Title: Cascade Approaches to Polycyclic Natural Products
Description: The projects discussed in this thesis cover the total syntheses of molecules in two different areas of natural products chemistry: the polyphenolic compounds dalesconols A and B and the coccinellid alkaloids psylloborine A, isopsylloborine A, and related monomeric structures. While polyphenols and alkaloids generally have little in common, the studies detailed herein have employed cascade-based strategies to access the rigid, strained cores contained within all selected targets. The ability of cascade chemistry to rapidly form high levels of molecular complexity and introduce elements of considerable difficulty, such as rigid fused-ring systems and quaternary chiral centers, has been applied to the chosen molecules. The results of these studies have demonstrated the power of cascade-based core formation to rapidly assemble complex, polycyclic architectures in two different classes of natural products.