ENANTIOSELECTIVE SYNTHESIS AND DETERMINATION OF THE CONFIGURATION OF STENUSINE, THE SPREADING AGENT OF THE BEETLE STENUS-COMMA

The enantioselective total synthesis of two of the four possible stereoisomers of stenusine (1), the spreading agent of the beetle Stenus comma, is described. The silyl ether-substituted aldehyde SAMP hydrazone 2 was alkylated with (S)-1-bromo-2-methylbutane (3) yielding the hydrazone 4 in high diastereomeric purity (de >95 %). By several steps including the reduction of the hydrazone functionality and the cleavage of the N-N bond of the intermediates, 4 was converted into the BOC-protected amino alcohol 6. Subsequent cyclization of 6 afforded the (S,S) diastereomer of stenusine with 96.6 % de, >99.9 % ee, and in 11.3 % overall yield. Repetition of this synthesis using the aldehyde RAMP hydrazone (R)-2 as the starting material produced (SR)-1 with 95.0 % de, >99 % ee, and in 8.2 % overall yield. The synthetic samples of 1 were employed to investigate the stereochemistry of natural stenusine by means of GC analysis on both a chiral and an achiral, stationary phase. As a result of these studies natural stenusine was found to be a mixture of all four stereoisomers in a ratio of (S,S)/(SR)/(RR)/(R:S) = 43:40:13:4.