Enantioselective Total Synthesis of Macfarlandin C, a Spongian Diterpenoid Harboring a Concave‐Substituted cis ‐Dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octanone Fragment

The enantioselective total synthesis of the rearranged spongian diterpenoid (−)‐macfarlandin C is reported. This is the first synthesis of a rearranged spongian diterpenoid in which the bulky hydrocarbon fragment is joined via a quaternary carbon to the highly hindered concave face of the cis ‐2,8‐dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octan‐3‐one moiety. The strategy involves a late‐stage fragment coupling between a tertiary carbon radical and an electrophilic butenolide resulting in the stereoselective formation of vicinal quaternary and tertiary stereocenters. A stereoselective Mukaiyama hydration that orients a pendant carboxymethyl side chain cis to the bulky octahydronapthalene substituent was pivotal in fashioning the challenging concave‐substituted cis ‐dioxabicyclo[3.3.0]octanone fragment.