A general stereocontrolled, convergent synthesis of oligoprenols that parallels the biosynthetic pathway

J Am Chem Soc. 2002 Mar 20;124(11):2430-1. doi: 10.1021/ja0127537.

Abstract

A solution is reported to the classic unsolved problem of stereoselective synthesis of all-E oligoprenols, such as E-farnesylfarnesol, by a cationic coupling analogous to the biosynthetic pathway. The simplicity and efficacy of the method, which is outlined in Scheme 1, are demonstrated by the synthesis of a series of all-E oligoprenols from C(20) to C(35) in uniformly excellent overall yield. The success of the approach is due not only to the highly E-stereoselective C-C coupling that forms the oligoprenyl chain but also to the development of efficient syntheses of allylic secondary silanes and E-oligoprenal acetals, and to a selective allylic demethoxylation reaction.

MeSH terms

  • Acyclic Monoterpenes
  • Diterpenes / chemical synthesis
  • Diterpenes / metabolism
  • Farnesol / chemical synthesis
  • Farnesol / metabolism
  • Hemiterpenes
  • Pentanols / chemical synthesis*
  • Pentanols / metabolism
  • Stereoisomerism
  • Terpenes / chemical synthesis*
  • Terpenes / metabolism

Substances

  • Acyclic Monoterpenes
  • Diterpenes
  • Hemiterpenes
  • Pentanols
  • Terpenes
  • Farnesol
  • prenol
  • geranylgeraniol
  • solanesol
  • geraniol