Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.136, No.1, 88-91, 2014
A Concise Synthesis of (-)-Lasonolide A
Lasonolide A is a novel polyketide displaying potent anticancer activity across a broad range of cancer cell lines. Here, an enantioselective convergent total synthesis of the (-)-lasonolide A in 16 longest linear and 34 total steps is described. This approach significantly reduces the step count compared to other known syntheses. The synthetic strategy utilizes alkyne-bearing substrates as core building blocks and is highlighted by stitching together two similarly complex halves via a key Ru-catalyzed alkene alkyne coupling and macrolactionization.