# Polyketides via Redox-Triggered Alcohol C-H Functionalization.

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2020 · $311,125

## Abstract

Polyketides are used extensively in human medicine and account for approximately 20% of the
top-selling small molecule drugs. While the majority of polyketide drugs derive from soil bacteria,
less than 5% of soil bacteria are amenable to culture. These data suggest that as methods for
the culture of soil bacteria improve, the use of polyketides in human medicine will increase, as
will the need for concise manufacturing routes to these complex structures and their functional
analogues. Under the aegis of NIH support, we have developed a family of catalytic methods for
the direct stereo- and site-selective conversion of lower alcohols to higher alcohols. These
alcohol-mediated C-C couplings were conceived and developed exclusively in our laboratory and
we remain the foremost group exploring this area of research. This technology has enabled total
syntheses of diverse type I polyketides, including 6-deoxyerythronolide B, bryostatin 7,
trienomycins A and F, cyanolide A, roxaticin, cryptocaryol A, SCH 351448, swinholide, as well as
formal syntheses of rifamycin S and scytophycin C. In all cases, our syntheses were significantly
more concise than preexisting routes. These methods are finding increasingly frequent use
across both academic and industrial laboratories. In the proposed funding period, two main
objectives are proposed: (a) catalytic methods for type II polyketide construction will be
developed and (b) simplified polyketide analogues possessing anti-cancer and anti-bacterial
properties will be evaluated in ongoing collaborations. These studies advance an integrated
program in which methodological innovation informs synthesis, and synthesis informs medicinal
chemistry.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9918890
- **Project number:** 5R01GM093905-10
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** MICHAEL J KRISCHE
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $311,125
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2011-05-01 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9918890

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9918890, Polyketides via Redox-Triggered Alcohol C-H Functionalization. (5R01GM093905-10). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9918890. Licensed CC0.

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