Total Synthesis of (+)-Shearilicine

Herein we report the first total synthesis of the indole diterpenoid natural product shearilicine by an 11-step sequence via a generalizable precursor to the highly oxidized subclass of indole diterpenoids. A native chiral auxiliary strategy was employed to access the target molecule in an enantiospecific fashion. The formation of the key carbazole substructure was achieved through a mild intramolecular Heck cyclization, wherein a computational study revealed noncovalent substrate-ligand and ligand-ligand interactions that promoted migratory insertion.

Automated summary

In this study, we successfully reported the total synthesis of the indole diterpenoid natural product shearilicine for the first time through an 11-step sequence using a generalizable precursor. The target molecule was obtained in an enantiospecific manner using a native chiral auxiliary strategy. The formation of the key carbazole substructure was achieved through a mild intramolecular Heck cyclization, which was promoted by noncovalent substrate-ligand and ligand-ligand interactions revealed by computational study.