Abstract

The hydrophobic side chain of scyphostatin was synthesized by a convergent synthetic pathway. The key reactions were the enzymatic asymmetric acetylation of a meso-diol, construction of the C12′–C13′ trisubstituted E-olefin moiety by Negishi coupling, and construction of the (2′E,4′E ,E,6′E)-triene moiety by Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons olefination.