Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.129, No.38, 11781-11790, 2007
Total synthesis of (+)-frondosin A. Application of the Ru-catalyzed [5+2] cycloaddition
The first total synthesis of (+)-frondosin A was accomplished in 19 longest linear and 21 total steps from commercially available materials. The key features of the synthesis include a Ru-catalyzed [5+2] cycloaddition, a Claisen rearrangement, and a ring expansion to construct the core of the frondosin A in a diastereoselective and regioselective fashion. This is the first application of a Ru-catalyzed [5+2] cycloaddition in the total synthesis of a natural product. Through this synthesis, the absolute configuration of (+)-frondosin A was established.