Diastereodivergent Synthesis of Cyclopentyl Boronic Esters Bearing Contiguous Fully Substituted Stereocenters

The synthesis of molecules bearing two or more contiguous, quaternary stereocenters is challenging, owing to the difficulty in controlling stereochemistry whilst simultaneously constructing a sterically congested motif. Herein, we report the electrophile-induced ring contractive 1,2-metallate rearrangement of 6-membered cyclic alkenyl boronate complexes for the synthesis of cyclopentyl boronic esters bearing two contiguous, fully substituted stereocenters with high levels of stereocontrol. Remarkably, simple variation of the reaction solvent enabled their diastereodivergent construction with facile access to complementary diastereomeric pairs. The utility of our methodology is demonstrated in the asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-herbertene-1,14-diol.

Automated summary

This study reported the synthesis of cyclopentyl boronic esters bearing two contiguous, fully substituted stereocenters via electrophile-induced ring contractive 1,2-metallate rearrangement, with diastereodivergent construction achieved by simple variation of the reaction solvent. The utility of this methodology was demonstrated in the asymmetric total synthesis of (+)-herbertene-1,14-diol.