticky” –positions are marked in blue. As can be seen from this picture almost all crucial bonds can be formed through C-H activation (except the iodide).

Indole 1 was carboxylated to block the 3 position of the indole which would normally undergo iodination in the presence of NIS. Removal of the carboxyl group after halogenation gave indole 3. Tosylation was accomplished under standard conditions yielding the first coupling partner 4. Thiophene boronic acid 5 was oxidized to the corresponding alcohol to furnish after TIPS protection coupling partner 6. In the presence of Pd^II and silver(I) as the re-oxidant thiophene 7 formed in good yield on a gram scale. Desilylation and reductive desulfuration with Raney-Ni was followed by global deprotection and double MOM-protection to produce ketone 8. ^[1]

 Scheme 2

Next the 3 position of the indole moiety was again functionalized. This time pyrazine N-oxide was used in the presence of Pd^II to give 9. A TFAA mediated Polonovski-Potier rearrangement gave pyrazinone 10 which was used in a Friedel-Crafts-like acylation with 6-bromoindole to furnish 11 in good yield. Bromination of the ketone was accomplished via the TMS-enolate and NBS mediated bromination yielding 12. In the presence of Boc-guanidine Dragmacidin D was formed after deprotection.

 Scheme 3

 

Short and very efficient I would say. The only drawback might be that Dragmacidin D is formed in both enantiomeric forms. I was wondering how much silver the group stores in their laboratories J.

[1] Really a nice method to introduce the side chain on the indole. The net result is the reaction of an umpoled ketone with the aromatic ring.