Total synthesis of (+)-ent-cyclizidine: absolute configurational confirmation of antibiotic M146791
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Updated: Jun 4, 2026

Production and Testing of Antimicrobial Peptides and Their Mimics
Published on: April 10, 2026
Stephen Hanessian1, Udaykumar Soma, Stéphane Dorich
1Department of Chemistry, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada. stephen.hanessian@umontreal.ca
Abstract:
The first total synthesis of the enantiomer of the indolizidine alkaloid, cyclizidine, was accomplished from readily available d-serine as the starting chiron. The relevant key reactions involve the stereocontrolled construction of the indolizidine ring system with the required functionality and further elaboration to install the cyclopropyl dienyl side chain. With this total synthesis, the absolute configuration of the natural product based on a redetermination of its X-ray structure has been confirmed.
