Enantioselective Total Synthesis of Aspergillide C

The first enantioselective total synthesis of aspergillide C, a cytotoxic 14-membered macrolide isolated from the marine-derived fungus Aspergillus ostianus, has been accomplished from a commercially available chiral glycidol derivative by a 12-step sequence involving an expeditious preparation of a cyclic acetal intermediate and a trans-selective Ferrier-type two-carbon homologation reaction.