Assignment of absolute stereochemistry and total synthesis of (-)-spongidepsin.

[structure: see text] An enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-spongidepsin (2) and elucidation of the absolute stereochemistry of its four stereocenters are described. Spongidepsin (2), a 13-membered depsipeptide isolated from the Vanuatu marine sponge Spongia sp., has shown potent antitumor properties against a variety of NCI tumor cell lines. Our synthesis is convergent, and the absolute stereochemistry of four of the five chiral centers was assigned through synthesis.