Nonbiomimetic Total Synthesis of Polycyclic Alkaloids

AbstractIn nonbiomimetic natural product synthesis, there are no restrictions on the design of synthetic routes; however, the feasibility of the planned routes is often completely unknown. To discover more efficient and creative syntheses of natural products, and to identify bioactive natural product derivatives that have never been synthesized in nature, our group is engaged in the nonbiomimetic total synthesis of indole alkaloids. In this chapter, we describe our nonbiomimetic total syntheses of quinocarcin, dictyodendrins A–F, and zephycarinatines C and D, by employing alkyne-based approaches and reductive radical spirocyclization. We also describe our efforts in the identification of bioactive alkaloid derivatives.