Divergent asymmetric total synthesis of all four pestalotin diastereomers from (R)-glycidol

Abstract

All four chiral pestalotin diastereomers were synthesized in a straightforward and divergent manner from common (R)-glycidol. Catalytic asymmetric Mukaiyama aldol reactions of readily-available bis(TMSO)diene (Chan’s diene) with (S)-2-benzyloxyhexanal derived from (R)-glycidol produced a syn-aldol adduct with high diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity using a Ti(iOPr)4/(S)-BINOL/LiCl catalyst. Diastereoselective Mukaiyama aldol reactions mediated by catalytic achiral Lewis acids directly produced not only a (10S,6S)-pyrone precursor via the syn-aldol adduct using TiCl4, but also (10S,6R)-pyrone precursor via the antialdol adduct using ZrCl4, in a stereocomplementary manner. A Hetero-Diels-Alder reaction of similarly available mono(TMSO)diene (Brassard’s diene) with (S)-2-benzyloxyhexanal produced the (10S,6S)-pyrone precursor promoted by Eu(fod)3 and the (10S,6R)-pyrone precursor Et2AlCl. Debenzylation of the (10S,6S)-precursor and the (10S,6R)-precursor furnished natural (−)-pestalotin (99% ee, 7 steps) and unnatural (+)-epipestalotin (99% ee, 7 steps), respectively. Mitsunobu inversions of the obtained (−)-pestalotin and (+)-epipestalotin successfully produced the unnatural (+)-pestalotin (99% ee, 9 steps) and (−)-epipestalotin (99% ee, 9 steps), respectively, in a divergent manner. All four of the obtained chiral pestalotin diastereomers possessed high chemical and optical purities (optical rotations, 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and HPLC measurements).