Total Synthesis of Piperidine and Pyrrolidine Alkaloids and Towards the Total Synthesis of Strychnine

Abstract

Total synthesis of natural products is an important area of contemporary interest in synthetic organic chemistry. Total synthesis of natural products serves as a platform for the development of new synthetic strategies and for improving the existing synthetic methods. Chiral sulfinimines are excellent substrates for the synthesis of amine-containing compounds. The ability of sulfinimines in rendering the product amines with consistent high selectivity has made these reagents one of the most used reagents in organic synthesis. The thesis describes the investigations concerning the addition of nucleophiles such as the Wittig Ylides, and benzyloxy ketones to sulfinimines. Application of the formed products in the synthesis of piperidine, pyrrolidine alkaloids, and in the total synthesis of strychnine is described.