Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Soraphen A: A Flexible Alkyne Strategy

A triple‐bond bonanza: The alkyne functional group can be a valuable handle for organic synthesis because the alkyne unit can function both as a nucleophile or as an electrophile when activated with an appropriate metal catalyst. This dual nature of the alkyne moiety has been exploitated for the concise total synthesis of the natural product soraphen A (see retrosynthesis; PMB=para‐methoxybenzyl, TBS=tert‐butyldimethylsilyl).