The convergent total synthesis of cryptophycins C and D is described. It has been shown that in both natural products the absolute configuration of the a-amino acid corresponds to the D-series. The structural assignment for cryptophycin C has been corrected to reflect this fact. Since the structure of cryptophycin A has been correlated to cryptophycin C, the chloro-0-methyltyrosine unit in cryptophycin A has the D-configuration.Cryptophycins are potent tumor-selective cytotoxins associated with the terrestrial blue-green algae Nostoc sp. GSV 224' and Nostoc sp. ATCC 53789.2 The major cytotoxin in each alga, cryptophycin A, shows excellent activity against solid tumors implanted in mice, including a drug-resistant tumor. Over 20 related cytotoxins are present in the GSV 224 strain as minor constituent^,'^^ and some of these compounds, e.g., cryptophycins B and C, have been isolated in sufficient amounts for in vivo e~aluation.~ In order to acquire adequate quantities of selected naturally-occurring cryptophycins and synthetic analogs for structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies, preclinical evaluation, and human clinical trials, we have designed a general synthesis. Cryptophycins C and D, as described in the original paper, were chosen to be the initial targets as they represented examples from both of the alleged L-and D-tyrosine series. We report here the total syntheses of cryptophycins C and D which (1) revise the structures of cryptophycins A and C to reflect the D-configuration for the a-amino acid unit as depicted in the structural drawings in this paper and (2) confirm the structures of cryptophycins B and D.Retrosynthetic analysis of the cryptophycins was straightforward: the structure is composed of four units (A-D, Figure 1); consequently several convergent approaches could be envisioned. The combination of two pairs of units (e.g., A-B and C-D) appeared to be optimally convergent. Since the success of the synthesis depended on the formation of a 16-membered depsipeptide from an acyclic precursor, a macrolactamization involving the amino group of unit C and the carboxylate of unit B appeared to be the best choice. The acyclic precursor to cryptophycin D would therefore be 1. This, in turn, suggested a disconnection into two fragments, one represented by 2 and composed of (S)-( -)-2-hydroxy-4-methylvaleric (L-leucic) acid (D) and (R)-3-amino-2-methylpropanoic acid (C) units, and the other by 3 and composed of O-methyl-D-tyrosine (B) and (2E,7E,5S,6R)-5-hydroxy-6-methyl-8-phenyloctadienoic acid (A) units. In the direction of the synthesis, @ Abstract published in Advance ACS Absfracts, February 15, 1995. (1) Trimurtulu, G.; Ohtani, I.; Patterson, G. M. L.; Moore, R. E.; Corbett, T. H.; Valeriote, F. A.; Demchik, L. J. Am. Chem. SOC. 1994, 116, 4729-4731. (2) Schwartz, R. E.; Hirsch, C. F.; Sesin, D. F.; Flor, J. E.; Chartrain, M.; Fromtling, R. E.; Harris, G. H.; Salvatore, M. J.; Liesch, J. M.; Yudin, K. J. Ind. Microbiol. 1990, 5, 113-24. (3) Trimurtulu, G.; Ogino, J.; Heltzel, C. E.; Patterson, G...

The variant of the Nazarov cyclization that makes use of allenyl ethers is suitable for the preparation of diverse, highly functionalized cyclopentenones. Three variants of the basic reaction, differing in the nature of the electrophile that is combined with the allene to prepare the precursor for the pentadienyl cation, are described. One variant, which utilizes an alpha,beta-unsaturated morpholino amide, has been successfully employed in an enantioselective version of the cyclopentannelation.

The cannabinoid side chain is a key pharmacophore in the interaction of cannabinoids with their receptors (CB1 and CB2). To study the stereochemical requirements of the side chain, we synthesized a series of cannabinoids in which rotation around the C1'-C2' bond is blocked. The key steps in the synthesis were the cuprate addition of a substituted resorcinol to (+)-apoverbenone, the TMSOTf-mediated formation of the dihydropyran ring, and the stereospecific introduction of the beta-11-hydroxymethyl group. All the analogs tested showed nanomolar affinity for the receptors, the cis-hept-1-ene side chain having the highest affinity for CB1 (Ki = 0.89 nM) and showing the widest separation between CB1 and CB2 affinities. The parent n-heptyl-beta-11-hydroxyhexahydrocannabinol was the least potent binding to CB1 (Ki = 8.9 nM) and had the lowest selectivity between CB1 and CB2.