A conceptually new and scalable strategy (ten linear steps, 13.9% overall yield) has
been developed to synthesize (+)-7-deoxypancratistatin from optically pure 7-azabicyclo[2.2.1]heptanone
scaffold. The crucial trans-B–C ring junction was fixed at an early stage of the synthesis by exploiting the
rigid bicyclic structural framework of the starting precursor. Stereoselective installation
of hydroxyl groups around the perimeter of the cyclohexenyl C-ring involved sequential
epoxidation–phenylselenylation–oxydeselenylation sequence followed by dihydroxylation.
The most attractive feature of this synthesis is the use of a protection–deprotection
step only at the penultimate step making the protocol very efficient and atom economical.
Key words
asymmetric synthesis - natural products - antitumor agents - total synthesis - alkaloids