The Renata Synthesis of Gedunin
Chemexpress Gedunin (3), isolated from the Indian neem tree Azadirachta indica, modulates the activity of Hsp90. PMID:23907051 En route to 3, Hans Renata of Rice University devised the diastereoselective H-atom transfer…
The Chen/Wang Synthesis of Retigeranic Acid
Retigeranic acid (3), isolated from the Western Himalayas lichen Lobaria retigera, presents a variety of intriguing architectural challenges. Xiaoming Chen and Shao-Hua Wang of Lanzhou University devised a concise route…
The Carreira Synthesis of Aberrarone
The tetraketone aberrarone (3) was isolated from the feathery Caribbean gorgonian Pseudopterogorgia elisabethae. En route to 3, Erick M. Carreira of ETH Zürich devised the one-pot, two-step assembly of the…
The Dai Synthesis of Peyssonnoside A
Peyssonnoside A (3), isolated from the red alga Peyssonnelia sp., shows promising anti-microbial activity. PMID:24275718 Mingji Dai of Emory University assembled the tetracyclic core of 3 by the H-atom transfer…
The Garg Synthesis of Lissodendoric Acid A
Lissodendoric acid A (4), isolated from the marine sponge Lissodendoryx florida, reduced reactive oxygen species (ROS) in a Parkinson’s disease model. Fmoc-β-HoGlu(OtBu)-OH Chemscene Neil K. Garg of UCLA devised an…
The Li Synthesis of Albolic Acid
Albolic acid (3) and ceroplastol II, the corresponding primary alcohol, are sesterterpenoids isolated from the wax secretion of Ceroplastes albolineatus, a scale insect. Chuang-Chuang Li of the Southern University of…
The Zhao/Ma Synthesis of Napelline
Napelline (3) was isolated from Aconitum kusnezoffii, a widely-cultivated herbaceous perennial that, despite its toxicity, has long been used in traditional medicine. Xiangbo Zhao and Dawei Ma of SIOC assembled…
C-H Functionalization: The Shaw Synthesis of Panowamycin B
Qingtao Meng and Zhiqiang Zhang of the University of Science and Technology Liaoning and Yu-Peng He of the Dalian University of Technology used the amide of 1 to direct acetoxylation,…
Carbon-Carbon Bond Construction: The Houk/Qu/Yu Synthesis of Spirooliganin
Yan Qi and Yongjun Liu of the Qingdao University of Science and Technology demonstrated that the assembly of the tertiary alcohol 3 by the Barbier coupling of cyclohexanone 1 with…
Heterocycle Construction by Grubbs Metathesis
Grubbs metathesis has proven to be a powerful tool for the rapid construction of complex heterocycles. Shengming Ma of the the Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry reports (J. Org. Methyl…