62nd Annual Report on Research 2017

Over the last year, our efforts on the grant have focused on exploring the fundamental reactivity of conjugated poly-ene systems as outlined in our original proposal. While applications to allenes are on the horizon, we have found in the interim that new transformations of conjugated double bonds can also be realized, for example, leading to benzannulation. As we continue fundamental explorations of this system, we have also sought to apply these new transformations. One such application is illustrated. The realization of this new cascade process has now provided a new entry into secondary metabolites from the delavayi family including delavatine. While this was not our initial intention, it is a fortuitous outcome that greatly enhances the directions of our group's research on natural products. The students participating in this project have learned new techniques in chemical synthesis and have been exposed to the chemistry of conjugated ¹ systems. For my career, this study adds a rich new direction to our natural product synthesis studies.