Regioselective cyclization of o-alkynoylphenols forming γ-benzopyranones has been demonstrated. Trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (TfOH) induced 6-endo cyclization of o-alkynoylphenols without forming 5-exo cyclized benzofuranone derivatives to provide the corresponding γ-benzopyranones in high yields.

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Total synthesis of apratoxin C, a cyanobacterial cyclodepsipeptide with highly potent cytotoxicity against some cancer cell lines, was achieved using the apratoxin A synthetic strategy developed by us. To elucidate the relationship between conformation and activity, the tertiary structure of apratoxin C was analyzed by NMR spectroscopy. We obtained 37 ROEs and five (3)JH,H values, which were translated into distance and dihedral angle constraints, respectively. Molecular modeling was performed with a restrained conformational search by a distance geometry method. The lowest energy structure indicated that the methyl group at C37 and the isopropyl group at C39 play critical roles in maintaining the conformation, whereas the methyl group at C34 does not. Moreover, we confirmed that apratoxin A and C possess similar conformations, providing a likely explanation for their nearly equivalent cytotoxicities.

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The highly enantioselective organocatalytic construction of spiroindanes containing an all-carbon quaternary stereocenter by intramolecular Friedel-Crafts-type 1,4-addition is described. The reaction was catalyzed by a cinchonidine-based primary amine and accelerated by water and p-bromophenol. A variety of spiro compounds containing quaternary stereocenters were obtained with excellent enantioselectivity (up to 95 % ee). The reaction was applied to the asymmetric formal synthesis of the spirocyclic natural products (-)-cannabispirenones A and B.