Aromatic nucleophilic substitution or CuI-catalyzed coupling route to martinellic acid.

Condensation of beta-amino ester 8b with triflate 7 gives N-aryl amino ester 11, which is converted into 2-substituted 4-oxoquinoline 4 using an intramolecular Dieckmann reaction as the key step. CuI-mediated coupling of beta-amino ester 8a with 1,4-diiodobenzene followed by an intramolecular acylation and Pd-catalyzed carbonylation provide another manner to 4. Alkylation of 4 and subsequent reductive amination deliver the cyclic imine 14, which is transformed into triamine 3 by ordinary operations. Guanylation of 3 under mild condition followed by deprotection results in the synthesis of martinellic acid 1.