Seventeen years after the isolation of the promising antitumor antibiotic fredericamycin A, the first asymmetric total synthesis of this compound has been accomplished and thereby its absolute configuration established. The key feature is the regiocontrolled [4+2] cycloaddition of 3 to 2, which was obtained by the stereospecific rearrangement of 1. Cp = (-)-camphanoyl.
Particular attention has been given to the novel synthesis of the optically active spiro carbon center by a stereospecific rearrangement of optically active benzofuzed-trans-epoxy acylates leading to spirocyclopentane-1,1'-indane systems. This method is quite useful for the construction of an optically active spiro compound and was applied to the synthesis of the optically pure CDEF-ring unit of 1. Cycloaddition