Progress towards the synthesis of polyalthenol

Throughout time, compounds from natural sources have provided humans with medicines, and recently become the structural inspiration for semisynthetic drugs. One arena that has benefited greatly from the use of these natural products is the discovery of novel antibacterial agents. Methicillin-resistant Staphylcoccus aureus (MRSA) continues to plague the United States as well as throughout the world, at least in part because of increasing antibiotic resistance. Therefore, scientists continue to scour natural products as potential leads, either directly or indirectly, for antibiotics to treat MRSA. The structure of the indole sesquiterpene, polyalthenol, was discovered in 1976 and recent work shows a 4µg/mL minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) against a variety of strains of MRSA. Given the unique framework of this natural product and its biological activity against MRSA, the total synthesis becomes the next logical step. Presently a racemic synthesis has successfully afforded an indole ketone with the correct relative stereochemistry of polyalthenol, however, the completion of the total synthesis of polyalthenol presents several challenges. Herein, the work towards the synthesis is described in addition to the proposed completion of the synthesis.