Application in Synthesis of Natural Products

TEMPO (2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl) as an important reagent in alcohol oxidation and its application in synthesis of natural products between 2000 and 2004 06MRO155. 

In this section, we will discuss some general aspects of synthetic applications and provide examples, including their use in synthesis of natural products. 

Advances on application of low valent titanium to organic synthesis (McMurry reaction, particularly, in synthesis of natural products and their analogs) 05CJO1342. 

Numerous examples of intramolecular Diels-Alder reactions have been repor-ted especially from application in the synthesis of natural products, where stereoselectivity is of particular importance e.g. syntheses of steroids. " ... 

Although the Paterno-Buchi reaction is of high synthetic potential, its use in organic synthesis is still not far developed. In recent years some promising applications in the synthesis of natural products have been reported. The scarce application in synthesis may be due to the non-selective formation of isomeric products that can be difficult to separate—e.g. 6 and 7—as well as to the formation of products by competitive side-reactions such as Norrish type-I- and type-II fragmentations. 

Aziridine-2-carboxylates are playing important roles in the synthesis of natural products and pharmaceutically useful molecules. In this section, applications of chiral nonracemic aziridine-2-carboxylates in the synthesis of natural products are discussed. 

Following the guidelines of typical metathesis reactions outlined in Figs. 1-3, the present review will concentrate - with only a few exceptions - on the most recent applications of metathesis reactions in the total synthesis of natural products. 

Since the chemical addition of HCN always results in mixtures of cis/trans-isomers, the stereoselective HNL-catalyzed addition is of great advantage in the synthesis of natural products. The syntheses of the natural monoterpenes cis-p-menth-8-ene-l,7-diol and cA-/ -menthane-l,7,8-triol are interesting examples for the application of this methodology (Scheme 9). ... 

Ring-closing reactions promoted by mercuric salts are valuable transformations which find an increasing use in the total synthesis of various natural products.130-140 Several examples of solvomercurations demonstrating the applicability of these transformations to the synthesis of natural product precursors are presented in Table 2. Piperidines (entry a), 141 pyrans (entries b-d), 142-144 and furans (entries e, f)14S>146 have been obtained in good yields and diastereoselectivity. These derivatives serve as starting materials for various natural products and can be demercu-rated under reducing conditions.147... 

Only the general pattern of these reactions is described. In many cases the actual course of a reaction has not been elucidated, but for our purposes, the general schemes which are presented offer the opportunity to consider synthetic applications from a unified point of view. The schemes are broad in nature and possibly include some reactions still to be found. Examples illustrating the schemes do not cover the entire subject. They have been selected to provide evidence for the extensive nature of the field, particularly in the synthesis of natural products or of unusual molecules. Reactions leading to metal complexes and not to organic products have been excluded. Reactions occurring under mild conditions are naturally preferred. Reported yields, and the complexes employed, refer to the underlined references cited in the tables. 

Applications of Asymmetric Reactions in the Synthesis of Natural Products... 

Although the application of carboalumination to the synthesis of natural products is still in its infancy, a few preliminary results shown in Scheme 1.50 [167,168,171,172] suggest that it promises to become a major asymmetric synthetic reaction, provided that (i) the singularly important case of methylalumination can be made to proceed with S90% ee, and (ii) satisfactory and convenient methods for enantiomeric and diastereo-meric separation/purification can be developed. In this context, significant increases in ee in the synthesis of methyl-substituted alkanols from around 75 % to 90—93 % achieved through some strategic modifications are noteworthy (Scheme 1.50) [168]. Shortly before the discovery of the Zr-catalyzed enantioselective carboalumination, a fundamentally discrete Zr-catalyzed asymmetric reaction of allylically heterosubstituted alkenes proceeding via cyclic carbozirconation was reported, as discussed later in this section. 

Lewis acid catalysis is not limited to cases in which increased yields or enhanced selectivities are desired. Lewis acids offer also the possibility to induce chiral information leading to enantioselective product formation. The enantioselective induction by chiral Lewis acids found widespread application in organic synthesis, especially in the synthesis of natural products with many chiral centres. An enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction is the key step in the synthesis of an iodolactone prostaglandine precursor (Scheme 6).88... 

Herein we will focus on the recent development of vinylogous [1] aldol reactions and their application in the synthesis of natural products [2-5]. In particular the synthesis of unsaturated esters through the vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol reaction is of great interest, since it provides rapid access to larger carbon frameworks and allows for a wide variety of transformations of the double bond (dihydroxylation, epoxidation, cuprate addition etc.). 

Cathodic cyclization reactions have supphed and continue to provide a fertile territory for the development and exploration of new reactions and the determination of reaction mechanism. Two areas that appear to merit additional exploration include the application of existing methodology to the synthesis of natural products, and, more significantly, a systematic assessment of the factors associated with the control of both relative and absolute stereochemistry. Until there is a solid foundation to which the non-electrochemist can confidently turn in evaluating the prospects for stereochemical control, it seems somewhat unlikely that electrochemically-based methods will see widespread use in organic synthesis. Fortunately, this comment can be viewed as a challenge and as a problem simply awaiting creative solution. 

Synthetic applications of the asymmetric Birch reduction and reduction-alkylation are reported. Synthetically useful chiral Intermediates have been obtained from chiral 2-alkoxy-, 2-alkyl-, 2-aryl- and 2-trialkylsllyl-benzamides I and the pyrrolobenzodlazeplne-5,ll-diones II. The availability of a wide range of substituents on the precursor benzoic acid derivative, the uniformly high degree of dlastereoselection in the chiral enolate alkylation step, and the opportunity for further development of stereogenic centers by way of olefin addition reactions make this method unusually versatile for the asymmetric synthesis of natural products and related materials. 

Much of the characterization of reactivity of I (X = OMe) and some of the early applications of I and n to asymmetric organic synthesis were reviewed in 1990. The focus of this feature article is on recent developments with greatly expanded sets of substrates corresponding to the generalized structures I and II. Particular attention is devoted to the utilization of these substrates for the asymmetric synthesis of natural products and related materials. 

Peroxidases have been used very frequently during the last ten years as biocatalysts in asymmetric synthesis. The transformation of a broad spectrum of substrates by these enzymes leads to valuable compounds for the asymmetric synthesis of natural products and biologically active molecules. Peroxidases catalyze regioselective hydroxylation of phenols and halogenation of olefins. Furthermore, they catalyze the epoxidation of olefins and the sulfoxidation of alkyl aryl sulfides in high enantioselectivities, as well as the asymmetric reduction of racemic hydroperoxides. The less selective oxidative coupHng of various phenols and aromatic amines by peroxidases provides a convenient access to dimeric, oligomeric and polymeric products for industrial applications. 

The ultimate test of any method lies in its applicability in challenging contexts, snch as total synthesis of natnral products and industrial settings. While the indnstrial applications of enamine catalysis are still mostly under development, asymmetric enamine catalysis has already been used in several instances for the synthesis of natural products. This area has been recently reviewed by Christmann [19]. 

The stereoselective synthesis of carbohydrates from acyclic precursors is a research topic that has attracted considerable attention over the past decadeT Efforts in this area are easily justified and have maximum impact particularly when directed toward rare sugars or other polyhydroxylated molecules that are not conveniently accessed via classical "chiron" approaches.2 An underlying theme of such efforts, of course, is the development of practical synthetic methodology that will find broad application in the enantio- and diastereoselective synthesis of natural products, their analogues, and other compounds of biological interest. 

Recently, the first examples of catalytic enantioselective preparations of chiral a-substituted allylic boronates have appeared. Cyclic dihydropyranylboronate 76 (Fig. 6) is prepared in very high enantiomeric purity by an inverse electron-demand hetero-Diels-Alder reaction between 3-boronoacrolein pinacolate (87) and ethyl vinyl ether catalyzed by chiral Cr(lll) complex 88 (Eq. 64). The resulting boronate 76 adds stereoselectively to aldehydes to give 2-hydroxyalkyl dihydropyran products 90 in a one-pot process.The diastereoselectiv-ity of the addition is explained by invoking transition structure 89. Key to this process is the fact that the possible self-allylboration between 76 and 87 does not take place at room temperature. Several applications of this three-component reaction to the synthesis of complex natural products have been described (see section on Applications to the Synthesis of Natural Products ). 

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