Asymmetric synthesis of pentenomycin I, epipentenomycin I, and their analogs

The synthetic utility of the intramolecular acylation of α-sulfinyl carbanions as an efficient and general synthetic approach for the preparation of (−)-pentenomycin I (1) and (−)-epipentenomycin I (5) and their enantiomers (ent-1 and ent-5), starting from chiral (2S,5S,6S)-ester 6 and ent-6, respectively, has been demonstrated. Easy accesses to pentenomycin analogs have also been demonstrated through the Pummerer, Suzuki–Miyaura, and Sonogashira reactions.