A synthetic route to the carboline disaccharide domain (2) of shishijimicin A (1) has been developed. The convergent synthesis relies on a novel application of the Reetz-Müller-Starke reaction to form the central, sulfur-bearing quaternary carbon center and addition of the carboline structural motif as a dianion to a disaccharide aldehyde fragment.
© 2011 American Chemical Society