Lipase-catalyzed site-selective deacetylation of sterically hindered naphthohydroquinone diacetate and its application to the synthesis of a heterocyclic natural product

Lipase-catalyzed site-selective deacetylation of 2,5-dimethylnaphthalene-l,4-diol diacetate was examined. With Candida antarctica lipase B, the suppressing effect of a methyl substituent at the peri-position of the a-naphthyl ester over that at the ortho-position was significant. This site-selectivity was in contrast to that of chemical hydrolysis reported to date. From the resulting monoacetate, mansonone F, a physiologically active heterocyclic orthoquinone, was synthesized in 38% yield in as few as three steps.