中文名称 | 英文名称 | CAS号 | 化学式 | 分子量 |
---|---|---|---|---|
—— | (5S,6R)-dimethoxy-1-methylcyclohexa-1,3-diene | —— | C9H14O2 | 154.209 |
The enantiomerically pure cis-1,2-dihydrocatechol 3, which is obtained in quantity by microbial dihydroxylation of toluene, has been converted over ten steps, including an initial Diels–Alder cycloaddition reaction, into the tricyclic ketone 12. Direct irradiation of a benzene solution of the latter compound affords a mixture of compounds 13 and 14 which embody the tricyclic frameworks of the sesquiterpene natural products tsugicoline A (1) and isovelleral (2), respectively.
A total synthesis of the title natural product, 1, has been achieved using the cis-1,2-dihydrocatechol 7 as starting material. Compound 7 is readily obtained in large quantity and in an enantiomerically pure form through the whole-cell biotransformation of toluene using the genetically engineered microorganism E. coli JM109 (pDTG601) that overexpresses the enzyme toluene dioxygenase (TDO). Three key chemical steps were employed in the synthesis, the first of which was the microwave-promoted Diels–Alder cycloaddition reaction between diene 8 and cyclopent-1-en-2-one to give adduct 9. The second key step was the photochemically promoted oxa-di-π-methane rearrangement of the bicyclo[2.2.2]octenone derivative 15 of 9 to give the epimers 16 and 17, and the third key step was the reductive cleavage of the last pair of compounds so as to afford the linear triquinane 19. Elaboration of compound 19 to target 1 followed established procedures. Single-crystal X-ray analyses were carried out on compounds 11 and 19.