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Updated: Jul 7, 2026

Versatile CO2 Transformations into Complex Products: A One-pot Two-step Strategy
Published on: November 9, 2019
A direct route to fluostatin C by a fascinating Diels-Alder reaction
Maolin Yu1, Samuel J Danishefsky
1Department of Chemistry, Columbia University, Havemeyer Hall, 3000 Broadway, New York, New York 10027, USA.
Abstract:
The Diels-Alder reactions between vinylindenes (5 or 6) as the dienes with quinoneketals (7 or 8) or with methacrolein as the dienophiles were investigated. The remarkable regioselectivities of these Diels-Alder adducts suggested that the regiopreferences of these dienes and dienophiles in these cases are not a fixed property of each component of the cycloaddition but are mutually contigent. This paper shows how the Diels-Alder reaction between 6 and 8 was applied to the inaugural total syntheses of fluostatin C and E.
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