Lorenzo V. White

A chemoenzymatic total synthesis of (+)-Clividine

The title compound, ent-1, the non-natural enantiomeric form of the lycorenine-type alkaloid (-)-clividine (1), has been prepared using the enantiomerically pure (ee >99.8%) cis-1,2-dihydrocatechol 3 as starting material. A key feature associated with the closing stages of the synthesis involved the diastereoselective addition of a nitrogen-centered radical onto a pendant cyclohexene to establish the cis-fused D-ring and the required stereochemistry at C11b in the final product ent-1.

Synthetic Studies on Amaryllidaceae and Other Terrestrially Derived Alkaloids

The total syntheses of a wide range of terrestrially derived alkaloids, especially ones isolated from members of the Amaryllidaceae family, are described. Two recurring themes associated with these syntheses are the use of two types of building blocks, namely ring-fused cyclopropanes, especially geminally-dihalogenated ones, and enzymatically derived cis-1,2-dihydrocatechols. These have often served as precursors to 2- or 3-halogenated 2-cyclohexen-1-ols that are themselves engaged in cross-coupling reactions, radical addition-elimination processes and/or Claisen- or Overman-type rearrangements so as to construct the highly functionalized six-membered rings associated with the target alkaloids.

Structure of the lycorinine alkaloid nobilisitine A.

The structure 3 recently proposed, on the basis of computed NMR chemical shifts, for the natural product nobilisitine A has been synthesized from its C5-epimer (+)-clividine (4). The spectral data derived from compound 3 match those reported for the natural product.

gem-Dibromocyclopropanes and enzymatically derived cis-1,2-dihydrocatechols as building blocks in alkaloid synthesis*

The application of the title building blocks, the 6,6-dibromobicyclo[3.1.0]hexanes and the cis-1,2-dihydrocatechols, to the total synthesis of crinine and lycorinine alkaloids is described.

Conversion of the Enzymatically Derived (1S,2S)-3-Bromocyclohexa-3,5-diene-1,2-diol into Enantiomerically Pure Compounds Embodying the Pentacyclic Framework of Vindoline

The enzymatically derived and enantiomerically pure (1S,2S)-3-bromocyclohexa-3,5-diene-1,2-diol (7) has been elaborated over 17 steps into compounds 8 and 32, each of which embodies the pentacyclic framework and much of the functionality associated with the alkaloid vindoline (3). This work sets the stage for effecting the conversion of the related metabolite (1S,6R)-5-ethyl-1,6-dihydroxycyclohexa-2,4-diene-1-carboxylic acid (4) into compound 3, the latter being a biogenetic precursor to the clinically significant anticancer agents vinblastine and vincristine.

New, Homochiral Synthons Obtained through Simple Manipulations of Enzymatically Derived 3-Halo-cis-1,2-dihydrocatechols

The bromoepoxide 5a, which is obtained from the homochiral and enzymatically derived cis-1,2-dihydrocatechol 1a, is readily and efficiently transformed into either isomer 8a or the corresponding methoxymethyl-ether 2a. Though both of these products can be fully characterized, they are somewhat unstable, with the former being converted into the crystalline enone 3a on standing and the latter readily participating in a Diels–Alder cycloaddition reaction with the potent dienophile N-phenyl-1,2,4-triazoline-3,5-dione to give adduct 7a. The single-crystal X-ray structures of compounds 3a and 7a are reported. Using the related chemistry the chloro-analogue, 3b, of enone 3a can be obtained.