Gold‐Catalyzed Cyclization Leads to a Bridged Tetracyclic Indolenine that Represses β‐Lactam Resistance

A gold-catalyzed desilylative cyclization was developed for facile synthesis of bridged tetracyclic indolenines, a common motif in many natural indole alkaloids. An antimicrobial screen of the cyclization products identified one compound which selectively potentiates β-lactam antibiotics in methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), and re-sensitizes a variety of MRSA strains to β-lactams.