Total synthesis of pacidamycin D by Cu(I)-catalyzed oxy enamide formation.

The first total synthesis of pacidamycin D, which is expected to be a good candidate as an antibacterial agent against P. aeruginosa, is described. The key elements of our approach feature an efficient and stereocontrolled construction of the Z-oxyvinyl iodide and copper-catalyzed cross-coupling with the tetrapeptide carboxamide.