A Model for the Construction of the Fusidic Acid Sidechain
Richard Keith Hill, Raghav V. Shetty · Synthetic Communications · 1973
The discovery of the antibiotic fusidic acid from Fusidium coccineum in 19621 provided a valuable new medicinal agent, highly active against staphylococcal infections. Though various modifications of the tetracyclic structure (I) have so far failed to furnish derivatives with enhanced antibiotic activity2, no analogs of different skeletal configuration have yet been prepared for assessing the significance of the unique stereochemistry of the fusidane framework. For this purpose it would be desirable to have an effective method of attaching the fusidic acid sidechain to the 17-keto group of various steroids or to other ketones.