A minimalist NMR approach for the structural revision of mucoxin.

In an attempt to revise the structural assignment of mucoxin, and faced with 64 diastereomeric possibilities, we resorted to the synthesis of truncated structures that contained the core stereochemical sites. Twelve stereochemical analogues were synthesized, their (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra were analyzed and four recurring stereochemical trends were distilled from the data. Applying the observed trends to the diastereomeric population pared the possible choices for the correct structure of mucoxin from 64 to 4. Synthesis of these analogues led to the identification of the correct structure of mucoxin.