The cyathins are a unique group of diterpenoids produced by the birds nest fungi <i>Cyathus helenae</i>, <i>C. africanus</i>, and <i>C. earlei</i>. Several of the cyathins show strong antibiotic activity. More recently, several fungal metabolites with structures closely related to those of the cyathins have been found to be potent inducers of nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis. The structural complexity and the exciting biological activity of the cyathane family of diterpenes have prompted our efforts to develop an efficient and general synthetic approach.<p>To date, there have been seven total syntheses and six partial syntheses of cyathins. Most of these syntheses target allocyathin B2, which does not contain the common 6-7 trans ring fusion or the hydroxyl group within the seven member ring. Modifications of these routes to provide targets with these features have not been demonstrated and may be challenging. We have developed a concise asymmetric synthesis of cyathin A3, based on the enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of quinone (106) and diene (105). Because the transformations of cyathin A3 into other cyathins are well documented, this synthesis provides a general approach to the cyathane diterpene family. In Section 2.2, the enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction of quinone 106 and diene 105 is presented. This reaction is effectively catalyzed by a carefully prepared Mikami catalyst. It was carried out on a preparative scale to give the chiral building block 108. The absolute configuration of the Diels-Alder adduct 108 was determined by NMR and X-ray analysis.<p>In Sections 2.3-5, the enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-cyathin A3 is described. This approach features the successful oxymercuration ring opening, a newly developed in situ configuration inversion, a much improved intramolecular aldol reaction and a radical cyclization. Now envisioned in our laboratory is the development of a new access to cyathin A4, which is surmised to be possible via the intermediate prepared in this synthesis.

(-)-Gymnodimine is a member of a growing family of spirocylic imine containing marine natural products. The construction of the complete skeleton of (-)- gymnodimine has been accomplished in a convergent manner in 23 steps (the longest linear sequence). A highly diastereo- and enantioselective Diels-Alder reaction employing bis(oxazoline)·Cu(II) catalyst provided the spirolactam core structure of gymnodimine bearing a quaternary carbon stereogenic center. An improved procedure for hydrostannylation of the hindered internal triple bond in 96a was discovered by slow addition of tributyltin hydride to minimize formation of hydrogenated byproduct. Fragment coupling featured a Nozaki-Hiyama-Kishi reaction between a vinyl iodide derived from the spirolactam and a tetrahydrofuran moiety. The macrocyclization was realized through a rather unusual intramolecular opening of an activated Ntosyllactam by an alkyllithium species generated in situ. The butenolide was appended through a vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol addition of silyloxyfuran 155 to the ketone 163 under meticulously controlled conditions. The generality of this process was explored in some detail. Addition of silyloxyfurans to cyclohexanones proceeds with moderate to good diastereoselectivities. The potential application of this process to the synthesis of butenolide and g-lactone containing natural products was demonstrated by further transformations of the addition adducts. Finally, toward our goal of developing an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for gymnodimine monitoring a hapten derived from the tetrahydrofuran has been synthesized. Even though the raised antibodies failed to recognize the natural product itself, the results provided some information regarding the essential structural elements of an efficient hapten.

Thèse doctorat : Matériaux Polymères & Composites : Villeurbanne, INSA : 2003. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliogr. p. 223-238.

Thèse doctorat : Chimie Supramoléculaire : Strasbourg 1 : 2006. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre. Bibliogr. 7 p.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Memorial University of Newfoundland, 2001. / Bibliography: leaves 245-257.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of Chemistry, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Duquesne University, 2003. / Title from document title page. Abstract included in electronic submission form. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of Chemistry, August 2001. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Chicago, Department of Chemistry, August 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. Also available on the Internet.

I. Completion of a Total Synthesis of Peloruside A: The completion of a 22 step synthesis of the marine natural product peloruside A is presented. The second generation strategy cuts 10 steps from longest linear sequence of the Evans group’s first generation synthesis of peloruside A by changing the order of fragment coupling operations and maintaining \(C_1\) and \(C_9\) at their final oxidation states over the course of most of the synthesis. Key steps include two highly diastereoselective aldol fragment couplings, a tin tetrachloride mediated hydrosilylation and a macrolactonization on a seco acid containing no cyclic templating elements. II. Studies toward the Total Synthesis of Spiro-Prorocentrimine: The development of an intermolecular Diels–Alder approach toward the marine natural product spiro–prorocentrimine is described. This work began with the adaptation of the Evans group’s previous intramolecular Diels–Alder approach. It was found that protonated imines bearing non-coordinating counterions were of sufficient reactivity to allow cycloaddition to occur even on dienes that were unreactive under the previous best conditions. In the course of these studies, isomerization of a macrocyclic diene during the course of a Diels–Alder reaction complicated the stereochemical outcome of the reaction. Reaction conditions to suppress the isomerization and obtain Diels–Alder adducts bearing the correct configuration at both \(C_9\) and \(C_{33}\) were developed based on a qualitative consideration of the pKas of species present in the reaction. The of several macrocyclic dienes was examined to help explain the course of the Diels–Alder reaction. Other key steps include an iron catalyzed olefin formation, the highly diastereoselective hydrogenation of a trisubstituted olefin in the presence of an enol ether, protecting group studies to suppress the contraction of a 15 membered lactone to a 6 membered lactone and studies of a protecting group strategy to allow installation of a sulfate. Lessons learned from this work and previous efforts are combined in a proposal for a bioinspired synthesis of spiro-prorocentrimine with a longest linear sequence of less than 30 steps. / Chemistry and Chemical Biology