Asymmetric catalysis route to anti,anti stereotriads, illustrated by applications.

A short sequence based on asymmetric catalysis, chirality transfer, and an optimized carbometallation protocol gave an anti,anti stereotriad building block in six steps. Both enantiomers of the chirality source, N-methyl ephedrine, are inexpensive, and the auxiliary is recoverable. In one chiral series, the building block was converted to the "B-2" intermediate in Miyashita's synthesis of scytophycin C; in the enantiomeric series, it was converted to a key intermediate for aplyronine A and to the polyketide "cap" for the callipeltins.