pmc logo image
Logo of nihpaNIHPA bannerabout author manuscriptssubmit a manuscript
Journal List > NIHPA Author Manuscripts

Formats:
Org Lett. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2008 June 11.
Published in final edited form as:
PMCID: PMC2424237
NIHMSID: NIHMS50127
Copyright notice and Disclaimer
Synthesis of the ABC Ring System of Azaspiracid. 1. Effect of D Ring Truncation on Bis-spirocyclization†
Rich G. Carter,*‡ T. Campbell Bourland,§ and David E. Graves§
‡Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon 97331
§Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Mississippi, University, Mississippi 38677
; rich.carter/at/oregonstate.edu
The corresponding author’s present address is Department of Chemistry, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331.
Small right arrow pointing to: The publisher's final edited version of this article is available at Org Lett.
Small right arrow pointing to: See other articles in PMC that cite the published article.
Abstract
Synthesis of a spirocyclization precursor with a truncated D ring has been accomplished. Subsequent bis-spirocyclization induced the formation of equal amounts of the natural transoidal 10R,13R bis-spirocycle and its cisoidal 10R,13S epimer under an apparent thermodynamically controlled process.
 
A new class of toxins in shellfish, the azaspiracids, has been recently observed in mussels harvested in the surrounding waters of Europe (Scheme 1Scheme 1).1 Azaspiracid (1)2 and its related structures, azaspiracids 2–5 (2–5),3,4 have been shown to induce serious injury to the digestive tracts, liver, pancreas, thymus, and spleen in mice. In addition to their significant biological properties, the azaspiracids represent a daunting synthetic challenge as the parent structure 1 possesses 20 stereocenters and three separate spirocyclic linkages. For these reasons, the azaspiracids have garnered significant recent attention in both the biological1-5 and synthetic communities.6-8 This paper discloses the successful construction of the C1–C17 portion of azaspiracid including the crucial C10, C13 transoidal bis-spirocyclic array.
Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Scheme 1
Retrosynthetic Strategy for Truncation of D Ring in Bis-spirocyclization
The major stumbling block in the synthesis of the northern portion of azaspiracid has been the effective construction of the natural transoidal bis-spirocycle at C10 and C13.8 Our laboratory6b,c as well as others7c,g,8 have disclosed the apparent preference for the undesired cisoidal orientation of the spirocycles on systems possessing a fully functionalized surrounding architecture (Scheme 2Scheme 2). One possible solution for this problem would be the simplification of the surrounding functionality in order to facilitate the desired stereochemical array. Low-level molecular modeling calculations showed that truncation of the D ring allows for a significant narrowing of the energy difference between the cisoidal and transoidal stereochemical arrays. Based on these observations, we felt it was prudent to explore a strategy in which the furan D ring was included after spirocyclization. Access to the appropriate bis-spirocyclization precursor 11 should be available from our previously established Julia coupling strategy between sulfone A and aldehyde 7 (Scheme 1Scheme 1).6
Scheme 2
Scheme 2
Scheme 2
Proposed Truncation of D Ring at C16 and C17
The Julia coupling of the previously synthesized sulfone A6a with the readily available aldehyde 79 proceeded smoothly in 81% yield as a mixture of all four diastereomers (Scheme 3Scheme 3). Subsequent TPAP oxidation yielded the desired keto sulfone 15. To construct the viable model system for the spirocyclization, the keto sulfone 15 was converted to the labile ketone 1110 using Na/Hg amalgam.11
Scheme 3
Scheme 3
Scheme 3
Julia Coupling Strategya
A series of spirocyclization conditions were explored as shown in Table 1. Our optimum conditions (Table 1, entry 4) employed camphorsulfonic acid (CSA) in an equal mixture of toluene and tert-butyl alcohol to provide a separable 1:1 ratio of the desired transoidal spirocycle 12 and the undesired cisoidal spirocycle 13 in a 68% yield from 15. Both compounds 12 and 13 were assigned via 2D NMR techniques (CDCl3 for 12, C6D6 for 13). Two key NOEs (H12 to H9 and H12 to H17) allowed for the establishment of the natural transoidal 10R,13R spirocycle 12 over the alternate non-natural transoidal spirocycle that our laboratory has observed on D-ring-containing systems.6c These NOEs are only possible in the natural transoidal spirocycle as shown in structure 12; the alternate non-natural transoidal bis-spirocycle would not provide this NOE pattern. Finally, the observed data support a “nonanomeric” C ring conformation, placing both the C13 oxygen and the C14 methyl in the equatorial positions. This hypothesis is also consistent with the proposed conformation for the natural product.2 In addition, resubmission of the undesired cisoidal product 13 to the same reaction conditions (0.04 M CSA, t-BuOH/PhMe, 14–18 h) led to an identical equilibrium mixture. This result is in contrast to our previous work with substrates containing the D ring in which resubmission of the cisoidal product did not lead to formation of any further transoidal material.6c
Table 1
Table 1
Bis-spirocyclization with a Precursor Lacking Substitution at C16 and C17
While the cisoidal and transoidal spirocycles 12 and 13 could be separated by careful chromatography, the similarity in the two compounds’ Rf’s made this method impractical for the isolation of significant quantities of material. Removal of the C1 silyl protecting group, however, facilitated straightforward separation of the two spirocycles 16 and 17 in an 86% overall yield (Scheme 4Scheme 4). We were also gratified to find that resubmission of the cisoidal spirocycle 17 to the identical spirocyclization conditions (0.04 M CSA, t-BuOH/PhMe, 14–18 h) led to a similar equilibrium mixture (9:11 for compounds 16/17). Using one equilibration cycle, an overall 62% yield can be obtained of the desired transoidal bis-spirocycle 16.
Scheme 4
Scheme 4
Scheme 4
Synthesis of C1–C17 Azaspiracid Fragmenta
The synthesis of the C1–C17 fragment of azaspiracid has been accomplished. The natural configurations at the two key spiroketal linkages have been accessed by truncation of the D ring at C16 and C17. The bis-spirocyclization appears to be the result of a thermodynamically controlled process. The equilibration of cisoidal bis-spirocycles 13 and 17 to their corresponding transoidal epimers 12 and 16 represent the first examples of equilibration of a properly functionalized ABC ring system possessing the C8,9 alkene. Exploration into the bis-spirocyclization of precursors containing C16 and C17 substitution is disclosed in the following paper in this issue.12
Acknowledgments
We thank the National Institutes of Health (GM63723) and the University of Mississippi for partial support of this work. In addition, we thank Dr. Jeff Morré and Professor Max Dienzer (Oregon State University) for mass spectral data. Finally, we thank Dr. Roger Hanselmann (Rib-X Pharmaceuticals) for his helpful discussions.
Footnotes
†This work was performed at the University of Mississippi.
Supporting Information Available: Experimental procedures and spectral characterization are provided. This material is available free of charge via the Internet at http://pubs.acs.org.
OL026033W
References
1. MacMahon T, Silke J. Harmful Algae News. 1996;14:2.
2. Satake M, Ofuji K, Naoki H, James KJ, Furey A, McMahon T, Silke J, Yasumoto T. J Am Chem Soc. 1998;120:9967.
3. Ofuji K, Satake M, McMahon T, Silke J, James KJ, Naoki H, Oshima Y, Yasumoto T. Nat Toxins. 1999;7:99. [PubMed]
4. Ofuji K, Satake M, McMahon T, James KJ, Naoki H, Oshima Y, Yasumoto T. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2001;65:740. [PubMed]
5. Ito E, Satake M, Ofuji K, Kurita N, McMahon T, James K, Yasumoto T. Toxicon. 2000;38:917. [PubMed]
6. (a) Carter RG, Weldon DJ. Org Lett. 2000;2:3913. [PubMed] (b) Carter RG, Weldon DJ, Bourland TC. 221st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society; San Diego. April 2001; Washington, DC: American Chemical Society; 2001. ORGN-479. [PubMed] (c) Carter RG, Graves DE. Tetrahedron Lett. 2001;42:6035. [PubMed]
7. (a) Forsyth CJ, Hao J, Aiguade J. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2001;40:3662. [PubMed] (b) Nicolaou KC, Pihko PM, Diedrichs N, Zou N, Bernal F. Angew Chem Int Ed. 2001;40:1262. [PubMed] (c) Dounay AB, Forsyth CJ. Org Lett. 2001;3:975. [PubMed] (d) Aiguade J, Hao J, Forsyth CJ. Org Lett. 2001;3:979. [PubMed] (e) Aiguade J, Hao J, Forsyth CJ. Tetrahedron Lett. 2001;42:817. [PubMed] (f) Hao J, Aiguade J, Forsyth CJ. Tetrahedron Lett. 2001;42:821. [PubMed] (g) Buszek KR. 221st National Meeting of the American Chemical Society; San Diego. April 2001; Washington, DC: American Chemical Society; 2001. ORGN-5701. [PubMed]
8. Nicolaou and co-workers recently reported an alternate solution to the C10, C13 bis-spiroketal involving substitution of the C8,9 alkene with a C9 hydroxyl function. Nicolaou KC, Qian W, Bernal F, Uesaka N, Pihko PM, Hinrichs J Angew Chem Int Ed. 2001;40:4068.
9. The aldehyde 7 is available in three steps from the known alcohol 14. Evans DA, Ennis MD, Mathre DJ J Am Chem Soc. 1982;104:1737.
10. It is interesting to note that while the keto sulfones (such as 15) can be stored indefinitely in the freezer, the desulfonylated carbonyl species (i.e., ketone 11) are prone to elimination at C10,11 to the corresponding enol ether. This elimination, however, is not at all detrimental to the subsequent bis-spirocyclization as the enol ether is the first observed intermediate in the TES deprotection/spirocyclization sequence.
11. Trost BM, Arndt HC, Strege PE, Verhoeven TR. Tetrahedron Lett. 1976:3477.
12. Carter RG, Graves DE, Gronemeyer MA, Tschumper GS. Org Lett. 2002;4:2181. (ol026034o). [PubMed]

PubMed articles by these authors
See more articles cited in this paragraph
See more articles cited in this paragraph
See more articles cited in this paragraph
See more articles cited in this paragraph
See more articles cited in this paragraph