An efficient and economical approach to the synthesis of antitumor and anti-inflammatory surinamensinol B (1) and antimalarial polysphorin analogue 2 has been achieved with high enantiomeric purity (96% ee) by starting from commercially available 3,4,5-trimethoxybenzaldehyde. The key steps of the strategy include a Co-catalyzed two-stereocentered hydrolytic kinetic resolution (HKR) of racemic 2[( methoxymethoxy)(3,4,5-trimethoxyphenyl)methyl] oxirane (13) as the chiral inducing step followed by a Mitsunobu reaction. Chiral epoxide 14 and chiral diol 15 were utilized in the syntheses of both compounds.

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