Polyethers marine ladder toxins

Most recently, we have investigated the use of iterative oxonium ylide [1,2]- or [2,31-shifts as a convenient approach to the polypyran domains often found in the marine polyether ladder toxins (Scheme 18.8) [21]. Initial studies indicated that [l,2]-shifts of O-benzyl oxonium ylides such as 19 a or 19 b were inefficient. Alternative metallocarbene processes including C-H insertion and dimerization were found to predominate in these cases, again suggesting that carbene-ylide equilibration may occur [21b]. On the rationale that concerted [2,3]-shifts of the corresponding O-allyl oxonium ylides might occur more readily, the allyl ethers 19 c, 19 d were then examined. These examples were much more effective, especially in conjunction with the optimized catalyst Cu(tfacac)2 [21a]. However, rhodium(II) triphenylacetate (Rh2(tpa)4) [22] was found to... 

When combined with reductive decomplexation methods, the Nicholas reaction has found extensive use in the synthesis of marine polyether ladder toxins, such as ciguatoxin (Scheme 7.7). ... 

The formation of the six-membered ether ring via epoxy ester-ortho ester cyclic ether rearrangement supports the hypothesis that epoxy ester-ortho ester cyclic ether rearrangement may be involved in the biosynthesis of ladder-type marine polyether toxins. This reaction represents a biomimetic preparation of medium ring cyclic ethers. 

AU marine polyether ladders thus far characterized (e.g., maito-toxin 16 (Fig. 4a), the brevetoxins 12 and 13 and hemibreve-toxin B, the yessotoxins 14 (and the truncated adriatoxin), the Pacific and Caribbean ciguatoxins, the gambieric acids 15 and gamberiol (the gymnocins and brevenal) can be grouped into 14 backbone structures (3). 

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