Many natural products comprising a nine-membered carbocyclic core structure exhibit interesting biological effects. However, only a minority have succumbed to their synthesis in the past. The synthesis of functionalized nine-membered carbocycles still remains a challenging goal for synthetic chemists, mainly due to their high ring strain. Different strategies to overcome the unfavorable enthalpic and entropic factors associated with their formation are highlighted in this Concept article. The presented methods are classified into two different categories: (1) the ring-expansion of smaller rings or the ring-contraction of larger rings and (2) the direct cyclization of acyclic precursors.
SummaryThis review describes strategies for the chemical synthesis of xenicane diterpenoids and structurally related metabolites. Selected members from the four different subclasses of the Xenia diterpenoid family, the xenicins, xeniolides, xeniaphyllanes and xeniaethers, are presented. The synthetic strategies are discussed with an emphasis on the individual key reactions for the construction of the uncommon nine-membered carbocycle which is the characteristic structural feature of these natural products. Additionally, the putative biosynthetic pathway of xenicanes is illustrated.
Here we describe the realization of a one-pot protocol for the β-C-H halogenation of cyclic enones via umpolung of the β-carbon. The developed method includes hydrazone formation and selective β-halogenation (bromination, chlorination) with N-bromosuccinimide and Palau'chlor (2-chloro-1,3-bis(methoxycarbonyl)guanidine) followed by hydrolysis of the hydrazone moiety. Using the optimized conditions, we were able to effectively β-brominate and β-chlorinate for the first time cyclic enones with different substitution patterns and various functional groups in one flask, whereas previous methods for this transformation required several steps. Additionally, the utility of the method was demonstrated in a short synthesis of the core structure of the Aspidosperma alkaloid jerantinine E.
The development of an asymmetric and highly convergent three-component synthesis of the functionalized ABC ring system of the Aspidosperma alkaloid jerantinine E is reported. The presented synthetic strategy relies on our recently developed method for the one-pot β-C-H bromination of enones, which allows for rapid construction of the tricyclic tetrahydrocarbazolone core via a palladium-catalyzed amination and oxidative indole formation. Moreover, a secondary amine building block that contains all carbon atoms of the D and E ring of the natural product could be installed in three additional steps.
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