Total synthesis of balanol, part 2. Completion of the synthesis and investigation of the structure and reactivity of two key heterocyclic intermediates

A convergent enantioselective total synthesis of the natural product (-)-balanol (1) is described. In addition to benzophenone fragment 8, key intermediates are chiral bicyclic aziridine 3 and the corresponding epoxide 4, both of which undergo highly regio- and stereoselective nucleophilic ring-opening reactions, allowing control of the two stereogenic centres of the target molecule. The structure and reactivity of 3 and 4 have been investigated in some detail.