Streamlined Symmetrical Total Synthesis of Disorazole B and Design, Synthesis, and Biological Investigation of Disorazole Analogues.

Taking advantage of the -symmetry of the antitumor naturally occurring disorazole B molecule, a symmetrical total synthesis was devised with a monomeric advanced intermediate as the key building block, whose three-step conversion to the natural product allowed for an expeditious entry to this family of compounds. Application of the developed synthetic strategies and methods provided a series of designed analogues of disorazole B, whose biological evaluation led to the identification of a number of potent antitumor agents and the first structure-activity relationships (SARs) within this class of compounds. Specifically, the substitutions of the epoxide units and lactone moieties with cyclopropyl and lactam structural motifs, respectively, were found to be tolerable for biological activities and beneficial with regard to chemical stability.

Catalytic palladium-oxyallyl cycloaddition.

Exploration of intermediates that enable chemoselective cycloaddition reactions and expeditious construction of fused- or bridged-ring systems is a continuous challenge for organic synthesis. As an intermediate of interest, the oxyallyl cation has been harnessed to synthesize architectures containing seven-membered rings via (4+3) cycloaddition. However, its potential to access five-membered skeletons is underdeveloped, largely due to the thermally forbidden (3+2) pathway.

FeCl3-Catalyzed Intramolecular Michael Reaction of Styrenes for the Synthesis of Highly Substituted Indenes.

An intramolecular FeCl3-catalyzed Michael addition reaction of styrene, a poor nucleophile, onto α,β-unsaturated ketones was developed for the synthesis of highly substituted indene derivatives. The method was further applied to the total synthesis of the sesquiterpene natural products (±)-jungianol and 1-epi-jungianol.

FeCl3 mediated synthesis of substituted indenones by a formal [2+2] cycloaddition/ring opening cascade of o-keto-cinnamates.

A novel FeCl3 mediated formal [2+2] cycloaddition/ring opening cascade of o-keto-cinnamates was developed for the synthesis of indenones. The reaction tolerates a broad range of functional groups, including bromide, chloride, amide, acid and ester groups.

FeCl3 mediated intramolecular olefin-cation cyclization of cinnamates for the synthesis of highly substituted indenes.

Highly substituted indene derivatives were readily prepared in excellent yields with high regioselectivity under very mild reaction conditions by the FeCl3 mediated intramolecular olefin-cationic cyclization of cinnamates.

FeCl3 catalyzed Prins-type cyclization for the synthesis of highly substituted indenes: application to the total synthesis of (±)-jungianol and epi-jungianol.

A novel approach was developed for the synthesis of highly substituted indene derivatives, using an FeCl(3) catalyzed Prins-type cyclization reaction which was further applied in the total synthesis of jungianol and epi-jungianol.