Total Synthesis of Purported Cephalosporolides H and I, Penisporolide B, and Their Stereoisomers

Development of a unified, bioinspired synthetic strategy to access four possible diastereomers of unique 2,2-dimethyl-[5,5]-spiroacetal-cis-fused-γ-lactone (Me2SAFL) is reported, featuring pyridinium chlorochromate (PCC)-promoted oxidative ring expansion of β-hydroxy cyclic ethers and dehydrative ring-contraction rearrangement of 10-membered lactones. Synthetic utility of this strategy was demonstrated by total syntheses of 12 Me2SAFLs, corresponding to the purported cephalosporolide H (CesH), cephalosporolide I (CesI), and penisporolide B (PenB) and their possible diastereomers. Comprehensive NMR data analysis suggested that the tricyclic Me2SAFL core of CesH, CesI, and PenB should be revised to the same relative (3R*, 4R*, 6S*, 9R*) configuration and that the side chains required an unknown constitutional structure revision.