Colin K. Skepper

A Tetrachloro Polyketide Hexahydro-1H-isoindolone, Muironolide A, from the Marine Sponge Phorbas sp. Natural Products at the Nanomole Scale

Muironolide A, a new chemical entity with an unprecedented chlorinated hexahydro-1H-isoindolone skeleton, was isolated in only 90 microg yield from the same marine sponge, Phorbas sp. that also provided phorboxazoles A and B. The structure was solved by interpretation of NMR data obtained at 600 MHz with a 1.7 mm cryo-microprobe in combination with FTMS, exciton coupled CD, and stereochemical correlation with authentic standards prepared by Reformatsky reaction of (-)-(1R,2S)-2-chloro-1-cyclopropanecarboxaldehyde. The absolute configuration of the chlorocyclopropane ring in 1 is opposite to that of co-occurring phorbasides A-F. Muironolide A is the first described macrolide bearing an esterified trichloromethyl carbinol, and may be produced by a cyanobacterium that also makes phorbasides.

Total Synthesis of Enigmazole A from Cinachyrella enigmatica. Bidirectional Bond Constructions with an Ambident 2,4-Disubstituted Oxazole Synthon

The first total synthesis of the cytotoxic marine macrolide enigmazole A has been completed in 22 steps (longest linear sequence). The sensitive, densely functionalized 2,4-disubstituted oxazole fragment was constructed using an efficient Negishi-type coupling of an oxazol-2-ylzinc reagent formed directly from the parent ethyl 2-iodooxazole-4-carboxylate by zinc insertion. Other key steps include a hetero-Diels-Alder cycloaddition to form the central embedded pyran ring, a Wittig reaction to unite Eastern and Western hemispheres, and a ring size-selective Keck macrolactonization.

Long-chain 2H-azirines with heterogeneous terminal halogenation from the marine sponge Dysidea fragilis.

Three new omega-halogenated long-chain 2H-azirines were isolated from the sponge Dysidea fragilis. Their structures revealed heterogeneity in both the composition of the terminal 1,1-dihalo-vinyl group and enantiomeric ratios at C2 of the azirine-2-carboxylate ester terminus. Azirine-2-carboxylate esters were shown to racemize spontaneously. A hypothesis is proposed for the biosynthesis of the azirinecarboxylate family of natural products that involves enzyme-catalyzed free radical halogenation followed by elimination of hydrohalic acid.

Phorbasides A-E, cytotoxic chlorocyclopropane macrolide glycosides from the marine sponge Phorbas sp. CD determination of C-methyl sugar configurations

Five new cytotoxic macrolide glycosides phorbasides A-E (3-7), each possessing a macrolide ring appended to a rare ene-yne-trans-2-chlorocyclopropane, were isolated from the same Western Australian sponge (Phorbas sp.) that provided phorboxazoles A and B. The structures of 3-7 were solved by analysis of spectroscopic data including NMR, MS, and CD. A synthesis of methyl 2-O-methyl-alpha-L-evalose from L-rhamnose was completed and used for configurational assignment of the sugar residue in 3. Acid-catalyzed methanolysis of 3 followed by two-step derivatization of the liberated O-methyl glycoside gave a vicinal 4-O-naphthoyl/tertiary 3-N-(2-aminonaphthyl)carbamate derivative that exhibited exciton coupled CD identical with that of the derivative prepared from synthetic 1,2- O-dimethyl-alpha-L-evalose.

Synthesis and antifungal activity of (-)-(Z)-dysidazirine.

A short, flexible synthesis of the marine natural product (2 R)-(Z)-dysidazirine (-)-1 has been completed. (-)-1 shows significant antifungal activity across a panel of seven human pathogens, whereas the structural analogue (-)-2, featuring a terminal tert-butyl group, is essentially inactive.

Transannular Diels–Alder/1,3-Dipolar Cycloaddition Cascade of 1,3,4-Oxadiazoles: Total Synthesis of a Unique Set of Vinblastine Analogues

A powerful tandem [4 + 2]/[3 + 2] cycloaddition cascade of 1,3,4-oxadiazoles initiated by a transannular [4 + 2] cycloaddition is detailed. An impressive four rings, four carbon-carbon bonds, and six stereocenters are set on each site of the newly formed central six-membered ring in a cascade thermal reaction that proceeds at temperatures as low as 80 °C. The resulting cycloadducts provide the basis for the synthesis of unique analogues of vinblastine containing metabolically benign deep-seated cyclic modifications at the C3/C4 centers of the vindoline-derived subunit of the natural product.

Synthesis and chain-dependent antifungal activity of long-chain 2H-azirine-carboxylate esters related to dysidazirine.

Analogues of the antifungal marine natural product (E)-dysidazirine were prepared and evaluated in broth ro-dilution assays against a panel of fungal pathogens. A simple structure-activity relationship was developed which provides insight into the mechanism of action of long-chain 2H-azirine carboxylates.