Total synthesis of zervamicin IIB and its deuterium-labelled analogues

For the first time the total synthesis of the peptaibol antibiotic zervamicin IIB is described. Synthesis of this peptaibol was achieved by the Fmoc/tert-butyl strategy in solution using a fragment condensation approach. Three fragments of zervamicin IIB were obtained by stepwise elongation with Fmoc amino acids using BOP as a coupling reagent. For the introduction of the highly sterically hindered α-aminoisobutyric acid residues BOP/DMAP activation was applied. The Fmoc group was removed by reaction with 0.1 M NaOH in dioxane/methanol/water (30/9/1, v/v/v). Peptide fragments were coupled by means of a new coupling reagent, CF₃-PyBOP. Using the strategy developed, zervamicin IIB and two analogues specifically deuterium-labelled at different positions of the glutamine-11 residue have been synthesized in 40% overall yield based on the isotopically labelled amino acid and with 98±2% of isotope enrichment. FAB mass spectroscopy, 600 MHz ¹H-NMR spectroscopy and high-performance liquid chromatography provided convincing evidence that the synthetic products, zervamicin IIB and its deuterium-labelled analogues, fully correspond to the naturally occurring zervamicin IIB. © 1997 European Peptide Society and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.