1-Deoxy-5-hydroxysphingolipids as new anticancer principles: an efficient procedure for stereoselective syntheses of 2-amino-3,5-diols.

[reaction: see text]. Enantioselective preparation of the linear homoallylic alcohol I allows efficient formation of the 2-amino-3,5-diol moiety present in several biologically active compounds, including 1-deoxy-5-hydroxysphingosine analogue IV, which has exhibited excellent biological activity against colon cancer. The conversion of I into IV involves a sequence of enantioselective epoxidation of the O-tert-butoxycarbonyl derivative of I, followed by regioselective and stereospecific oxacyclization of II to introduce differentiated oxygens in III.