Guo-Qiang Lin

Diverse synthesis of marine cyclic depsipeptide lagunamide A and its analogues.

The asymmetric total synthesis of lagunamide A (3.0%, 20 steps longest linear sequence) and its five analogues, including the structure dehydrated at the C37 position, are detailed in this report. The key feature in this diverse synthesis includes the elaboration of four consecutive chiral centers at C37-40 and the final macrocyclization. Starting from chiral aldehyde 10, we synthesized both 1,3-anti and 1,3-syn homoallylic alcohols 20a and 20b through asymmetric aldol condensation and stereoselective allylation. The following esterification to introduce the L-N-Me-Ala unit resulted in significant epimerization. This problem was finally overcome by coupling the alcohols with the corresponding acid chloride of the L-alanine derivative. The key α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid unit was produced by cross-metathesis (CM) of methacrylaldehyde and related olefins. Interestingly, we found that the C7 configuration dramatically affected the ring closure. Natural lagunamide A (1a), its 39-epimer (1c), and its 2-epimer (1d) were obtained through macrolactamization between alanine and isoleucine moieties.

A novel and concise synthetic access to chiral 2-substituted-4-piperidone

A novel and concise synthetic access to enantiopure chiral 2-aryl/alkyl substituted 4-piperidone has been demonstrated. This new route features two key steps: the highly diastereoselective conjugate addition of homochiral lithium amides to trans-β-substituted-α,β-unsaturated methyl esters guaranteed the enantiopurity at 2 position (de >19:1) and the intramolecular attacking of carbanions to methyl esters led to the formation of the piperidone ring. A wide range of substrates, including chiral 2-aryl and 2-alkyl-4-piperidones, were successfully synthesized with modest to high yield. Moreover, some non-chiral 3-substituted-4-piperidones were also synthesized with enhanced ring-formation yield, implicating the versatility of this method in construction of various piperidine rings.