Synthesis of antifungal glucan synthase inhibitors from enfumafungin.

An efficient, new, and scalable semisynthesis of glucan synthase inhibitors 1 and 2 from the fermentation product enfumafungin 3 is described. The highlights of the synthesis include a high-yielding ether bond-forming reaction between a bulky sulfamidate 17 and alcohol 4 and a remarkably chemoselective, improved palladium(II)-mediated Corey-Yu allylic oxidation at the highly congested C-12 position of the enfumafungin core. Multi-hundred gram quantities of the target drug candidates 1 and 2 were prepared, in 12 linear steps with 25% isolated yield and 13 linear steps with 22% isolated yield, respectively.

Intramolecular aromatic 1,5-hydrogen transfer in free radical reactions III. Reactivity of diaryl ketones, ethers, thioethers, sulfoxydes, and sulfones. An experimental and theoretical study.

[reaction: see text] Experiments show that free radical hydrogen shift is significant in the Pschorr cyclization of diphenyl ethers (X = O) and thioethers (X = S) and does not take place with sufoxides (X = SO) and sulfones (X = SO(2)). DFT calculations of the product ratios, activation energies, rate constants for H-transfers, and ring-closings at the UB3PW91/6-31G(d,p) level are in excellent agreement with the experimental results reported here and elsewhere in the literature.

Development of a practical, asymmetric synthesis of the hepatitis C virus protease inhibitor MK-5172.

The development of a practical, asymmetric synthesis of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) protease inhibitor MK-5172 (1), an 18-membered macrocycle, is described.

A convenient oxazole C-2 protecting group: the synthesis of 4- and 5-substituted oxazoles via metalation of 2-triisopropylsilyloxazoles.

[reaction: see text] Metalation of oxazoles at the 4 and 5 position was achieved after regioselective C-2 silyl protection. Removal of the protecting group was then accomplished under mild conditions allowing for a straightforward preparation of C-5 monosubstituted and C-4,5 disubstituted oxazoles. The first practical C-2 protecting group of oxazoles has been demonstrated.

Asymmetric synthesis of cyclic hydroxy ketones derived from enol ethers via sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation. A study in the correlation of the enol ether chain length and enantioselectivity.

The Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation reaction of enol ethers derived from their corresponding cyclic ketones, gave alpha-hydroxyketones with high enantioselectivity. The enantiomeric excess was found to be proportional to the length of the unbranched enol ether chain with a maximum ee for the pentyl enol ether. An efficient synthesis of alpha-hydroxy chromanone in >90% ee was demonstrated using this method.

Development of a new and practical route to chiral 3,4-disubstituted cyclopentanones: asymmetric alkylation and intramolecular cyclopropanation as key C-C bond-forming steps.

An efficient and practical asymmetric synthesis of (+)-trans-3-hydroxymethyl-4-(3-fluorophenyl)cyclopentanone (1) is described. An asymmetric Mo-catalyzed alkylation reaction was used to establish the first stereocenter and a Cu-catalyzed intramolecular diastereoselective cyclopropanation reaction was used to set the second stereocenter. The last step involved a one-pot ring-opening/deprotection/hydrolysis/decarboxylation sequence that furnished the desired product in good yield.