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Within bioplastics, natural poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) stands out as fully biocompatible and biodegradable, even in marine environments; however, its high isotacticity and crystallinity limits its mechanical properties and hence its applications. PHB can also be synthesized with different tacticities via a catalytic ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of rac-β-butyrolactone (BBL), paving the way to PHB with better thermomechanical and processability properties. In this work, the catalyst family is extended based on aluminum phenoxy-imine methyl catalyst [AlMeL 2 ], that reveals efficient in the ROP of BBL, to the halogeno analogous complex [AlClL 2 ]. As well, the impact on the ROP mechanism of different initiators is further explored with a particular focus in dimethylaminopyridine (DMAP), a hardly studied initiator for the ROP of BBL. A thorough mechanistic study is performed that evidences the presence of two concomitant DMAP-mediated mechanisms, that lead to either a DMAP or a crotonate end-capping group. Besides, in order to increase the possibilities of PHB post-polymerization functionalization, the introduction of a side-chain functionality is explored, establishing the copolymerization of BBL with β-allyloxymethylene propiolactone (BPL OAll ), resulting in well-defined P(BBL-co-BPL OAll ) copolymers., (© 2024 The Authors. Macromolecular Rapid Communications published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

γ-Butenolide and γ-butyrolactone scaffolds are two types of important core structures in numerous natural products and bioactive targets. However, methods to construct the chiral quaternary arylated γ-butenolide are rarely explored. We herein report an efficient Pd-catalyzed enantioselective γ-arylation of β,γ-unsaturated butenolides with aryl bromides, which shows high γ-selectivity, good functional group tolerance and excellent enantioselectivity. Notably, this protocol also allows for facile construction of tricyclic tetrahydroindolines and tetrahydroisoquinolinones in one step. DFT calculations are consistent with the experimental results, suggesting that the γ-arylation is favoured over the α-arylation. Finally, this method is applied to the rapid synthesis of natural product (R)-(+)-boivinianin A., (© 2022 Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Genome mining of one of the protective symbionts (Burkholderia gladioli) of the invasive beetle Lagria villosa revealed a cryptic gene cluster that codes for the biosynthesis of a novel antifungal polyketide with a glutarimide pharmacophore. Targeted gene inactivation, metabolic profiling, and bioassays led to the discovery of the gladiofungins as previously-overlooked components of the antimicrobial armory of the beetle symbiont, which are highly active against the entomopathogenic fungus Purpureocillium lilacinum. By mutational analyses, isotope labeling, and computational analyses of the modular polyketide synthase, we found that the rare butenolide moiety of gladiofungins derives from an unprecedented polyketide chain termination reaction involving a glycerol-derived C3 building block. The key role of an A-factor synthase (AfsA)-like offloading domain was corroborated by CRISPR-Cas-mediated gene editing, which facilitated precise excision within a PKS domain., (© 2020 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.)

Polymeric drug carriers exhibit excellent properties that advance drug delivery systems. In particular, carriers based on poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(ε-caprolactone) are very useful in pharmacokinetics. In addition to their proven biocompatibility, there are several requirements for the efficacy of the polymeric drug carriers after internalization, e.g., nanoparticle behavior, cellular uptake, the rate of degradation, and cellular localization. The introduction of γ-butyrolactone units into the hydrophobic block enables the tuning of the abovementioned properties over a wide range. In this study, a relatively high content of γ-butyrolactone units with a reasonable yield of ≈60% is achieved by anionic ring-opening copolymerization using 1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene as a very efficient catalyst in the nonpolar environment of toluene with an incorporated γ-butyrolactone content of ≈30%. The content of γ-butyrolactone units can be easily modulated according to the feed ratio of the monomers. This method enables control over the rate of degradation so that when the content of γ-butyrolactone increases, the rate of degradation increases. These findings broaden the application possibilities of polyester-polyether-based nanoparticles for biomedical applications, such as drug delivery systems., (© 2020 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Butenolides are well-known signaling molecules in Gram-positive bacteria. Here, we describe a novel class of butenolides isolated from a Gram-negative Pseudomonas strain, the styrolides. Structure elucidation was aided by the total synthesis of styrolide A. Transposon mutagenesis enabled us to identify the styrolide biosynthetic gene cluster, and by using a homology search, we discovered the related and previously unknown acaterin biosynthetic gene cluster in another Pseudomonas species. Mutagenesis, heterologous expression, and identification of key shunt and intermediate products were crucial to propose a biosynthetic pathway for both Pseudomonas-derived butenolides. Comparative transcriptomics suggests a link between styrolide formation and the regulatory networks of the bacterium., (© 2019 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.)

The analysis of volatiles released by marine Salinispora bacteria uncovered a new class of natural compounds displaying an unusual bicyclic [3.1.0]-lactone skeleton. Although only sub-μg quantities of the compounds were available, the combination of analytical methods, computational spectroscopy, and synthesis allowed unambiguous structural identification of the compounds, called salinilactones, without the need for isolation. Orthogonal hyphenated methods, GC/MS and solid-phase GC/IR allowed to propose a small set of structures consistent with the data. A candidate structure was selected by comparison of DFT-calculated IR spectra and the experimental IR-spectrum. Synthesis confirmed the structure and absolute configuration of three bicyclic lactones, salinilactones A-C. The salinilactones are structurally closely related to the A-factor class of compounds, autoregulators from streptomycete bacteria. They exhibited inhibitory activity against Salinispora and Streptomyces strains., (© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

We report a Zn-ProPhenol catalyzed asymmetric Mannich reaction between butenolides and polyfluorinated alkynyl ketimines to obtain vinylogous products featuring two contiguous tetrasubstituted stereogenic centers. Notably, this is the first successful use of ketimines in the ProPhenol Mannich process, and the reaction offers a new approach for the preparation of pharmaceutically relevant products possessing trifluoromethylated tetrasubstituted alkylamines. The reaction can be performed on large scale with reduced catalyst loading without impacting its efficiency. Moreover, the acetylene moiety can be further elaborated using various methods., (© 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The key in vivo metabolites of a drug play an important role in its efficacy and toxicity. However, due to the low content and instability of these metabolites, they are hard to obtain through in vivo methods. Electrochemical reactions can be an efficient alternative to biotransformation in vivo for the preparation of metabolites. Accordingly, in this study, the metabolism of Z-ligustilide was investigated in vitro by electrochemistry coupled online to mass spectrometry. This work showed that five oxidation products of the electrochemical reaction were detected and that two of the oxidation products (senkyunolide I and senkyunolide H) were identified from liver microsomal incubation as well. Furthermore, after intragastric administration of Z-ligustilide in rats, senkyunolide I and senkyunolide H were detected in the rat plasma and liver, while 6,7-epoxyligustilide, a key intermediate metabolite of Z-ligustilide, was difficult to detect in vivo. By contrast, 6,7-epoxyligustilide was obtained from the electrochemical reaction. In addition, for the first time, 6 mg of 6,7-epoxyligustilide was prepared from 120 mg of Z-ligustilide. Therefore, electrochemical reactions represent an efficient laboratory method for preparing key drug metabolites., (© 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A ring-closing alkene metathesis (RCM)/ oxyselenation-selenoxide elimination sequence was established to the sodium salts E- and Z-25 of the originally proposed structure for the recently isolated cytotoxin aruncin B (1), as well as to the sodium salt Z-34 of a related ethyl ether regioisomer; however, none of their corresponding free acids could be obtained. Their acid sensitivity, together with detailed analysis of the spectroscopic data indicated that profound structural revision was necessary. This led to reassignment of aruncin B as a Z-γ-alkylidenebutenolide Z-36. Although a related RCM/ oxyselenation-selenoxide elimination sequence was used to confirm the γ-alkylidenebutenolide motif, a β-iodo Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction/ Sonogashira cross-coupling-5-exo-dig lactonisation sequence was subsequently developed, due to its brevity and flexibility for diversification. Aruncin B (36), together with 14 γ-alkylidenebutenolide analogues, were generated for biological evaluation., (© 2017 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.)

Full details of the total synthesis of the Schisandraceae nortriterpenoid natural product rubriflordilactone A are reported. Palladium- and cobalt-catalyzed polycyclizations were employed as key strategies to construct the central pentasubstituted arene from bromoendiyne and triyne precursors. This required the independent assembly of two AB ring aldehydes for combination with a common diyne component. A number of model systems were explored to investigate these two methodologies, and also to establish routes for the installation of the challenging benzopyran and butenolide rings., (© 2017 The Authors. Published by Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA.)

A series of choline (Ch)-exchanged heteropoly acids (HOCH 2 CH 2 N(CH 3 ) 3 ) x H (6-x) P 2 W 18 O 62 [abbreviated as Ch x H (6-x) P 2 W 18 O 62 , x=1-6] was synthesized and used as catalysts for the reaction of α-angelica lactone (alpha-AL) with n-butanol to form butyl levulinate (BL). The solubility of Ch x H (6-x) P 2 W 18 O 62 in the reaction mixture was temperature dependent: The catalysts were soluble under the reaction conditions and precipitated upon cooling of the reaction mixture. This facilitated recovery of the catalysts from the liquid phase. Importantly, an increase of the Ch content caused a decrease of the catalyst solubility. Catalytic activity of Ch x H (6-x) P 2 W 18 O 62 for the reaction with n-butanol appeared to be in good agreement with the concentration of Brønsted-acidic sites. The results suggest that the reaction proceeded through formation of pseudo-butyl levulinate as intermediate. Ch 2 H 4 P 2 W 18 O 62 exhibited the best balance between catalytic activity and temperature-dependent solubility. The yield of BL reached 79.4 % at full conversion of alpha-AL at a moderate temperature of 75 °C in an open system. Ch x H (6-x) P 2 W 18 O 62 could be successfully reused five times without significant loss of activity., (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A structural revision of clavilactone D, a potent inhibitor of protein tyrosine kinases, was achieved by total syntheses of two newly proposed structures. The syntheses relied on ring-opening/ring-closing metathesis, which transformed a cyclobutenecarboxylate into a γ-butenolide. The syntheses confirmed that the correct structure of clavilactone D has an amino group at C-3 instead of a hydroxy group at C-2 in the originally proposed structure., (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Full details on the design, elaboration, and application of efficient strategies for the high-yielding total syntheses of leupyrrins A 1 and B 1 , unique antifungal agents from the myxobacterium Sorangium cellulosum, are reported. A sequential zirconocene-mediated diyne-cyclization, and regioselective opening of the zirconacyclopentadiene intermediate enabled a concise entry into the unique dihydrofuran fragment, whereas another domino reaction was developed for the butyrolactone involving a one-pot lactol opening, stereoselective aldehyde addition and in situ lactonization. Furthermore, an innovative sp 2 -sp 3 -cross-coupling for pyrrole functionalization and an optimized HATU-mediated amide coupling protocol of two elaborate fragments were established. In addition, an unusual protective group strategy, involving a Teoc-acetonide protected amine in combination with tert-butyl and acetate esters, was successfully elaborated. These tactics and strategies are generally useful and may be also applied in the synthesis of other functionalized compounds. It is expected that the material which was obtained by these total syntheses will enable the further exploration of the biological profile of these potent antifungal agents., (© 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A case of hydride-independent reaction catalyzed by flavin-dependent ene-reductases from the Old Yellow Enzyme (OYE) family was identified. α-Angelica lactone was isomerized to the conjugated β-isomer in a nicotinamide-free and hydride-independent process. The catalytic cycle of C=C bond isomerization appears to be flavin-independent and to rely solely on a deprotonation-reprotonation sequence through acid-base catalysis. Key residues in the enzyme active site were mutated and provided insight on important mechanistic features. The isomerization of α-angelica lactone by OYE2 in aqueous buffer furnished 6.3 mm β-isomer in 15 min at 30 °C. In presence of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), the latter could be further reduced to γ-valerolactone. This enzymatic tool was successfully applied on semi-preparative scale and constitutes a sustainable process for the valorization of platform chemicals from renewable resources., (© 2016 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Scope: This study aimed to improve the knowledge of secoisolariciresinol diglucoside (SDG) transformation by human gut microbiota., Methods and Results: SDG-supplemented microbiota cultures were inoculated with the feces of five subjects. The same volunteers received a flaxseed supplement for 7 days. SDG metabolites in cultures, feces, and urine were monitored by LC-ESI-QTOF and LC-DAD. In all cultures, SDG was deglycosylated to secoisolariciresinol (SECO) within 12 h. SECO underwent successive dehydroxylations and demethylations yielding enterodiol (4-18% conversion) and enterolactone (0.2-6%) after 24 h. Novel intermediates related to SECO, matairesinol (MATA), and anhydrosecoisolariciresinol (AHS) were identified in fecal cultures. These metabolites were also found after flaxseed consumption in feces and urine (in approximate amounts between 0.01-47.03 μg/g and 0.01-13.49 μg/mL, respectively) in their native form and/or modified by phase II human enzymes (glucuronide, sulfate and sulfoglucuronide conjugates)., Conclusions: Derivatives of MATA and AHS are described for the first time as intermediates of SDG biotransformation by intestinal bacteria, providing a more comprehensive knowledge of lignan intestinal metabolism. The transformations observed in vitro seem to occur in vivo as well. The detection in urine of SDG intermediates indicates their gut absorption, opening new perspectives on the study of their systemic biological effects., (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Although catalytic asymmetric conjugate addition reactions have remarkably advanced over the last two decades, the application of less electrophilic α,β-unsaturated carboxylic acid derivatives in this useful reaction manifold remains challenging. Herein, we report that α,β-unsaturated 7-azaindoline amides act as reactive electrophiles to participate in catalytic diastereo- and enantioselective vinylogous conjugate addition of γ-butyrolactones in the presence of a cooperative catalyst comprising of a soft Lewis acid and a Brønsted base. Reactions mostly reached completion with as little as 1 mol % of catalyst loading to give the desired conjugate adducts in a highly stereoselective manner., (© 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The first asymmetric total synthesis of kravanhin B has been accomplished with a linear reaction sequence of 13 steps starting from (R)-(-)-carvone. The synthesis features an intramolecular aldol cyclization to construct the desired cis-fused decalin skeleton and an acid-catalyzed dehydration and olefin isomerization to install the γ-butenolide ring., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A facile and highly efficient magnetic solid-phase extraction method has been developed for Z-ligustilide, the major therapeutic agent in Angelica sinensis. The solid-phase adsorbent material used was prepared by conjugating carbon nanotubes with magnetic Fe3 O4 nanoparticles via a hydrothermal reaction. The magnetic material showed a high affinity toward Z-ligustilide due to the π-π stacking interaction between the carbon nanotubes and Z-ligustilide, allowing a quick and selective exaction of Z-ligustilide from complex sample matrices. Factors influencing the magnetic solid-phase extraction such as the amount of the added adsorbent, adsorption and desorption time, and desorption solvent, were investigated. Due to its high extraction efficiency, this method was proved highly useful for sample cleanup/enrichment in quantitative high-performance liquid chromatography analysis. The proposed method had a linear calibration curve (R(2) = 0.9983) over the concentration between 4 ng/mL and 200 μg/mL Z-ligustilide. The accuracy of the method was determined by the recovery, which was from 92.07 to 104.02%, with the relative standard deviations >4.51%., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Inspired by the bioactive natural metabolites leupyrrin A1 and B1 , two novel stereoselective methods for the highly concise synthesis of densely substituted α-chiral butyrolactones are reported. The first approach relies on an innovative three-step Ti(III) -catalyzed radical reaction that proceeds with excellent chemo-, regio-, and stereoselectivity. The alternative route utilizes sequential asymmetric alkylations and enables asymmetric synthesis of the authentic α-tetrasubstituted butyrolactone motif of the leupyrrins in only four steps from commercially available substrates., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Applications of the formose reaction, which involves the formation of sugars from formaldehyde, have previously been confined to the selective synthesis of unprotected sugars. Herein, it is demonstrated that α-hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone (HBL), which is one of the most important intermediates in pharmaceutical syntheses, can be produced from paraformaldehyde. In the developed reaction system, homogeneous tin chloride exhibits high catalytic activity and the addition of mono- and disaccharides accelerates the formation of HBL. These observations suggest that the formose reaction may serve as a feasible pathway for the synthesis of important chemicals., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A direct enantioselective vinylogous Mannich reaction of ketimines with γ-butenolide has been developed. Good yields and enantioselectivities were observed for the reaction of various ketimines by using a cinchona alkaloid amide/Zn(OTf)2 catalyst and Et3N. Both enantiomers of the products could be obtained by using pseudoenantiomeric chiral catalysts., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Singlet-oxygen oxidation of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) was performed in continuous flow mode using rose Bengal as photosensitizer. The resulting butenolide (H(2) MF) was formed selectively in high yield. The procedure proved to be scalable and applicable to related bio-based furfurals. Furthermore, preliminary data show that H(2) MF can be readily isomerized thermally to 5-hydroxy-4-keto-pentenoic acid oligomers., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

An in situ NHC-catalyzed activation strategy to β-functionalize saturated carboxylic acid was developed. This asymmetric formal [3+2] annulation could deliver spirocyclic oxindolo-γ-butyrolactones from saturated carboxylic acid and isatin in good yields with high to excellent enantioselectivities. The easy availability of the starting materials, direct installation of functional units at unreactive carbon atom and the convergent assembly make this protocol attractive in the field of organic synthesis., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The chemical synthesis of commercially and industrially important products from biomass-derived sugars is absolutely vital to establish biomass utilization as a sustainable alternative source of chemical starting materials. α-Hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone is a useful synthetic intermediate in pharmaceutical chemistry, and so novel biomass-related routes for its production may help to validate this eco-friendly methodology. Herein, we report the specific catalytic activity of homogeneous tin halides to convert the biomass-derived triose sugar 1,3-dihydroxyacetone and formaldehyde into α-hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone. A detailed screening of catalysts showed the suitability of tin catalysts for this reaction system, and isotope experiments using [D2]paraformaldehyde, substrate screening, and time profile measurements allowed us to propose a detailed reaction pathway. In addition, to elucidate the activated species in this cascade reaction, the effect of additional water and the influence of additional Brønsted acids on the reaction preferences for the formation of α-hydroxy-γ-butyrolactone, lactic acid, and vinyl glycolate were investigated. The active form of the Sn catalyst was investigated by (119)Sn NMR spectroscopy., (© 2015 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

This article is a full account of the work exploring the potential utility of catalytic enantioselective amide allylation of various isatins using indium-based chiral catalysts. A survey of various isatin substrates and NH-containing stannylated reagents revealed that the reaction has a remarkably wide scope to result in extremely high yields and enantioselectivities (up to >99 %, 99 % ee) of variously substituted homoallylic alcohols. Several mechanistic investigations demonstrated that the substrate-reagent hydrogen-bond interaction plays a critical role in the formation of the key transition states to result in enhanced catalytic reaction. The success of this approach allowed convenient access to chiral 2-oxindoles spiro-fused to the α-methylene-γ-butyrolactone functionality and their halogenated derivatives in almost enantiopure forms, thus highlighting the general utility of this synthetic method to deliver a large variety of antineoplastic drug candidates and pharmaceutically meaningful compounds., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Soft Lewis acid/Brønsted base cooperative catalysts have enabled direct catalytic asymmetric vinylogous conjugate addition of α,β- and β,γ-unsaturated butyrolactones to α,β-unsaturated thioamides with perfect atom economy. When using α-angelica lactone and its derivatives as pronucleophiles, as little as 0.5 mol% catalyst loading was sufficient to complete the reaction necessary to construct consecutive tri- and tetrasubstituted stereogenic centers in a highly diastereo- and enantioselective fashion., (© 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Dehydration of biomass-derived levulinic acid under solid acid catalysis and treatment of the resulting angelica lactone with catalytic K2 CO3 produces the angelica lactone dimer in excellent yield. This dimer serves as a novel feedstock for hydrodeoxygenation, which proceeds under relatively mild conditions with a combination of oxophilic metal and noble metal catalysts to yield branched C7 -C10 hydrocarbons in the gasoline volatility range. Considering that levulinic acid is available in >80 % conversion from raw biomass, a field-to-tank yield of drop-in, cellulosic gasoline of >60 % is possible., (Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A procedure that enables high yielding access to phosphonic γ-(hydroxyalkyl)butenolides with excellent regio-, diastereo- and enantiocontrol is reported. The simultaneous construction of up to two adjacent quaternary stereogenic centers by a catalytic asymmetric vinylogous Mukaiyama aldol reaction unites biologically and medicinally relevant entities, namely α-hydroxy phosphonates and γ-(hydroxyalkyl)butenolides. This is achieved by utilizing a readily available chiral copper-sulfoximine catalyst showing a broad functional group tolerance for both the electrophilic and nucleophilic reactants. A discussion about potential factors affecting the observed level of enantioselectivity, which stems from the enantiopure sulfoximine ligand, is also included., (Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A systematic search for reaction pathways for the vinylogous Mannich-type reaction was performed by the artificial force induced reaction method. This reaction affords δ-amino-γ-butenolide in one pot by mixing 2-trimethylsiloxyfuran, imine, and water under solvent-free conditions. Surprisingly, the search identified as many as five working pathways. Among them, two concertedly produce anti and syn isomers of the product. Another two give an intermediate, which is a regioisomer of the main product. This intermediate can undergo a retro-Mannich reaction to give a pair of intermediates: an imine and 2-furanol. The remaining pathway directly generates this intermediate pair. The imine and 2-furanol easily react with each other to afford the product. Thus, all of these stepwise pathways finally converge to give the main product. The rate-determining step of all five (two concerted and three stepwise) pathways have a common mechanism: concerted Si-O bond formation through the nucleophilic attack of a water molecule on the silicon atom followed by proton transfer from the water molecule to the imine. Therefore, these five pathways have comparable barriers and compete with each other., (Copyright © 2014 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A new stereocontrolled total synthesis of the configurationally labile C37 -norcarotenoid pyrrhoxanthin in enantiopure form has been completed. A highly stereoselective Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons (HWE) condensation of a C17-allylphosphonate and a C20-aldehyde was used as the last conjunctive step. Both a Sonogashira reaction to form the C17-phosphonate and the final HWE condensation proved to be compatible with the sensitive C7-C10 enyne E configuration. Regioselective (5-exo-dig) silver-promoted lactonization reactions of three alternative pent-2-en-4-ynoic acid precursors with increased complexity, including a fully functionalized C20-fragment, were explored for the preparation of the γ-alkylidenebutenolide fragment. This survey extends the existing methodologies for the preparation of oxygen-containing carotenoids (xanthophylls) and streamlines the synthesis of additional members of the C37-norcarotenoid butenolide family of natural products., (Copyright © 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Basic organocatalysts of the guanidine (1,5,7-triazabicyclo[4.4.0]dec-5-ene, TBD), amidine (1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]-undec-7-ene, DBU), and phosphazene (2-tert-butylimino-2-diethylamino-1,3-dimethylperhydro-1,3,2diazaphosphorine, BEMP) type do effectively polymerize β-butyrolactone (BL). Poly(3-hydroxybutyrate)s (PHBs) with controlled molecular features, that is, controlled molar masses, narrow molar mass distributions, and well-defined functional end groups are thus formed at 60 °C from bulk monomer, with M(n,NMR) up to 21 500 g mol(-1). The formation of α,ω-guanidine/amidine/phosphazene,crotonate functionalized PHBs, as demonstrated by NMR, SEC, and MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry analyses, mechanistically suggests the formation of N-acyl-α,β-unsaturated propagating species that originate from 1:1 guanidine/amidine/phosphazene:BL adducts., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

(-)-Hybridalactone (1) is a marine eicosanoid isolated from the red alga Laurencia hybrida. This natural product contains cyclopropane, cyclopentane, 13-membered macrolactone and epoxide ring systems incorporating seven stereogenic centers. Moreover, this compound has an acid-labile skipped Z,Z-diene motif. In this paper, we report on the total synthesis of (-)-hybridalactone (1). The unique eicosanoid (-)-hybridalactone (1) was synthesized starting from optically active γ-butyrolactone 2 in a linear sequence comprising 21 steps with an overall yield of 21.9%. A key step in the synthesis of (-)-hybridalactone (1) is the methyl phenylsulfonylacetate-mediated one-pot synthesis of the cis-cyclopropane-γ-lactone derivative. This reaction provided an efficient and stereoselective access to cis-cyclopropane-γ-lactone 12. Further elaboration of the latter compounds through desulfonylation, epoxidation, oxidation, Wittig olefination and Shiina macrolactonization afforded (-)-hybridalactone., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Spiro(γ-butyrolactam-γ-butyrolactone): a route to enantioenriched spiro(γ-butyrolactam-γ-butyrolactone) compounds, a valuable motif for drug discovery, was developed by use of a highly efficient copper(I)/TF-BiphamPhos-catalyzed tandem Michael addition-elimination of homoserine lactone derived cyclic imino esters with Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) bromides, followed by treatment with para-toluenesulfonic acid., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

An efficient nickel(0)-catalyzed highly regio- and stereoselective hydrocarboxylation of homopropargylic alcohols with ZnEt(2) in the presence of CO(2) (1 atm, balloon) to synthesize α-alkylidene-γ-butyrolactones is described. The catalyst is highly active and can be applied for the synthesis of (optically active) mono- or bicyclic α-alkylidene-γ-butyrolactones with excellent regio- and stereoselectivity and good functional group tolerance. The potential of the reaction has been demonstrated in the first synthesis of (±)-heteroplexisolide E., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Let's swap: a scalable, atom-economic, enantio-, and diastereoselective synthetic route to trisubstituted γ-butyrolactones based on a Wagner-Meerwein-type dyotropic rearrangement of cis-β-lactones is described. This methodology was applied in efficient and protecting-group-free formal syntheses and total syntheses of various xanthanolide natural products., (Copyright © 2012 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

The total synthesis of plakortide E (1a) is reported. A novel palladium-catalyzed approach towards 1,2-dioxolanes as well as an alternative substrate-controlled route leading exclusively to cis-highly substituted 1,2-dioxolanes have been developed. A lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution was employed to provide optically pure 1,2-dioxolane central cores. Coupling of the central cores and side chains was achieved by a modified Negishi reaction. All four isomeric structures of plakortide E methyl ester, namely, 26a-d were synthesized. One of the structures, 26d, was shown to be identical with the natural plakortide E methyl ester on the basis of (1)H, (13)C NMR spectra and specific rotation comparisons. With the plakortide E methyl ester (4S,6R,10R)-(-)-cis-26d and its other three isomers in hand, we successfully converted them into (3S,4S,6R,10R)-plakortone B (2a), and its isomers ent-2a, 2b and ent-2b via an intramolecular oxa-Michael addition/lactonization cascade reaction. Finally, saponification converted 1,2-dioxolane 26d into plakortide E (1a) whose absolute configuration (4S,6R,10R) was confirmed by comparison of spectral and physical data with those reported., (Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A high-throughput screening method has highlighted the marked antioxidant activity of some pulvinic acid derivatives (PADs) towards oxidation of thymidine, under γ and UV irradiation, and Fenton-like conditions. Here, we report the synthesis of a series of new hydrophilic PADs and the evaluation of their radioprotective efficacy in cell culture. Using a cell-based fluorescent assay, we show that some of these compounds have a pronounced ability to prevent cell death caused by radiation and to allow the subsequent resumption of proliferation. Thus, PADs may be considered as a novel class of radioprotective agents., (Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

A series of hybrid materials, bearing neodymium silylamide initiating groups, have been shown to mediate isoprene polymerization when combined with alkyl aluminum activators [methylaluminoxane, AlEt(2)Cl, Al(iBu)(3)]. The surface species nature and relative distribution were correlated with isoprene polymerization activity and selectivity. This approach to stereocontrol modulation has been extended to racemic β-butyrolactone isoselective ring opening polymerization., (Copyright © 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Bis(oxazoline)-palladium(II) catalyzed carbonylation of homopropargyl alcohols afforded acyclic methoxyacrylate 2 and 6-membered lactone 3a-k in good combined yield. In the case of propargyl alcohols, 5-membered lactones 3p, 3q, 16 were obtained in moderate yields. The one-pot synthesis of kawa lactones 3a, 3r, 3s and formal synthesis of dihydroxycystothiazole A and dihydroxycystothiazole C are presented. To elucidate the stereochemistry of (+)-annularin G and (-)-annularin H, the first asymmetric syntheses of these natural products were achieved.