Intramolecular Diels-Alder Approaches to the Decalin Core of Verongidolide: The Origin of the exo-Selectivity, a DFT Analysis.

Verongidolide is a natural macrolactone recently isolated from a New Caledonia sponge, Verongidolae. The structure of this natural product is similar to the structure of superstolides, also isolated from a New Caledonian sponge, Neosiphonia superstes. From a biological point of view, verongidolide and superstolides A and B present potent cytotoxicity against human oral carcinoma KB (0.3 nM). By comparing the 1H NMR chemical shifts as well as the coupling constants, we conclude that verongidolide possesses a cis-decalin core and we hypothesize that the relative configuration of the cis-decalin core is similar to the one of superstolide A. To verify this hypothesis, intramolecular and transannular Diels-Alder reactions were attempted to construct the decalin core. Unexpectedly, the selectivity of the Diels-Alder reactions was exo and an in-depth DFT calculation of the key reaction mechanism was achieved in order to understand the factors controlling this unexpected selectivity.