Total Synthesis of Herbimycin A

Benzoquinone ansamycin antibiotic herbimycin A was synthesized in 19 linear steps and 4.2% yield. Highlighted is the design of a chiral γ-lactone as the C11–C15 synthon that enabled a facile catalytic asymmetric synthesis of the challenging C8–C20 fragment of the target molecule. The easy access to the stereogenic centers and high overall yield made the strategy applicable in the molecular editing of benzoquinone ansamycins