Chemoenzymatic Total Syntheses of the Enantiomers of the Protoilludanes 8-Deoxydihydrotsugicoline and Radudiol.

Chemoenzymatic and stereoselective total syntheses of the non-natural enantiomeric forms of the recently isolated protoilludane natural products 8-deoxydihydrotsugicoline (1) and radudiol (2) (viz. ent-1 and ent-2, respectively) are reported. The key steps involve the Diels-Alder cycloaddition of cyclopent-2-en-1-one to the acetonide derived from enantiomerically pure and enzymatically derived cis-1,2-dihydrocatechol 3, elaboration of the resulting adduct to the tricyclic ketone 12, and a photochemically promoted rearrangement of this last compound to the octahydro-1H-cyclobuta[e]indenone 13.