We have shown for the first time that taxadiene ( 3) can be epoxidised in a regio- and diastereoselective manner to provide taxadiene-4(5)-epoxide ( 12) as a single diastereoisomer, and that this epoxide can be rearranged to give taxa-4(20),11(12)-dien-5α-ol ( 4). Furthermore, the epoxide 12 rearranges under acidic conditions to give taxa-4(20),11(12)-dien-5α-ol ( 4), the known bridged ether OCT ( 5) and the new oxacyclotaxane (OCT2) 15. Contrary to previous speculation, taxadiene-4(5)-epoxide ( 12) is susceptible to rearrangement when exposed to an iron III porphyrin, and these observations justify consideration of epoxide 12 as a chemically competent intermediate on the taxol biosynthetic pathway.
†Electronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Full experimental procedures and copies of 1H and 13C NMR spectra. CCDC 1030909. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c5sc03463a
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