Asymmetric allylboration of vic-tricarbonyl compounds: Total synthesis of (+)-awajanomycin

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/anie.201103679

To the core: An efficient total synthesis of (+)-awajanomycin was achieved starting with an asymmetric allylboration of a vic-tricarbonyl compound (see scheme; TES=triethylsilyl). A stereoselective alkene dihydroxylation followed by a differentiation of diastereotopic ester groups and a subsequent lactamization gave the bicyclic core structure.

Full text of DOI:10.1002/anie.201103679

Communications
DOI: 10.1002/anie.201103679
Total Synthesis
Asymmetric Allylboration of vic-Tricarbonyl Compounds: Total
Synthesis of (+)-Awajanomycin**
Malte Wohlfahrt, Klaus Harms, and Ulrich Koert*
(+)-Awajanomycin was isolated from the marine fungus
Acremonium sp. AWA16-1, which was collected from sea
mud off Awajishima Island (Japan).[1] Its bioactivity (IC50 for
A549 cells: 27.5 mgmLꢀ1) and its unique g-lactone, d-lactam
core structure brought the compound to the attention of
synthetic chemists. So far, one total synthesis[2] and two
approaches to the bicyclic core[3] have been reported.
ration of aldehydes and a-keto esters is an established
methodology,[4] the allylboration of vic-tricarbonyl com-
pounds has neither been explored nor applied to natural
product synthesis. Chiral Z-pentenylboronates are among the
most efficient allylborating reagents for aldehydes,[5] and thus
compounds of type 3 should be good candidates for the
present challenge. 1,2-Dicyclohexylethane-1,2-diol is an
excellent chiral director for the introduction of the stereo-
center in the a,g-disubstituted allylboronate 3.[5,6]
The one-pot preparation of allylboronate 8, a compound
suitable for the awajanomycin synthesis, started with the
dichloromethylboronate 5 (Scheme 2).[5] Reaction with meth-
yllithium and ZnCl2 resulted in the intermediate 6, which
upon addition of the Z-alkenyllithium reagent 7[7] gave the
desired chiral Z-pentenylboronate 8.[5,8] Treatment of allyl-
boronate 8 with 2.5 equiv of the vic-tricarbonyl compound 4
without solvent at room temperature for nine days gave the
allylboration product 9 in 85% yield with 92% ee (deter-
A synthetic strategy for awajanomycin in which an
asymmetric allylboration of a vic-tricarbonyl compound is
the key step is shown in Scheme 1. The bicyclic core of the
natural product could be assembled from the amino ester 1 by
lactam formation. The step from olefin 2 to the g-lactone 1
requires the stereoselective aminohydroxylation of the
double bond and differentiation of the diastereotopic ester
groups. Compound 2 could be accessible by the stereocon-
trolled addition of the a,g-disubstituted allylboronate 3 to
diethyl ketomalonate 4. While the stereocontrolled allylbo-
Scheme 1. Retrosynthetic analysis for (+)-awajanomycin with an allyl-
boration as a key step.
[*] Dipl.-Chem. M. Wohlfahrt, Dr. K. Harms, Prof. Dr. U. Koert
Fachbereich Chemie, Philipps-Universitꢀt Marburg
Hans-Meerwein-Strasse, 35043 Marburg (Germany)
E-mail: koert@chemie.uni-marburg.de
Scheme 2. Stereocontrolled allylboration, dihydroxylation, and differ-
entiation of the diastereotopic ester groups. a) MeLi, ZnCl2, THF,
ꢀ78!208C; b) 7, ꢀ78! 208C, 72%; c) 2.5 equiv diethyl mesoxolate,
9 d, 85%; d) TMSCl, imidazole, CH2Cl2, 89%; e) 5 mol% K2OsO4-
(OH2)2, 2.5 equiv NMO, tBuOH/H2O 2:1, 86%. NMO=4-methylmor-
pholine N-oxide, TMS=trimethylsilyl.
[**] Financial support by the Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft
(fellowship to M.W.) is gratefully acknowledged.
Supporting information for this article is available on the WWW
under http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/anie.201103679.
8404
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Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 8404 –8406

mined by 19F NMR analysis of the Mosher ester derived from
hydroxy lactone 12). The dihydroxylation of alkene 9 led to a
complex mixture of stereoisomeric g- and d-lactones. This
situation changed completely upon TMS protection of the
tertiary hydroxy group. The resulting homoallylic TMS ether
10 exhibited a clear conformational bias which allowed the
substrate-controlled dihydroxylation of the E alkene. The
product of the dihydroxylation, 11, underwent direct cycliza-
tion to give the g-lactone 12. Only one of the diastereotopic
ester groups in 11 was attacked by the diol to produce
selectively the lactone 12. Thus, the introduction of the TMS
group led to stereoselective dihydroxylation and subsequent
differentiation of the diastereotopic ester groups. Clearly, the
protecting group determines the preferred conformation and
contributes actively to the success of this reaction sequence.
The secondary alcohol 12 was converted into azide 13
under Mitsunobu conditions (Scheme 3).[9] For the subse-
Figure 1. X-ray crystal structure of compound rac-14b showing the
bicyclic core structure of awajanomycin.
with ylene 16[12] to deliver the enone 17. The tertiary hydroxyl
group in compound 14 was converted at the aldehyde stage
into the S,O acetal, which was cleaved before purification of
the enone 17. The final task in the synthesis required the
stereoselective reduction of the enone tor give the allylic
alcohol with S configuration. Attempted substrate-controlled
reduction of compound 17 with NaBH(OAc)3 was diastereo-
selective. The CBS reduction of enone 17 bearing the free
tertiary alcohol resulted in 3:1 selectivity.[13] Optimal stereo-
selective CBS reduction (> 95:5) was possible when TMS
ether 18 was used as the starting material. The spectroscopic
properties and optical rotations of synthetic (+)-awajanomy-
cin were identical to those for the natural product.[1]
In conclusion, an efficient stereoselective total synthesis
of (+)-awajanomycin was achieved (22.5% yield over
10 steps (from 4) compared to 3.8% yield over 13 steps in
Ref. [2 < -litr b > ]). Key steps were an asymmetric allylbo-
ration of a vic-tricarbonyl compound, a substrate-controlled
alkene dihydroxylation with subsequent differentiation of
diastereotopic ester groups, and a catalyst-controlled reduc-
tion of an enone. The crucial role of the silyl protecting group
on the tertiary alcohol in the introduction of three out of the
five stereocenters is noteworthy.
Scheme 3. d-Lactam formation and completion of the awajanomycin
synthesis. a) PPh3, DIAD, DPPA, THF, 88%; b) NEt3·3HF, CH2Cl2;
TESCl, imidazole, CH2Cl2, 84% over 2 steps; Pd/C, H2, K2CO3, EtOAc,
79%; c) (COCl)2, DMSO, NEt3, ꢀ50!208C; ylene 16, 508C; pTsOH
508C, 76%; d) TMSCl, Et3N, THF, 94% e) (R)-methyl-CBS-oxazaboroli-
dine, BH3·THF, toluene, ꢀ808C; NEt3·3HF, THF, 83%. DIAD=diiso-
propyl azodicarboxylate, DPPA=diphenylphosphoryl azide, TES=trie-
thylsilyl, TsOH=p-toluenesulfonic acid.
Received: May 30, 2011
Published online: July 14, 2011
Keywords: allylboration · asymmetric synthesis ·
.
natural products · total synthesis · vic-tricarbonyl compounds
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tertiary hydroxy group at C3 had to be removed first. Then,
the catalytic hydrogenation of the azide gave an amine which
spontaneously cyclized to give the desired lactam 14a. The
structural assignment of the bicyclic structure of compound
14a was possible by comparison with the spectroscopic data of
the corresponding p-methoxybenzyl (PMB) analogue, rac-
14b. Compound rac-14b was synthesized along the same
route and its structure was verified by X-ray structural
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was not purified but subjected directly to a Wittig reaction
Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2011, 50, 8404 –8406
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Communications
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[10] CCDC 827318 contains the supplementary crystallographic data
for this paper. These data can be obtained free of charge from
The Cambridge Crystallographic Data Centre via www.ccdc.
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