Journal of the American Chemical Society, Vol.133, No.41, 16418-16421, 2011
Total Synthesis of (+/-)-Streptonigrin: De Novo Construction of a Pentasubstituted Pyridine using Ring-Closing Metathesis
The synthesis of the potent antitumor agent (+/-)-streptonigrin has been achieved in 14 linear steps and 11% overall yield from ethyl glyoxalate. The synthesis features a challenging ring-closing metathesis reaction, followed by elimination and aromatization, to furnish a key pentasubstituted pyridine fragment.