Nitrone Cycloadditions Towards the Synthesis of the Core of the Alstonia and Tropane Alkaloids

Alkaloids are naturally occurring organic compounds found in plants, containing at least one basic nitrogen atom. Many have known biological activity and, therefore, are regularly being isolated and studied. Work within the Coldham group has focused on developing a one-pot method to efficiently and stereoselectively build multiple-ring systems, commonly seen in alkaloids and other natural products. This has been applied to the synthesis of a variety of alkaloids, such as those from the Aspidosperma and Daphniphyllum genera. This thesis explores routes through which this cascade chemistry can be applied to the synthesis of two alkaloid skeletons: that of ferrugine, a tropane alkaloid, and that of alstonoxine B, an alkaloid found in plants of the genus Alstonia.