10.1021/ol802410t
The research focuses on the enantioselective total synthesis of (+)-cassiol, a sesquiterpenoid with potent antiulcerogenic activity. The purpose of the study was to develop an efficient and convergent synthetic route to (+)-cassiol, which features a challenging all-carbon quaternary stereocenter. The researchers successfully achieved this through a series of reactions, including decarboxylative alkylation, isomerization, oxidative olefin cleavage, and a Stork-Danheiser-type addition/rearrangement. Key chemicals used in the process include Pd2(pmdba)3 as a catalyst, (R)-t-BuPHOX as a ligand, iodomethane for alkylation, PdCl2(CH3CN)2 for isomerization, and DABCO as a ligand in the dihydroxylation step. The synthesis involved a linear sequence of eight steps, starting from vinylogous thioester 4, and resulted in a 12% overall yield of (+)-cassiol. The final product's spectroscopic data matched that of the natural product, confirming the success of the synthesis.