Chemo- and Diastereoselective Hydrosilylation of Amorphadiene toward the Synthesis of Artemisinin.

A formal synthesis of artemisinin starting from amorphadiene is described. This new route relies on the development of a catalytic chemo- and diastereoselective hydrosilylation. The practicability of this method is demonstrated by converting amorphadiene to dihydroartemisinic aldehyde using a one-pot hydrosilylation/oxidation sequence, minimizing the number of purifications and maximizing the productivity through a practical one-pot procedure. In addition, this approach can be coupled with a crystallization-induced diastereoselective transformation (CIDT) to enhance the optical purity of the key target intermediate, dihydroartemisinic aldehyde.