Pentacyclic carbocycles

In the laboratory of J. Bonjoch the first total syntheses of the pentacyclic (+)-strychnoxanthine and (+)-melinonine-E alkaloids were accomplished using a radical carbocyclization via a-carbamoyidichloromethyl radical followed by the Bischler-Napieralski cyclization, as the two key cyclization steps. 

The identification of novel ways to incorporate an asymmetric intramolecular Mizoroki-Heck reaction as part of a cascade cyclization sequence has led to attractive approaches for assembling complex polycyclic molecules. Keay and coworkers [54] reported the use of a double Mizoroki-Heck cyclization as the pivotal step in the asymmetric total synthesis of xestoquinone (93), a reduced congener of halenaquinone (Scheme 16.20). In this step, naphthyl triflate 90 was cyclized with Pd2(dba)3 (dba = dibenzylideneace-tone), (5 )-BINAP and 1,2,2,6,6-pentamethylpiperidine (PMP) in toluene at 110°C to give pentacyclic product 92 with impressive efficiency and moderate enantioselectivity. This conversion proceeds by initial asymmetric 6-exo Mizoroki-Heck cyclization to form the central six-membered carbocycle and install the benzylic quaternary stereocentre. The first cyclization event is followed by a second Mizoroki-Heck reaction in which neopentyl... 

A. Carbocyclic - A few new methods are available to prepare the steroidal skeleton. For tne most part, these involve variations of the previously reported methods for the total synthesis of steroids. Racemic equilenin is prepared stereo-specifically starting with 2-bromo-6-methoxynaphthalene and the i "butyl enol ether of 2-methyl-l,3-cyclopentanedione. Estrone was prepared from the cheap natural product eugenol the key intermediate m-methoxyallylbenzene. Progress toward the total synthesis of terpenes, specifically the pentacyclic triterpene alnusenone, is reported. The synthesis of B-nor, B-nor-D-homo, or normal steroids by the use ot an electrophilic reagent on a bicyclic enamine is recorded. In addition, a bicyclic intermediate can be converted into a D-homo-8g-methyl-B-norestrane. ... 

The class is characterized by the parent of the series 1, a condensed pentacyclic structure in which two oxazine rings with opposite orientation are sandwiched between three aromatic carbocycles of which the central one is quininoid ... 

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