C O M M U N I C A T I O N S
Scheme 3. Total Synthesis of (-)-Strychninea
Acknowledgment. We thank Dr. Yoshihiko Hirose (Amano
Enzyme Inc.) for providing Lipase AYS and Dr. Takashi Ohshima
(University of Tokyo) for providing a sample of natural (-)-
strychnine. Y.K. is a recipient of the JSPS Predoctoral Fellowships
for Young Scientists. H.T. thanks PRESTO, JST for the financial
support.
Supporting Information Available: Experimental details and
spectroscopic data (PDF). This material is available free of charge via
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In conclusion, we have completed an stereocontrolled total
synthesis of (-)-strychnine (1), demonstrating the uniqueness of
the nitrobenzenesulfonamide chemistry in constructing the medium-
sized cyclic amine. Finally, it should be noted that the facile
construction of the polycyclic core skeleton was made possible by
the removal of the nosyl group under very mild conditions. We
believe that the chemistry described herein would be useful for the
preparation of a variety of alkaloids.
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