Diels-Alder reaction retrocycloaddition

Glycine acts as an acid-base catalyst in this reaction. C8 and Cl 1 are very acidic, and once deprotonated they are very nucleophilic, so they can attack C2 and C3 in an aldol reaction. Dehydration gives a key cyclopentadienone intermediate. (The mechanism of these steps is not written out below.) Cyclopentadienones are antiaromatic, so they are very prone to undergo Diels-Alder reactions. Such a reaction occurs here with norbomadiene. A retro-Diels-Alder reaction followed by a [4 + 1] retrocycloaddition affords the product. 

The first total synthesis of the cytotoxic agent (+)-euplotin A was completed by the research team of R.L. Funk. The key step of the synthetic effort was the intramolecular hetero DIels-Alder cycloadditlon of a 3-acyl oxadiene (generated from 5-acyl-4H-1,3-dioxins via thermal retrocycloaddition) with a substituted dihydrofuran to afford the tricyclic skeleton of the natural product. The correct relative stereochemistry of the required dihydrofuran substrate was established using the Paterno-Buchi reaction between ethyl glyoxylate and furan. Subsequently, the oxetane ring was opened stereoselectively under Lewis acid catalysis. 

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