Efficient enantioselective synthesis of (R)-2-acetyl-2-hydroxy-5,8-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene, the key intermediate in the synthesis of anthracycline antibiotics

A simple, efficient, enantioselective synthesis of (R)-2-acetyl-2-hydroxy-5,8-dimethoxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydronaphthalene, the key intermediate in the synthesis of anthracycline antibiotics, is described. The synthetic procedure starts with the Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation of 2-acetyl-5,8-dimethoxy-3,4-dihydronaphthalene: the diol obtained is regioselectively transformed into the corresponding chloroacetate which is dehalogenated and saponified to give the desired title compound in four steps with satisfactory yield (52%). No separation step is necessary at any point of the synthetic process. An efficient procedure for the synthesis of the starting enone and the stereoselectivity of the methanolysis of the intermediate chloroacetate are also reported. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.