A Shimizu Non-Aldol Approach to the Formal Total Synthesis of Palmerolide A

A formal total synthesis of palmerolide A has been accomplished by assembling three fragments by means of successive Julia-Kocienski olefination, Yamaguchi esterification, and ring-closing metathesis (RCM). Our initial efforts to combine the first two fragments through a Julia-Kocienski reaction between a secondary sulfone and a ketone were not successful; nevertheless, it was feasible between a primary sulfone and aldehyde. Yamaguchi esterification with the third fragment then set the stage for a RCM reaction. Initial failure of the RCM with a PMB-ether adjacent to the olefins and the difficulty in cleaving the PMB-ether prompted us to change the choice of protecting groups, which then paved the way to the macrocyclic core of palmerolide A