A divergent approach to the 7-oxa (-)-muricatacin analogue 2, the corresponding (+)-enantiomer ent-2 and the furanolactone 3 is reported starting from D-xylose. The resulting lactones have shown a potent and selective in vitro cytotoxicity against certain human neoplastic cell lines. (c) 2006 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
Enantiodivergent synthesis of muricatacin related lactones from d-xylose based on the latent symmetry concept: preparation of two novel cytotoxic (+)- and (−)-muricatacin 7-oxa analogs
Enantiodivergent formal synthesis of (+)- and (−)-muricatacins from d-xylose has been accomplished through utilization of the latent plane of symmetry present in the starting monosaccharide. This approach was extended to the preparation of two novel (+)- and (−)-muricatacin 7-oxa analogs (2 and ent-2, respectively), which showed in vitro antitumor activity toward some human malignant cells. The analog