Unprecedented biomimetic homodimerization of oroidin and clathrodin marine metabolites in the presence of HMPA or phosphonate salt tweezers.

The first biomimetic homodimerization of oroidin and clathrodin was effected in the presence HMPA and diphosphonate salts, strong guanidinium and amide chelating agents. The intermolecular associations probably interfere with the entropically and kinetically favored intramolecular cyclizations. Use of oroidin·(1)/2HCl salt or clathrodin·(1)/2HCl was indicative in the presence of the ambident nucleophilic and electrophilic tautomers of the 2-aminoimidazolic oroidin and clathrodin precursors. Surprisingly, the homodimerization of oroidin led to the nagelamide D skeleton, while the homodimerization of clathrodin gave the benzene para-symmetrical structure 19. The common process was rationalized from tautomeric precursors I and III.