Total Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Rakicidin A and Discovery of a Simplified Bioactive Analogue.

We report a concise asymmetric synthesis of rakicidin A, a macrocyclic depsipeptide that selectively inhibits the growth of hypoxic cancer cells and stem-like leukemia cells. Key transformations include a diastereoselective organocatalytic cross-aldol reaction to build the polyketide portion of the molecule, a highly hindered ester fragment coupling reaction, an efficient Helquist-type Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) macrocyclization, and a new DSC-mediated elimination reaction to construct the sensitive APD portion of rakicidin A. We further report the preparation of a simplified structural analogue (WY1) with dramatically enhanced hypoxia-selective activity.