| Popis: |
Our laboratory has a longstanding interest in harvesting new chemical knowledge by learning from terpene biosynthesis. The straightforward construction of carbocyclic terpene backbones such as epoxy-germacrenol (1, Scheme 1A) in a low oxidation state (cyclase phase) followed by regio-, chemo-, and stereoselective oxidative modifications (oxidase phase) allow Nature to access a wide variety of related family members in a divergent manner.[1] Earlier this year, we reported our initial forays into the redox-economic synthesis of terpenes that resemble 1 by oligomerization of unfunctionalized isoprene (Scheme 1B, path a).[2] These studies ultimately led us to a new approach that utilizes the more advanced, yet readily available, C15 building block farnesol (2, Scheme 1A) as a starting point. In this communication, a short, efficient, scalable, and enantioselective synthesis of 1 is described. Furthermore, we demonstrate how the key intermediate 1 can be processed not only to germacrane-type natural products by chemo- and stereoselective oxidations, but also to a variety of polycyclic sesquiterpene frameworks (like selinanes, guaianes, or elemenes) by acid-mediated transannular cyclization reactions. |
