A Divergent Approach to the Marine Diterpenoids (+)-Dictyoxetane and (+)-Dolabellane V

We present a full account of the development of a strategy that culminated in the first total syntheses of the unique oxetane-containing natural product (+)-dictyoxetane and the macrocyclic diterpene (+)-dolabellane V. Our retrosynthetic planning was guided by both classical and nonconventional strategies to construct the oxetane, which is embedded in an unprecedented 2,7-dioxatricyclo[4.2.1.0^3,8 ]nonane ring system. Highlights of the successful approach include highly diastereoselective carbonyl addition reactions to assemble the full carbon skeleton, a Grob fragmentation to construct the 11-membered macrocycle of (+)-dolabellane V, and a bioinspired 4-exo-tet, 5-exo-trig cyclization sequence to form the complex dioxatricyclic framework of (+)-dictyoxetane. Furthermore, an unprecedented strain-releasing type I dyotropic rearrangement of an epoxide-oxetane substrate was developed.