An Overview of Synthetic and Biological Studies of Ambruticin and Analogues

Ambruticin is a unique example of antibiotics isolated from the fermentation media of gliding bacteria. Since the last decade, it has emerged as one of the most intensively studied derivative due to its oral antibiotic properties and due to its unique architecture. This structurally exceptional molecule bearing ten stereogenic centers contains a tetrahydropyranyl ring, a divinylcyclopropyl ring, and a dihydropyranyl ring linked to each other via three (E) double bonds. This review is aimed at highlighting the recent progresses in the area, including the biological activity, a comparison of the 4 total syntheses and the original strategies developed for the partial syntheses.