Selective syntheses of leuconolam, leuconoxine, and mersicarpine alkaloids from a common intermediate through regiocontrolled cyclizations by Staudinger reactions

Selective syntheses of leuconolam, leuconoxine, and mersicarpine alkaloids bearing distinctive core structures were achieved through Staudinger reactions using a common intermediate. In the key cyclization step, water functioned like a switch to control which core structure to produce. The chemistry allowed for selective syntheses of the group of alkaloids from a simple intermediate through straightforward chemical operations.