LAUSR

Abstract A short 11-step synthesis of the pentacyclic core of the polycyclic xanthone antibiotic citreamicin η has been completed. Although the basic approach was inspired by our previous explorations of polycyclic xanthone chemistry, the present report features some new insights into the Moore rearrangement and offers some improvements to our original methodology that include additions of aryllithiums to squarate esters, additions of cerium acetylides to hindered ketones utilizing PDA as an internal indicator, and the use of cyclic di-tert-butylsilyl (DTBS) ethers to protect electron-rich benzyl alcohols toward ionization under acidic conditions. We also developed an improved protocol for selective o-bromination of phenols utilizing N-bromosuccinimide (NBS) and tetramethylguanidine (TMG) that promises to be generally useful. Finally, we developed a modular approach for the synthesis of isoquinolones and dihydro-5H-oxazolo[3,2-b]isoquinoline-2,5(3H)-diones that features a novel sequence of alkoxycarbonylation, acetone arylation, transamidation.