Model studies for the stereoselective construction of the BC-ring of armatol F based on Ireland-Claisen rearrangement and relay ring-closing olefin metathesis

Armatol F, isolated from the red alga Chondria armata as a polyether triterpene, has a fused tricyclic ether moiety (BCD-ring) with an unusual cis ring junction at C18–C19 between the C- and D-rings. En route to the total synthesis of armatol F, the stereoselective construction of the C18 and C19 stereocenters by Ireland-Claisen rearrangement and the formation of the C-ring by relay ring-closing olefin metathesis were established through the synthesis of monocyclic (C-ring) and bicyclic (BC-ring) model compounds.