Research Projects

Natural products containing multiple hydroxy groups are ubiquitous in nature. Polyketide natural products containing differently substituted polyols are shown to exhibit diverse therapeutic properties. Several strategies were documented in literature for the synthesis of 1,2; 1,3 and other substituted diols, including the synthesis from chiral pool compounds such as carbohydrates and tartaric acid. The current project is based on the use of furan as a four-carbon-four-hydroxy synthon in the synthesis of natural products and in specific with the use of chiral furyl carbinols in the synthesis of polyol containing macrolactone natural products arenicolides, AKML-B, belizentrin and in the synthesis of polyol fragments present in tetrin B and amphidinol 3. Chiral furyl carbinols are easy to prepare either by means of Sharpless kinetic resolution or by catalytic reduction of the furyl ketones. The abundant sustainable chemical furfural is the start point for the synthesis of the chiral furyl carbinols thus making the strategy, one of the useful strategies for the synthesis of natural products.