Late-Stage Functionalization for the Divergent Synthesis of Podophyllotoxin Derivatives by Rhodium Catalysis.

Invited for the cover of this issue are Chunpu Li, Hong Liu and co-workers at Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, and Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study. The image depicts rhodium catalysis converting the readily available podophyllotoxin into four kinds of novel derivatives. Read the full text of the article at 10.

Late-Stage Functionalization for the Divergent Synthesis of Podophyllotoxin Derivatives by Rhodium Catalysis.

A divergent synthesis of podophyllotoxin derivatives from simple and readily available starting materials through a late-stage functionalization strategy by rhodium catalysis is reported here. This strategy uses the ketone and oxime in substrates as directing groups. Four kinds of novel podophyllotoxin derivatives have been obtained without any erosion of the enantiopurity, thus indicating the broad substrate scope of this method.