Total syntheses of (-)-herbertenediol, (-)-mastigophorene A, and (-)-mastigophorene B. Combined utility of chiral bicyclic lactams and chiral aryl oxazolines

A nonracemic bicyclic lactam has been used to construct a chiral cyclopentane containing vicinal quaternary carbon centers in optically pure form, which is common to all of the title compounds. An oxazoline-mediated asymmetric Ullmann coupling was then utilized to establish chirality about the biaryl axis of mastigophorenes A and B. Through the course of this synthesis, it was clearly demonstrated that smaller chiral auxiliaries lead to higher levels of atroposelection, a previously unknown phenomenon of the asymmetric Ullmann coupling.