Spiroketal-containing natural products Spiroketalization

The general features of the monensin synthesis conducted by Kishi et al. are outlined, in retrosynthetic format, in Scheme 1. It was decided to delay the construction of monensin s spiroketal substructure, the l,6-dioxaspiro[4.5]decane framework, to a very late stage in the synthesis (see Scheme 1). It seemed reasonable to expect that exposure of the keto triol resulting from the hydrogen-olysis of the C-5 benzyl ether in 2 to an acidic medium could, under equilibrating conditions, result in the formation of the spiroketal in 1. This proposition was based on the reasonable assumption that the configuration of the spiroketal carbon (C-9) in monensin corresponds to the thermodynamically most stable form, as is the case for most spiroketal-containing natural products.19 Spiro-ketals found in nature usually adopt conformations in which steric effects are minimized and anomeric effects are maximized. 

Substituted 7-pyrones are versatile synthetic precursors. There is strong precedent for the metalation4 and bromination5 of the 7-position, which allows 7-pyrones to be used in alkylation and aldol reactions and makes them attractive intermediates in the synthesis of polyacetate and spiroketal containing natural products.6 They can also be used as cycloaddition substrates in the construction of complex polycyclic systems as West has demonstrated.7 Furthermore, 7-pyrones have been used by Wender in an oxidopyrilium-alkene cycloaddition, a key reaction in his synthesis of phorbol.8... 

Total s3mthesis of spiroketal containing natural products, reveromycin A and spirofungin B 06ARK(7)105. 

FIGURE 1 Salinomycin, CP44,161, and selected spiroketal-containing natural products prepared by the Brimble group. 

Vaillancourt V, Pratt NE, Perron F, Albizati KF (1992) The total synthesis of spiroketal-containing natural products. In ApSimon J (ed) The total synthesis of natural products, vol 8. Wiley, New York, p 533... 

The avermectins are closely related to another group of pesticidal natural products, the milhemycins. First described by Japanese workers, milhemycins were later found to be more abundant in nature than the avermectins (7—12). Both the avermectins and milhemycins are sixteen-memhered lactones, with a spiroketal system containing two six-memhered rings. The principal difference between them is that the avermectins have an a-L-oleandrosyl-a-L-oleandrosyl disaccharide attached at the 13-position whereas the milhemycins have no 13-substituent. Milhemycin stmctures are shown in Figure 2. 

Keywords Annulation Conjugate addition Cyclization Cycloaddition Macrocycles Metathesis Natural products Oxygen-containing heterocycles Prins reaction Spiroketalization... 

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