A stereoselective, Sm(II)-mediated approach to decorated cis-hydrindanes: synthetic studies on faurinone and pleuromutilin.

The cis-hydrindane motif is found in a number of natural products that display important biological activity. A flexible, stereoselective approach to the framework has been developed that features highly diastereoselective, SmI(2)-mediated cyclisations. The strategy has been exploited in the first synthesis of the proposed structure of faurinone and an approach to the skeleton of the antibacterial natural product, pleuromutilin.