Biomimetic Approaches: Synthesis of (±)-Homodimericin A

A brief history of biomimetic total synthesis is reviewed. The molecules covered in this SynPact account include tropinone (Robinson, 1917), usnic acid (Barton, 1956), progesterone (Johnson, 1971), endiandric acids (Nicolaou, 1982), methyl homosecodaphniphyllate (Heathcock, 1988), glabrescol (Corey, 2000), FR182877 (Sorensen, 2002 and Evans, 2002), and intricarene (Pattenden, 2006 and Trauner, 2006). Key biomimetic transformations of the syntheses are highlighted. Our recent biomimetic synthesis of homodimericin A is also discussed. Our study validates the key steps of the biosynthesis proposed by Clardy et al.