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Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Synthesis and Structure Determination of µ-Conotoxin PIIIA Isomers with Different Disulfide Connectivities
Published on: October 2, 2018
Synthesis of Saxitoxin Biosynthetic Intermediates: Reveal the Mechanism for Formation of its Tricyclic Skeleton in
Ryosuke Hirozumi1, Mayu Hakamada1, Takashi Minowa1
1Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 468-1 Aramaki-Aza-Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8572, Japan.
Abstract:
The synthesis and biosynthesis of the complex saxitoxin (STX) structure have garnered significant interest. Previously, we hypothesized that the tricyclic skeleton of STX originates from the monocyclic precursor 11-hydroxy-IntC'2 during biosynthesis, although direct evidence has been lacking. In this study, we identified conditions to synthesize a proposed tricyclic biosynthetic intermediate, 12,12-dideoxy-decarbamoyloxySTX (dd-doSTX), along with its 6-epimer (6-epi-dd-doSTX) and a bicyclic compound, in a single step from di-Boc protected 11-hydroxy-IntC'2. The reaction mechanism involves successive aza-Michael addition of a guanidino amine to the conjugated olefin. Notably, both dd-doSTX and 6-epi-dd-doSTX were detected in a toxin-producing cyanobacterium, suggesting that the biosynthetic enzymes may generate these compounds via similar mechanisms.
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