Total Synthesis of (+)‐Aspicilin by an Alkyne‐Based Approach and Its Biological Evaluation

Abstract The stereoselective total synthesis of (+)‐aspicilin is described. The pivotal step in this approach is the generation of an enyne intermediate by the coupling of an alkyne with vinyl iodide, which constructed the C6–C7 bond. Conversion of the enyne to the desired macrolide was achieved through Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation and Yamaguchi macrolactonization as the key steps. Additionally, the biological activity of (+)‐aspicilin was evaluated on A549, HeLa, and MCF7 cancer cell lines.