RECENT ADVANCES IN THE SYNTHESIS OF ANTIFUNGAL AGENTS

FR-900848 is a pentacyclopropane nucleoside antifungal agent isolated from the fermentation broth of Streptoverticillium fervens. The full s tructure with relative and absolute stereochemistry of this unusual na tural product were established by a combination of partial synthesis a nd degradation. This assignment was confirmed by total synthesis from (E,E)-2,4-hexadiene-1,6-diol using three sequential asymmetric cyclopr opanation reactions, Horner Emmons homologation and selective deoxygen ation.