U.S.-Federal Republic of Germany Cooperative Research: Synthesis of Olivomycin A

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This award will support a two-year cooperative research project in organic chemistry between Professor Richard W. Franck, Department of Chemistry, Hunter College of the City University of New York, and Professor Joachim Thiem, Organic Chemistry Institute, University of Muenster, Federal Republic of Germany. The objective of the research is to complete a synthesis of Olivomycin A, an antibiotic composed of a so-called aglycone central unit linked to two different sugar side-chains. Professor Franck and his students have developed an efficient and stereoselective synthesis of the aglycone. Professor Thiem and his group have prepared the two sugar side-chains. The completion of the synthesis requires the improvement of known methodology or the development of a new method to link the sugars to the aglycone, and that is the goal of this cooperation. Professors Franck and Thiem have complementary expertise in synthetic organic chemistry. By combining their respective strengths, they expect to make much more rapid progress toward their common objective than would otherwise be possible. Synthesis of Olivomycin A would be a significant achievement in natural product chemistry. The methods developed here for joining sensitive and complex saccharides and aglycones could also be applicable to the synthesis of other members of this family of antibiotics and related compounds, and could contribute to a better understanding of their mechanism of action.