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D. K. Mohapatra et al. / Tetrahedron Letters 56 (2015) 1041–1044
Charette's modified
Ph
Ph
Brown asymmetric
allylation
(10 mol%)
O
Simmons-Smith
cyclo propanation
O
N
H
(i)
OTMS
O
b
d
OHC
O
HO
6
EtO
11
O
O
a
14
15
5
O
1
8
OH
OMe
O
OTBS
Jorgensen
c
- selective
anti
O
epoxidation
EtO
EtO
Ring-closing
reductions
OPMB
OPMB
metathesis
16
17
TBDPSO
OH
O
OTBS
OTBS
OPMB
OTBS
OPMB
e
f
TBDPSO
HO
OMOM
O
12
OMOM
11
O
19
18
OTBS
OTBS
OTBS
g
TBDPSO
OHC
TBDPSO
TBDPSO
OH
OH
trans-crotonaldehyde
OH
13
20
13
14
Scheme 2. Reagents and conditions: (a) (i), H2O2 (1.3 equiv), CH2Cl2, rt, 24 h,
PPh3 = CHCO2Et, CH2Cl2, 2 h, 78% (over two steps); (b) PMBOH, Pd(PPh3)4, (PhO)3B,
THF, 0 °C to rt, 3 h, 96%; (c) TBSOTf, 2,6-lutidine, CH2Cl2, 0 °C to rt, 30 min, 95%; (d)
DIBAL-H, CH2Cl2, ꢀ78 °C to 0 °C, 2 h, 95%; (e) TBDPSCl, imidazole, CH2Cl2, 0 °C to rt,
1 h, 98%; (f) DDQ, pH 7 buffer, CH2Cl2, 0 °C to rt, 2 h, 86%; (g) Et2Zn, CH2I2, CH2Cl2,
ꢀ78 °C to 0 °C, 4 h, 97%.
Scheme 1. Retrosynthesis of brevipolide H (8).
The attractive structural features and the versatile biological
profiles showing significant activity prompted us to initiate the
synthesis of brevipolide H (8).
As a part of our work, the synthesis of novel biologically active
compounds,4 we have ventured into the total synthesis of pharma-
cological active cyclopropane containing natural products.
Very recently, Hou and co-workers reported the total synthesis
of ent-brevipolide H and Kumaraswamy et al. reported the studies
toward diastereoselective synthesis of derivative of 110-epi-bre-
vipolide H.5 Herein, we report a diastereoselective synthesis of
C1–C12 fragment of brevipolide H. According to our retrosynthetic
analysis of brevipolide H (8) as illustrated in Scheme 1, the lactone
11 could be achieved through ring-closing metathesis reaction of
corresponding diolefinic ester. Fragment 12 could be obtained by
Charette’s modified Simmons–Smith cyclopropanation from olefin
fragment 13, which in turn could be derived from commercially
available achiral starting material trans-crotonaldehyde 14.
The synthesis of lactone fragment 11 began with commercially
available trans-crotonaldehyde 14. Following Jørgensen’s chiral
epoxidation6 protocol aldehyde 14 was enantioselectively
Δδ>0
Δδ< 0
OMTPA
+70
+110
MOMO
9
5
-50
-60
4
8
6
C7
H
3
-120
-110
1
-130
+110
-120
2
-90
OTBS
Figure 2. (
D
d = dS ꢀ dR) ꢁ 103 for (S) and (R)-MTPA ester of compound 23.
yield. Selective deprotection of 1° TBDPS ether in the presence
of 2° TBS ether with NH4F10 in methanol at 0 °C afforded
primary alcohol 22 in 92% yield, which was then oxidized to
aldehyde using Dess–Martin periodinane11 in CH2Cl2 with 95%
yield. The resulting aldehyde was then subjected to vinyl magne-
sium bromide in THF at ꢀ78 °C to afford the diastereomers 23
and 24 (dr 2:3) in 90% yield, which was easily separated by col-
umn chromatography.
epoxidized by using (S)-(ꢀ)-
a,a-diphenyl-2-pyrrolidinemethanol
trimethylsilyl ether as the chiral catalyst to afford chiral epoxide
followed by two carbon homologation using stable Wittig ylide
to form a,b-unsaturated epoxy ester 15 in 78% yield over two steps
with dr 95:5 (by 1H NMR analysis) and with 93:7 enantiomeric
ratio (by HPLC). Palladium(0) catalyzed regioselective opening of
the resulting epoxide compound 15 by p-methoxy benzyl alcohol
afforded secondary homoallylic alcohol 16 in 96% yield.7 The
secondary alcohol 16 was protected as its TBS ether using tert-
butyldimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate and 2,6-lutidine as
Stereochemical assignment at the newly created hydroxy
bearing center was confirmed by the modified Mosher’s method.12
Thus, esterification of the isomer 23 with both (S)- and (R)-meth-
oxy-
a (trifluoromethyl)phenylacetic acid (MTPA) showed positive
base in CH2Cl2 to obtain the compound 17 in 95% yield. The
a,b-
chemical shift difference [(
D
d = dS ꢀ dR) ꢁ 103] for protons on C8
unsaturated ester 17 was converted to primary alcohol 18 using
diisobutylaluminium hydride in CH2Cl2 at ꢀ78 °C in 95% yield.
The protection of primary alcohol 18 with tert-butylchlorodiphen-
ylsilane resulted in TBDPS protected product 19 in 98% yield. At
this stage, we performed Simmons–Smith cyclopropanation
reaction but the reaction was unsuccessful. PMB-ether group in
compound 19 was oxidatively cleaved by using DDQ in CH2Cl2:
pH 7 buffer solution (9:1) to obtain secondary alcohol 13 in 86%
yield.8 Following Charette’s modified9 Simmons–Smith cycloprop-
anation, treatment of allylic alcohol 13 with Et2Zn and CH2I2 in
CH2Cl2 at ꢀ78 °C afforded cyclopropyl alcohol 20 as a major
diastereomer (de. 99% by HPLC) in 97% yield (Scheme 2).
through C9 (Fig. 2), while protons on C1 through C6 showed
negative chemical shift differences, which is the indicative of C7
bearing an R-configuration. Therefore, the absolute configuration
of C7 was assigned as R.
Inversion of C7 center of isomer 24 under Mitsunobu condi-
tions13 gave desired isomer 23 in low yield. To improve the yield
and selectivity of required isomer, the two diastereomers were
treated with Dess–Martin periodinane11 in CH2Cl2 to afford the
a
,b-unsaturated ketone 12 in 93% yield (Scheme 3). Diastereoselec-
tive reduction of cyclopropyl enone 12 was screened under various
reducing agents and conditions (depicted in Table 1). Among the
selected reagents, lithium tri-tert-butoxyaluminumhydride14 in
ethanol ꢀ78 °C gave the desired anti alcohol 23 in 94% yield as a
single isomer.
Secondary alcohol 20 was protected as its MOM ether using
MOM-Cl and DIPEA as a base to furnish compound 21 in 96%