Formal total synthesis of Palmerolide A

A stereoselective formal total synthesis of the 20-membered marine macrolide Palmerolide A, a highly potent antitumor agent, is described. The key steps involved in this synthesis are reductive elimination, Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation, protecting group dependent ring-closing metathesis reaction, Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation, Takai olefination and macrolactonization via Heck coupling reaction.