Total synthesis of (+)-13-deoxytedanolide.

In this communication we describe the first total synthesis of (+)-13-deoxytedanolide, an architecturally complex marine macrolide possessing significant antitumor activity. The cornerstone of the synthesis comprises a highly convergent dithiane coupling used to construct the carbon skeleton, followed by a novel use of the Evans-Tishchenko reduction to oxidize the C(1) aldehyde to an ester in the presence of the oxidatively labile dithiane.