Total synthesis of polycyclic natural products

Syntheses of some polycyclic alkaloids and terpenoids by our group will be presented in this lecture. Daphniphyllum alkaloids are a class of structurally intriguing natural products. We develop a series of strategies, such as electrocyclization, [3 + 2] cycloaddition, electrocyclic ring opening, and late-stage Diels - Alder cycloaddition, to achieve the syntheses of a dozen of them. Inspired by a Prins reaction in the biogenesis of a Daphniphyllum alkaloid, we developed Prins cyclization strategies for the construction of sterically congested ring systems of some terpenoids, in particular those containing tetrasubstituted olefins.

Speaker: Ang Li, State Key Laboratory of Bioorganic and Natural Products Chemistry