Spiroketalization

Ivermectin is the catalytic reduction product of avermectin, a macroHde containing a spiroketal ring system. Two other related antibiotics having significantly different stmctural features and biological properties, moxidectin and milbemycin oxime, were more recentiy introduced into the market. Although these compounds have no antimicrobial activity, they are sometimes referred to as antibiotics because they are derived from fermentation products and have very selective toxicities. They have potent activity against worms or helminths and certain ectoparasites such as mites and ticks. 

Sapogenins and Saponins. Steroids isolated from a variety of plant sources that contain a spiroketal between hydroxyl moieties at C16 and C26 and a carbonyl at C22 are called sapogenins (33). 

Table 1 Hsts the polyether antibiotics arranged by the number of carbons in the skeleton. Many of these compounds were isolated independendy in separate laboratories and thus have more than one designation. The groups are subdivided depending on the number of spiroketals. Two classes fall outside this scheme the pyrrole ether type containing a heterocycHc ring, and the acyltetronic acid type, that has an acyHdene tetronic acid instead of a carboxyHc acid. These compounds are ionophores and because of their common features are included as polyethers.

C, 0-Spiroketal UK41637 30 C, 1-Spiroketal 6016 A204A A204B A28695 B A80438... 

The C-30 skeleton group accounts for about 60% of the polyethers for which stmctures have been deterrnined. Most of these contain a sugar moiety, usually 2,3,6-trideoxy-4-0-methyl-D-erythto pyranose [65104-53-2]. The single spiroketal subset is ikustrated by two closely related compounds, semduramicin (4, R = H, R =) and maduramicin alpha (4, R = CH3, R = ). Maduramicin is marketed as an anticoccidial and semduramicin is under development for the same appHcation. 

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. 

Many functional groups are stable to alkaline hydrogen peroxide. Acetate esters are usually hydrolyzed under the reaction conditions although methods have been developed to prevent hydrolysis.For the preparation of the 4,5-oxiranes of desoxycorticosterone, hydrocortisone, and cortisone, the alkali-sensitive ketol side chains must be protected with a base-resistant group, e.g., the tetrahydropyranyl ether or the ethylene ketal derivative. Sodium carbonate has been used successfully as a base with unprotected ketol side chains, but it should be noted that some ketols are sensitive to sodium carbonate in the absence of hydrogen peroxide. The spiroketal side chain of the sapogenins is stable to the basic reaction conditions. 

General synthetic routes to spiroketals 189 from lactones and lithiomethoxy-butenyne 184 have been described (83TL5303 88JOC652 89JOC1157 90JOC5894). Three synthetic schemes have been realized. 

The addition of lithium acetylene 184 (obtained from Z-methoxybut-l-en-3-yne) to 5-valerolactones at -78°C in THF gives the ketoalcohol 188 (83TL5303 90JOC5894). The conversion of the latter to spiroketal 189 is accomplished under the action of 30% perchloric acid in methylene chloride, yield 58% (90JOC5894). 

For substituted lactones this method gave a low yield of the spiroketal 189 (<5%). For 5,6-dimethylvalerolactone a second scheme has been suggested involving treatment of ketoalcohol 190 with potassium carbonate in methanol to form enole ether acetal 191 in quantitative yield (90JOC5894). 

In the case of acid hydrolysis of the acetal 191 the yield of spiroketals 192 and 193 approaches 85% (under sonification). 

The third synthetic scheme is employed when the phenylthio substituent is in the a-position of the lactone function, which interferes with the cyclization (90JOC5894). Acetylenic ketone 194 (95% yield) is readily transformed to the acetal 195 (with potassium carbonate in methanol) however, under the above conditions neither its hydrolysis nor cyclization to the spiroketal occurs. The spirocyclic pyrone 197 is formed in quantitative yield on treatment of 195 with p-toluenesulfonic acid in a 4 1 THF-H2O mixture at reflux for 12 h. 

Regioselecdve reducdon of 2-nitrocycloalkanones withsndiiun borohydnde affords Oj-nitro alcohols. This reacdon is applied to the synthesis of spiroketals as shovm in Eq. 5.17, in which spiro[4,5 - and spiro[4,6 ketal systems are obtained in good yields. "... 

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. 

From intermediate 43, the path to monensin would seemingly be straightforward. A significant task which would remain would be the construction of the l,6-dioxaspiro[4.5]decane substructure of monensin. You will note that the oxygen atoms affixed to carbons 5 and 12 in 43 reside in proximity to the ketone carbonyl at C-9. In such a favorable setting, it is conceivable that the action of acid on 43 could induce cleavage of both triethylsilyl ethers to give a keto triol which could then participate in a spontaneous, thermodynamically controlled spiroketalization reaction. Saponification of the C-l methyl ester would then complete the synthesis of monensin. 

You will note that the oxygen atoms attached to carbons 5 and 12 in 43 reside in proximity to the C-9 ketone carbonyl. Under sufficiently acidic conditions, it is conceivable that removal of the triethylsilyl protecting groups would be attended by a thermodynamically controlled spiroketalization reaction.30 Indeed, after hydro-genolysis of the C-26 benzyl ether in 43, subjection of the organic residue to the action of para-toluenesulfonic acid in a mixture of methylene chloride, ether, and water accomplishes the desired processes outlined above and provides monensin methyl ester. Finally, saponification of the methyl ester with aqueous sodium hydroxide in methanol furnishes the sodium salt of (+)-monensin [(+)-1], Still s elegant synthesis of monensin is now complete.13... 

Having retraced the remarkably efficient sequences of reactions which led to syntheses of key intermediates 14 and 15, we are now in a position to address their union and the completion of the synthesis of the spiroketal subunit (Scheme 6b). Regiocontrolled deprotonation of hydrazone 14 with lithium diisopropylamide (LDA), prepared from diisopropylamine and halide-free methyl-lithium in ether, furnishes a metalloenamine which undergoes smooth acylation when treated with A-methoxy-A-methylcarboxa-mide 15 to give the desired vinylogous amide 13 in 90% yield. It is instructive to take note of the spatial relationship between the... 

A key step in the synthesis of the spiroketal subunit is the convergent union of intermediates 8 and 9 through an Evans asymmetric aldol reaction (see Scheme 2). Coupling of aldehyde 9 with the boron enolate derived from imide 8 through an asymmetric aldol condensation is followed by transamination with an excess of aluminum amide reagent to afford intermediate 38 in an overall yield of 85 % (see Scheme 7). During the course of the asymmetric aldol condensation... 

---