Enantioselective total synthesis of the potent antitumor agent (-)-mucocin using a temporary silicon-tethered ring-closing metathesis cross-coupling reaction.

The enantioselective total synthesis of the annonaceous acetogenin (-)-mucocin (1) was accomplished using a triply convergent 12-step sequence (longest linear sequence) in 13.6% overall yield. This represents the first application of the temporary silicon-tethered (TST) ring-closing metathesis (RCM) cross-coupling reaction and the enantioselective alkyne/aldehyde addition to the synthesis of a complex annonaceous acetogenin. Moreover, all three fragments required for the coupling reactions are conveniently prepared in 5-6 steps from two readily available enantiomerically enriched epoxides. Finally, this synthesis stimulated the development of a new approach for the construction of 3-hydroxy-2,6-disubstituted tetrahydropyrans, using the bismuth tribromide-mediated reductive etherification reaction, which represents a motif that is prevalent in a wide range of pharmacologically significant natural products.