S y n t h e t i c S t u d i e s t o w a r d T e t r o d e c a m y c i nAbstract: An efficient synthetic pathway to the core structure 5 of the polyketide antibiotic tetrodecamycin (1a) has been developed. Our approach features the acid-catalyzed cyclization of a tert-butyldimethylsilyl protected methyl a-(g-hydroxyacyl) tetronate, leading to the novel tricyclic ring skeleton exhibited by 5. An insight into the mechanism of this key ring closure step has been gained. Furthermore an alternative pathway to this ring skeleton, based on a fluoride ion induced desilylation-cyclization sequence, has been disclosed. Tetrodecamycin (1a) and its dihydro derivative 1b ( Figure 1) are novel polyketide antibiotics isolated from Streptomyces nashvillensis in 1994 by Takeuchi and coworkers. 1 The former was shown to exhibit promising activity against Gram-positive bacteria including Bacillus anthracis as well as methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). The latter, however, is virtually inactive revealing the crucial role of the exo-methylene moiety in 1a for biological activity. Their unique tetracyclic ring skeleton comprises a a-(g-hydroxyacyl) tetronic acid derived 3,4-dihydro-2H,8H-furo[3,4-b]oxepine-5,6-dione (2) partial structure. This structural feature is highly remarkable, in so far as all other anhydro a-(g-hydroxyacyl)tetronic acids known solely exist in the isomeric tetrahydrofuranylidene tetrahydrofuran-2,4-dione form [e.g. dehydrocarolic acid (3)]. 2Recently we described an approach to a tricyclic substructure 4 of tetrodecamycin (1a), containing the crucial seven-membered ring (Scheme 1). 3,4 In the course of further investigations, however, it became clear, that final osmium tetroxide promoted cis-dihydroxylation of 4 to obtain the model system 5 is unfeasible, due to an exclusive attack of the reagent on the exo-methylene moiety. Thus reaction of 4 with osmium tetroxide (0.02 equiv) and N-methylmorpholine N-oxide (1.2 equiv) as co-oxidant (t-BuOH, acetone, H 2 O, r.t.) gave diol 6 (68% yield).Herein we report further model studies toward the total synthesis of tetrodecamycin, culminating in an efficient synthetic pathway to the core structure 5 of the antibiotic. According to the results mentioned above it was obvious to introduce the syn diol group at an early stage of the synthesis prior to the generation of the exo-methylene moiety. Hence our initial efforts to obtain 5 involved the preparation and acid-catalyzed cyclization of acyl tetronate 8 (Scheme 2).Cyclization precursor 8 was readily obtained in 68% yield (d.s. = 95:5) by ruthenium-catalyzed cis-dihydroxylation 5 [RuCl 3 ×(H 2 O) 3 (0.07 equiv), NaIO 4 (1.5 equiv), MeCN, EtOAc, H 2 O, 0 °C, 3 min] of the known acyl tetronate 7. 6 The relative stereochemistry between C-3, C-4 and C-5 in 8 was determined on the basis of 1 H-1 H J-coupling values and NOE studies. To effect the desired cyclization we emScheme 1 (a) OsO 4 (0.02 equiv), NMO (1.2 equiv), t-BuOH, acetone, H 2 O, r.t. (68%) Figure 1Downloaded by: University of Florida. Copyrighted ...