A short scalable route to (-)-α-kainic acid using Pt-catalyzed direct allylic amination.

An increased supply of scarce or inaccessible natural products is essential for the development of more sophisticated pharmaceutical agents and biological tools, and thus the development of atom-economical, step-economical and scalable processes to access these natural products is in high demand. Herein we report the development of a short, scalable total synthesis of (-)-α-kainic acid, a useful compound in neuropharmacology that is, however, limited in supply from natural resources. The synthesis features sequential platinum-catalyzed direct allylic aminations and thermal ene-cyclization, enabling the gram-scale synthesis of (-)-α-kainic acid in six steps and 34% overall yield.