gymnocin-a and adriatoxin

The combination of a trimethylsilyl group, a Brønsted base, a fluoride source, and a hydroxylic solvent enables the first construction of the tetrad of tetrahydropyran rings found in the majority of the ladder polyether natural products by way of a cascade of epoxide-opening events that emulates the final step of Nakanishi's proposed biosynthetic pathway. The trimethylsilyl group disappears during the course of the cascade, and thus these are the first epoxide ring-opening cascades that afford ladder polyether subunits containing no directing groups at the end of the cascade.

Topics: Ciguatoxins; Epoxy Compounds; Ethers, Cyclic; Furans; Molecular Conformation; Mollusk Venoms; Oxocins; Polycyclic Compounds; Polymers