Enantiospecific synthesis of the phospholipase A(2) inhibitor (-)-cinatrin B

Abstract

The first enantiospecific synthesis of phospholipase A2 (PLA2) inhibitor (-)-cinatrin B (2) from the D-arabinose derivative 9 is described. The spirolactone system was formed by an Ireland-Claisen rearrangement of the allyl ester 8 followed by hydrolysis and stereoselective iodolactonization. The stereoselectivity of the rearrangement was controlled by the asymmetry in the allylic alcohol fragment. Ester (S)-8 gave the desired rearrangement product 7 and the epimer 13 in high yield as a 73:27 ratio, respectively. The final stereocenter at C2 was introduced via a chelation-controlled addition of the Grignard reagent derived from trimethylsilylacetylene to alpha-hydroxy ketone 6. Transformatio..