Synthetic studies toward pyranonaphthoquinone antibiotics

A furofuran annulation/oxidative rearrangement strategy was used to construct the basic skeleton of the pyranonaphthoquinone family of antibiotics. This synthetic methodology has been applied to the synthesis of the spiroacetal-containing pyranonaphthoquinone antibiotic griseusin A, to an analog of the C-glycoside medermycin, and to a dimeric pyranonaphthoquinone.