# The Synthesis of Bioactive Polycyclic Natural Products

> **NIH NIH R01** · CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY · 2021 · $348,499

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract:
 The objective of this research program is to discover and develop new reaction
methodology en route to the synthesis of complex bioactive molecules. Our proposed
studies will focus on the investigation and optimization of technologies that enable the
synthesis of core structural and stereochemical subunits prevalent in many bioactive,
polycyclic natural products. The processes that we develop will find utility in the
synthesis of a variety of structures for which there are currently no efficient synthetic
roadmaps. Importantly, the methods presented in this application will be useful outside
of the contexts described herein and will arm practitioners of synthetic chemistry (in
academic, government, and industrial laboratories) with a new set of important tools to
access enantioenriched and functionally diverse chemical building blocks for synthesis.
 The research proposed in this grant application is focused on a) the development of
new palladium- and iridium-catalyzed stereoselective alkylation reactions that produce
densely substituted, acyclic building blocks for synthesis, b) the development of novel
nickel- and copper-catalysis for asymmetric alkylation and acylation processes, c) the
development of these novel methods specifically for the preparation of all-carbon
quaternary stereocenters and arrays of quaternary centers, and d) the implementation of
these new tactics in the syntheses of highly complex, bioactive bis-indole alkaloids.
Specifically, we outline approaches to leucophyllidine, strempeliopidine, and
norpleiomutine. These molecules are not only important from a biological standpoint,
they also serve as a testing ground for our new technologies. As a consequence of this
approach, we will have access to a) novel, medicinally relevant structures, b) a general
platform for their synthesis, and c) new synthetic methodology that will impact a host of
diverse applications.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10063991
- **Project number:** 5R01GM080269-14
- **Recipient organization:** CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
- **Principal Investigator:** BRIAN M STOLTZ
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $348,499
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2007-07-02 → 2023-11-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10063991

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10063991, The Synthesis of Bioactive Polycyclic Natural Products (5R01GM080269-14). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10063991. Licensed CC0.

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