The general approach for accessing to a tetracyclic hexahydro‐3H‐indolizino[8,7‐b]indol‐3‐one alkaloids is that what involves the construction of the γ‐lactam ring from a tricyclic precursor. Here in this report, we disclose a new synthetic strategy that permits the direct deconstruction of the tetracyclic indolo[2,3‐a]quinolizine motif into the tetracyclic hexahydroindolizin‐3‐one scaffold of the naturally occurring (+)‐cuscutamine without the use of either transition or precious metals. Additionally, the current total synthesis of both enantiomers provides structural clarification of the natural occurring alkaloid.
The Cover Feature illustrates the feasibility of the transition metal‐free deconstructive lactamization of piperidines applied to the total synthesis of the natural alkaloid cuscutamine, in which the chemical operation can be visualized as a handcraft chemical transformation. More information can be found in the Research Article by J. Romero‐Ibañez, F. Sartillo‐Piscil et al.
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