Direct Generation of Acyclic Polypropionate Stereopolyads via Double Diastereo- and Enantioselective Iridium-Catalyzed Crotylation of 1,3-Diols: Beyond Stepwise Carbonyl Addition in Polyketide Construction

Under the conditions of transfer hydrogenation employing the cyclometalated iridium catalyst (R)-I derived from [Ir(cod)Cl](2), allyl acetate, 4-cyano-3-nitrobenzoic acid, and the chiral phosphine ligand (R)-SEGPHOS, α-methylallyl acetate engages 1,3-propanediol (1a) and 2-methyl-1,3-propanediol (1b) in double carbonyl crotylation from the alcohol oxidation level to deliver the C(2)-symmetric and pseudo-C(2)-symmetric stereopolyads 2a and 3a, respectively, with exceptional control of anti-diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity. Notably, the polypropionate stereopentad 3a is formed predominantly as 1 of 16 possible stereoisomers. Desymmetrization of 3a is readily achieved upon iodoetherification to form pyran 4. The direct generation of 3a enables a dramatically simplified approach to previously prepared polypropionate substructures, as demonstrated by the synthesis of C19-C27 of rifamycin S (eight steps, originally prepared in 26 steps) and C19-C25 of scytophycin C (eight steps, originally prepared in 15 steps). The present transfer hydrogenation protocol represents an alternative to chiral auxiliaries, chiral reagents, and premetalated nucleophiles in polyketide construction.