Total synthesis of (±)-fumimycin and analogues for biological evaluation as peptide deformylase inhibitors.

A concise 7-step total synthesis of (±)-fumimycin in 11.6% overall yield is reported. An acid-catalyzed intramolecular aza-Friedel–Crafts cyclization was developed to construct the benzofuranone skeleton of the natural product bearing an α,α-disubstituted amino acid moiety in a single step. Regioselective chlorination followed by a Suzuki–Miyaura cross-coupling rapidly enabled the preparation of a library of analogues which were evaluated against peptide deformylase for antibacterial activity