“…Unfortunately, all attempts at cyclization with this reagent of 17a and 18a (entries 3 and 11) as well as using cesium chloride as an additive to promote carbonyl coordination (entries 4 and 12) failed to provide 1 in any increased yield. Uronium-based coupling reagents are well reported for their success in macrocyclizations, and as such, N,N,N ′ ,N ′ -tetramethyl- O -(1 H -benzotriazol-1-yl)uronium hexafluorophosphate (HBTU) − and N,N,N ′ ,N ′ -tetramethyl- O -(1 H -benzotriazol-1-yl)uronium tetrafluoroborate (TBTU) − were both attempted with 17a and 18a in the absence and presence of 4-(dimethylamino)pyridine (DMAP). , In all attempted cyclizations, these uronium-based reagents provided either none or low yields of 1 . Employing HBTU with DMAP to cyclize 18a provided a 13% yield of 1 (entry 14), but in our hands, EDC·HCl with HOBt gave the best, albeit low, 15% yield of the natural product.…”