Development of Au-catalyzed tandem cyclization reaction and its application to syntheses of biologically active alkaloids.

Au-catalyzed tandem cyclizations of ynamide having acetal moiety were established to afford indolizidine and quinolizidine skeletons in one-pot. This strategy was applied to a short and efficient synthesis of anti-tumor alkaloid (-)-rhazinilam. Furthermore, intermolecular version of this reaction was proved to be a convenient method to construct substituted pyrroles.