Help the Incredibles stop Syndrome by opening the Bromocyclopropane ring!

Ring Opening of the Bromocyclopropane – Scheme of Synthesis of Cortistatin A
Rebecca DuVall, Chase Thomas, Rachel Wallace
SSG 3.4, Matthew Thimm
Shi, J.; Manolikakes, G.; Yeh, C.-H.; Guerrero, G.A.; Shenvi, R.A.; Shigehisa, H.; Baran, P.S. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2011,  133, 8014-8027.

The purpose of the publication “Scalable Synthesis of Cortistatin A and Related Structures” is to improve the synthesis of Cortistatin A by utilizing prednisone as a starting material due to its lower cost and greater availability. The synthesis of Cortistatin A is important due to the molecule’s potential in anti-angiogenic activity and its scarce availability in nature. The reaction from starting with molecule 80 is the ring-opening of the bromocyclopropane portion of the synthesis through use of SmI2, a reducing agent, and the subsequent elimination, with LiBr and Li2CO3, to form molecule 76.