Copper-Catalyzed Vinylogous Aerobic Oxidation of Unsaturated Compounds with Air.

Selective oxidation is one of the most critical reaction types utilized in both academic and industrial settings. 1 It allows conversion of petroleum-based feedstocks to useful chemicals of higher oxidation state such as alcohols, carbonyl compounds, and epoxides. Among various oxidants, oxygen represents the most easily accessible and abundant oxidant and could serve as an environmentally benign source for the oxidative functionalization of organic molecules. 2 A catalyst is indispensable to achieve a selective transformation because of the high activation energy of oxygen. 3 Moreover, poor selectivity and limited substrate scope as well as overoxidation are found as significant limitations. 4 Recently, noteworthy advances have been achieved in transition-metal-catalyzed selective aerobic oxidation of C–H bonds to C–C, C–N, and C–O bonds and oxidation or cleavage of C–C double bonds. 5 , 6 Furthermore, various heterocycles have been synthesized by metal-catalyzed aerobic oxidation. 7 Considering the issues of relative safety, extremely low cost, sustainable abundance, and ease of manipulation, performing aerobic oxidation using air is highly preferred. However, it is often challenging to employ air instead of oxygen in metal-catalyzed aerobic oxidations because of the reduced reactivity at lower oxygen concentration. 8 Although a significant number of transition-metal-catalyzed aerobic oxidations have been developed, practical and efficient hydroxylations with air as the oxidant are still highly desirable. Among the various transition metal catalysts used in selective oxidation with oxygen, copper is widely recognized as ideal because of its natural abundance, cost effectiveness, and sustainability. 9 , 10 More importantly, copper shows excellent reactivity: Cu 0 , Cu I , Cu II , and Cu III oxidation states can be easily accessed, enabling radical pathways or two-electron bond formations. In addition to its redox properties, copper has the additional possibility of acting as a Lewis acid either through σ coordination to basic oxygen functionality or through π coordination with numerous functional groups. Such reactivity is leveraged by metalloenzymes possessing copper in the active site, which are utilized by nature as efficient catalysts for aerobic oxidation reactions. 11 In synthetic chemistry, copper-catalyzed or -mediated aerobic hydroxylations have been intensively studied and have led to a number of important synthetically useful oxidation reactions that have been applied in numerous industrial settings. 12 , 13 One particular class of oxidation reactions is the oxidation of enolates, which is a direct and efficient way to obtain α -hydroxycarbonyl compounds. 14 In the classic oxidation of steroids, α -hydroxylation has been possible using molecular oxygen as an oxidant: 15 generation of an enolate in the presence of a strong base (e.g., lithium diisopropylamide (LDA)), nucleophilic attack of oxygen by the enolate, and reduction of the newly formed peroxide by a trialkyl phosphite. 16 Phase-transfer catalysis has also been applied for aerobic oxidation of ketones and 2-oxindoles. 17 Several other oxidants, such as oxaziridines 18 – 20 and MoOPH, 21 complement α -hydroxylation of enolates with molecular oxygen. More recently, copper-catalyzed α -hydroxylation of ketones has emerged as an efficient and sustainable alternative to the use of stoichiometric oxidations in the preparation of α -hydroxycarbonyl compounds ( Scheme 1A ). 22 Although significant advances have been achieved in the aerobic oxidation of enolates via catalysis with copper 22 or other transition metals, 23 there has been no report of a transition-metal-catalyzed vinylogous oxidation of dienolates. Because of competitive α -hydroxylation and other deleterious side reactions related to the proximal olefin in both the starting material and product, it is challenging to simultaneously control both the chemoselectivity and regioselectivity while solving the problem of overoxidation ( Scheme 1B ). γ -Hydroxy- α,β -( E )-alkenoic esters are important motifs present in naturally occurring compounds, such as macrolides. 24 These functional groups play an important role as Michael acceptors for thiol-containing side chains in enzymatic binding sites. 25 Moreover, they serve as versatile intermediates in a wide range of chemical manipulations in organic synthesis. 26 One of the most commonly employed methods for the oxidation of dienolates employs oxygen and P(OEt) 3 , in which the dienolates are generated by deprotonation of β,γ -unsaturated or α,β -unsaturated ketones or esters in the presence of LDA. 27 However, very strong bases such as LDA are significantly limited in their functional group tolerance as a result of poor regioselectivity, low efficiency, and overoxidation. In 2017, two of us (A.W.S. and T.R.N.) utilized a vinylogous hydroxylation reaction with molecular oxygen to afford a γ -hydroxy- α,β -( E )-alkenoic ester moiety, which was a key intermediate in the total synthesis of (±)-andirolide N. 28 Here we report a copper-catalyzed vinylogous aerobic oxidation of γ,γ -disubstituted β,γ - and/or α,β -unsaturated compounds under air, leading to a broad array of γ -hydroxy- α,β -( E )- unsaturated compounds (including esters, aldehydes, ketones, amides, nitriles, and sulfones) in high yields.

On the basis of our previously disclosed asymmetric vinylogous Mannich-type reaction catalyzed by a chiral copper(I) complex, 29 we envisioned that a copper dienolate, generated upon deprotonation by a base, might be selectively oxidized by oxygen to produce a γ -hydroxy- α,β -( E )-alkenoic ester. In line with the above hypothesis, we commenced the investigation by using γ,γ -disubstituted β,γ -unsaturated ester 1a as the substrate and Cu[(CH 3 CN) 4 ]PF 6 as the catalyst ( Table 1 ). Addition of a reductant proved to be crucial, as the oxidation without any reductant resulted in 33% yield (entry 1), while the addition of PPh 3 as a reductant led to the product in 82% yield (entry 2). Other reductants were less successful, including the commonly employed reductant P(OEt) 3 (entry 3), 30 PBu 3 , and Ph 2 PMe (see the Supporting Information (SI) ). Other triarylphosphines were also investigated, and PPh 3 outperformed these reductants. 31 Various other commercially available copper salts and solvents were found to be less successful (see the SI ). Although all of the copper salts examined catalyzed the desired aerobic oxidation, the use of Cu(OTf) 2 resulted in an increased yield (entry 4; also see the SI ). A stronger amine base was indispensable, as weaker bases (e.g., i Pr 2 NEt, Et 3 N, and Cy 2 NMe) were ineffective (entry 5; also see the SI ). Barton’s base and hppH gave inferior results (entries 6 and 7). Studies of the identity of the ester group determined that a methyl ester was optimal (entry 8). The use of other ester substituents such as ethyl, tert -butyl, and phenyl also led to product formation, albeit in lower yields (entries 9–11). It is very encouraging for process chemistry applications that under an atmosphere of air the vinylogous oxidation proceeded in comparable yield (entry 12). Adding water to the catalytic oxidative system did not affect the reaction outcome, which successfully enabled the vinylogous oxidation to proceed using undried THF under air (entry 13). Tetramethylguanidine (TMG) (0.8 equiv) was found to be ideal to promote the reaction to finish in 24 h without impacting the yield (entry 14). Reducing the amount of PPh 3 resulted in a slightly increased yield (entry 15). A catalytic amount of TMG (0.3 equiv) was also effective, but a prolonged reaction time was required (entry 16). Control experiments indicated that both copper(II) triflate and TMG were crucial in the present vinylogous oxidative system (entries 17 and 18). Furthermore, other metal salts, including Lewis acids (e.g., Ni(OTf) 2 , Sc(OTf) 3 , Yb(OTf) 3 , and InBr 3 ) and redox-active metal salts (e.g., FeSO 4 ·7H 2 O, FeCl 3 , Mn(OAc) 2 ·4H 2 O, and Mn(OAc) 3 ·2H 2 O) were completely ineffective (see the SI ), highlighting the power of the copper catalyst system. The reported reaction conditions for the aerobic oxidation of carbonyl compounds 15e,f , 22b and vinylogous aerobic oxidation of β,γ -unsaturated compounds 28 were also investigated for the γ -hydroxylation of 2a ( Scheme 2 ). Jiao’s transition-metal-free conditions 15e for the α -hydroxylation of carbonyl compounds were not efficient for the vinylogous oxidation of dienolates, as only a 14% yield of 7a was obtained. Gnanaprakasam’s transition-metal-free system 15f was unproductive, and product 7a was not detected. Schoenebeck’s catalytic system 22b using Cu 2 O as the catalyst was not effective for this transformation either. At last, the conditions reported from the total synthesis of (±)-andirolide N 28 were less effective in producing 7a (46% yield in addition to a 20% yield of acetophenone). The substrate scope of γ,γ -disubstituted β,γ -unsaturated esters was evaluated under the optimized reaction conditions ( Table 2 ). In most cases, pure ( E )- β,γ -unsaturated esters were employed. However, because of the difficulty of obtaining a single alkene isomer, in some instances E / Z mixtures were directly subjected to vinylogous oxidation for the exploration of the substrate scope. A series of aromatic substituents were well-tolerated at the R 1 position. Both electron-donating groups, such as methyl ( 7b , 7n ), phenyl ( 7c ), methoxy ( 7d , 7o ), and dimethylamino ( 7e ), and electron-withdrawing groups, such as fluoride ( 7f ), chloride ( 7g , 7p ), bromide ( 7h , 7q ), trifluoromethyl ( 7i ), trifluoromethoxy ( 7j ), methyl ester ( 7k ), nitro ( 7l ), and cyano ( 7m ), did not have a significant effect on the yield. However, o -chlorophenyl led to a moderate yield, possibly because of the increased steric hindrance ( 7r ). Both 2-naphthyl ( 7s ) and 2-thienyl ( 7t ) were compatible, affording the corresponding products in good yield. The substituent at the R 2 position was extended from methyl to ethyl ( 7u ), isopropyl ( 7v ), and cyclopropyl ( 7w ) successfully. In the cases of substrates with bisaliphatic substituents, vinylogous oxidation was sluggish at room temperature. Thus, an elevated reaction temperature and oxygen balloon were required to obtain oxidized products in moderate yield ( 7x – aa ). It is noteworthy that a trisubstituted alkene was tolerated under the present oxidative conditions ( 7y ). Furthermore, β,γ -unsaturated esters with other oxidation-prone functional groups, such as ketone ( 7ab ) and unprotected secondary and tertiary alcohols ( 7ac , 7ad ), were also suitable substrates. As α,β -unsaturated esters ( 12 ) are more commonly encountered in organic synthesis, we wanted to extend the reaction conditions to these substrates. However, the p K a of the γ -proton in 12a is significantly higher than the p K a of the α -protons in 2a , 32 which results in a more challenging deprotonation step. When the amount of TMG was increased to 1.2 equiv, the current catalytic system was successfully applied to γ,γ -disubstituted α,β -unsaturated esters ( 12 ) ( Table 3 ). Various α,β -unsaturated esters containing an aryl substituent and a methyl substituent at the γ -position were efficiently oxidized to generate γ -hydroxy- α,β -( E )-alkenoic esters in good yields ( 7a – q , 7ae – ag ). However, a bulky aryl group, such as o -methylphenyl ( 7af ), had a diminishing effect on the yield. It is encouraging that 2-naphthyl ( 7s ) and 2-thienyl ( 7t ) groups were well-tolerated. The aliphatic substituent was not limited to methyl, as substrates with ethyl ( 7u ) and cyclopropyl ( 7w ) were competent substrates. The aliphatic substituent was further expanded to long alkyl chains containing various functional groups. Product 7ah was generated in 32% yield, presumably because of interference of a primary alcohol unit. The reaction of tert -butyldimethylsilyl (TBS)-protected substrate 12ai proceeded smoothly to give the product 7ai in 67% yield. An acetal group was also tolerated under the present condition ( 7aj ). The ester 12ak containing a monosubstituted olefin was also a competent substrate, giving the product 7ak in 80% yield. The substrates with two aliphatic substituents at the γ -position were completely inert with the current catalytic system, presumably because of the increased p K a of the γ -proton in 12 . Unsaturated aldehydes and ketones were also submitted to the present catalytic vinylogous aerobic oxidation conditions ( Table 4 ). α,β -Unsaturated aldehydes bearing an aryl group and a methyl group at the γ -position were smoothly converted to the corresponding γ -hydroxy- α,β -( E )-unsaturated aldehydes in reasonably good yields ( 15a – d ). The substrate derived from melonal ( 13e ) was also suitable, leading to 15e in 52% yield in only 20 min. Moreover, β,γ -unsaturated phenyl ketone and α,β -unsaturated phenyl ketone provided the same product ( 16a ) in good yields (67% and 54% yield, respectively). The oxidation of α,β -unsaturated methyl ketone afforded 16b in 76% yield. Subjecting a prenyl phenyl ketone to the current catalytic system led to 16c in 70% yield. Both β,γ -unsaturated and α,β -unsaturated cyclic ketones were oxidized to generate γ -hydroxy- γ -phenyl cyclohexanone ( 16d ) in good yields. Again, γ,γ -dialkyl-substituted α,β -unsaturated ketones were completely inert under the present conditions. 33 The applicability of the reaction conditions was further expanded to unsaturated nitriles, amides, and sulfones, which are showcased in Table 5 . β,γ -Unsaturated nitriles bearing one aryl substituent and one methyl substituent were competent substrates and afforded corresponding products in decent yields ( 20a – d ). An α,β -unsaturated nitrile was also hydroxylated at the γ -position successfully ( 20a ). The propensity of substrates containing two aliphatic substituents to undergo vinylogous oxidation was diminished. Therefore, refluxing the reaction mixture under an oxygen atmosphere and prolonged reaction time were required to obtain the products in good yields for these difficult substrates ( 20e , 20f ). A nitrile bearing two allylic methyl groups was also a competent substrate under the current catalytic system ( 20f ). β,γ -Unsaturated amides, including Weinreb amide ( 18a ), pyrrolidine amide ( 18b ), and dibenzylamine amide ( 18c ), were also evaluated. The vinylogous oxidation of these amides proceeded smoothly to afford products in reasonably good yields. The functional group compatibility of the current catalytic system was further highlighted when aniline amide 18d containing a free N–H was oxidized in 71% yield ( 21d ). Moreover, a conjugated Weinreb amide substrate was oxidized without difficulty ( 21a ). As for the β,γ -unsaturated phenyl sulfones, several examples were studied, which gave γ -hydroxy- α,β -( E )-unsaturated sulfones in good yields ( 22a – d ). Moreover, vinylogous oxidation of trifluoromethyl sulfone proceeded smoothly to afford product 22e in 55% yield. Since the vinylogous oxidation of unsaturated esters, aldehydes, ketones, amides, nitriles, and sulfones proceeded smoothly, we attempted the more challenging selective bisvinylogous and trisvinylogous oxidations. As shown in Scheme 3 , 23 was subjected to the copper-catalyzed oxidation system, and the product 24 was isolated in 80% yield. It was found that 2 equiv of TMG was required for complete conversion. α,β,γ,δ -Unsaturated aldehyde 25 was also tested under the current catalytic system. To our delight, product 26 was obtained in 87% yield, and the aldehyde functionality was left untouched under the oxidation conditions. As for α,β,γ,δ -unsaturated ketone 27 , product 28 was generated in 81% yield. Encouragingly, a more challenging remote oxidation of substrate 29 to give product 30 was successfully achieved in 82% yield. Additionally, mono- γ -substituted α,β -unsaturated or β,γ -unsaturated esters were also studied, and no satisfactory results were obtained. 34 As shown in Tables 2 – 5 , many substrates required slightly modified reaction conditions. Generally, the substrates with higher p K a values for the α -protons or γ -proton or steric hindrance at the γ -position need increased reaction time (e.g., 2d , 2e , 2r , 2u , 2v , 2w , 12b , 12d , 12e , 12u , 12w , and 12af – ak ). While α,β -unsaturated aldehydes and ketones needed less TMG, β,γ -unsaturated amides and sulfones required more TMG than the corresponding esters. Moreover, α,β -unsaturated compounds require more TMG than β,γ -unsaturated compounds, for example, 2 ( Table 2 ) vs 12 ( Table 3 ), 16a and 16d ( Table 4B ), 20a ( Table 5A ), and 21a ( Table 5B ). β,γ -Unsaturated compounds with two-alkyl substituents, such as 2x – aa , 17e , and 17f , require increased amounts of TMG and more forcing reaction conditions (refluxing and oxygen instead of air). It is evident now that both the ease of deprotonation and the steric hindrance at the γ -position contribute to the ease of reaction. Aside from facilitating deprotonation of the substrate, TMG may also act as a ligand to a copper(II) salt to form a Cu(II) complex, 35 which may be the real catalyst. In cases where a Cu(I) salt is employed, the oxidative atmosphere may transform it to the corresponding Cu(II) salt, and then Cu(II) catalyst can be accessed. Furthermore, TMG may act as a weak reductant, as hppH has been reported as a reductant in the oxidation of carbonyl compounds. 22b , 36 As shown in entry 1 of Table 1 , the γ -hydroxylation without PPh 3 led to the formation of the product 7a in 33% yield. Additionally, when the 31 P NMR spectrum of the reaction mixture was acquired, the signals for PPh 3 and P(O)Ph 3 were observed, but no signal for a copper–PPh 3 complex was detected. It is therefore hypothesized that the role of PPh 3 is to act as a stoichiometric reductant. The performances of both ( Z )- 2a and ( Z )- 12a in the vinylogous oxidation were also evaluated ( Scheme 4 ). Under the optimal reaction conditions, the same product 7a was obtained in 78% 1 H NMR yield with 5% of ( Z )- 2a recovered after the reaction was run for 82 h, which indicated that ( Z )- 2a was less reactive than ( E )- 2a . ( Z )- 12a was the most inert, affording product 7a in 10% yield together with 88% recovered ( Z )- 12a after 90 h. These results suggest that the alkene geometry affected the ease of deprotonation and thus had an important influence on the reaction time. Moreover, the geometry of the generated copper(II) dienolate complexes may also affect the reaction rate. The vinylogous oxidation of 2a proceeded with equal efficiency using 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidin-1-oxyl (TEMPO) or 1,1-diphenylethylene as an additive. These two experimental observations argue against a radical-based mechanism and suggest that a two-electron process is operative ( Table 6 , entries 2 and 3). Vinylogous oxidation of 2a also proceeded nicely in the dark or in the presence of 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]-octane (DABCO), indicating that singlet oxygen is not involved in the reaction process ( Table 6 , entries 4 and 5). 15e , 37 An 18 O labeling experiment was performed with 19a as the substrate, which demonstrated that the oxygen atom in the newly formed hydroxyl group originates from O 2 rather than surreptitious water ( Scheme 5 ). Experiments using mass spectrometry led to the detection of 18O-incorporated triphenylphosphine oxide. These observations demonstrate that the fate of molecular oxygen is incorporation into the alcohol product and oxidation of the terminal reductant. In order to probe how the acetophenone ( 11 ) byproduct in the reaction arises, product 7a was subjected to the standard reaction conditions ( Scheme 6 ), and 100% 7a was recovered without any 11 . This control experiment demonstrated that the formation of acetophenone did not result from decomposition or overoxidation of 7a , which suggests that 11 is formed by an alternative pathway from the starting material 2a . Dienone 31 , containing an additional α,β -unsaturated ketone unit, was designed to capture the suspected peroxide species ( Scheme 7A ). In accord with literature precedent on the oxidation of enolates with molecular oxygen, 16 it was our expectation that the present vinylogous oxidation proceeds via a peroxide intermediate such as A ( Scheme 7C ). When compound 31 was subjected to the standard reaction conditions, products 32 and 33 were separately formed in 40% and 23% yield, respectively, as mixtures of diastereomers (1:1 dr) ( Scheme 7A ). The expected product 33 presumably arises via an oxa-Michael reaction after γ -hydroxylation occurs, while product 32 represents an overoxidation product. Product 32 could be formed as outlined in Scheme 7C , wherein the initially formed γ -peroxy intermediate A undergoes an oxa-Michael reaction before reduction of the peroxide can occur. The resulting intermediate B would then be expected to decompose to the observed product 32 via alkoxide C . It was therefore hypothesized that in the absence of PPh 3 a greater quantity of 32 would be formed. Indeed, in the absence of PPh 3 product 32 was obtained in 80% yield with 1:1 dr ( Scheme 7A ). The decomposition of endoperoxide B to the product 32 via this pathway would require that both oxygen atoms incorporated are derived from the same molecule of O 2 . To evaluate whether this is the case or if the two oxygen atoms are introduced independently, we conducted an experiment using a 1:1 mixture of O 2 and 18 O 2 ( Scheme 7B ). If the oxygen atoms are derived from one molecule of O 2 , as in endoperoxide B , we would expect a distribution of the doubly labeled 16 O product and the doubly labeled 18 O product. On the other hand, if epoxide 32 is formed by an alternative pathway involving two discrete molecules of O 2 , we would expect a statistical distribution of products. Analysis of the mass spectral data provided direct evidence that one molecule of O 2 leads to the product 32 , consistent with the intermediacy of endoperoxide B . Although speculative at this juncture, 16 we have proposed a plausible reaction pathway for this vinylogous oxidation as shown in Scheme 8 . The copper(II) complex V is formed through the coordination of TMG to copper(II) triflate. 35 In the presence of TMG, copper(II) dienolate W is generated, which exist in equilibrium with allylcopper(II) species X . It would be expected that oxidation of W would result in α -oxidation, while oxidation of X would result in γ -oxidation and lead to the formation of the copper(II) peroxide species Y . Peroxide Y would be reduced through attack of PPh 3 at the less hindered distal peroxide oxygen atom to generate an alkoxide, which would be protonated to afford the final product 7a and regenerate copper(II) complex V . Alternatively, intermediate Y could afford four-membered endoperoxide Z by an intra-molecular oxa-Michael addition, which would collapse to give the side product acetophenone ( 11 ) and regenerate copper(II) complex V . An additional possibility that cannot be ruled out at this time is the role of bimetallic copper complexes, including those with bridging oxygen ligands. 38 The robustness of the present vinylogous hydroxylation was showcased by a 10 g-scale oxidation of 2a . As shown in Scheme 9 , 8.93 g of product 7a was isolated, corresponding to 82% yield, which demonstrated that the 10 g-scale reaction had the same efficiency as the milligram-scale reaction. Moreover, the vinylogous oxidation performed on a 10 g-scale in the open air also proceeded with the same efficiency (see the SI ). An initial clear pale-yellow mixture gradually changed to green and finally to dark green. The utility of this γ -hydroxylation methodology was showcased for the modification of natural product derivatives ( Scheme 10 ). For example, estr-5(10)-ene-3,17-dione ( 34 ) was selectively oxidized under the standard conditions to afford 10 β -hydroxyestr-4-ene-3,17-dione ( 35 ) in 56% yield. Both the allylic and tertiary C–H bonds were left intact under the oxidation conditions. Tibolone ( 36 ), a synthetic steroid drug used mainly for treatment of endometriosis, was submitted to the standard vinylogous oxidation conditions and was oxidized to 37 in 56% yield, which represents a fast and effective method to access tibolone derivatives. Moreover, 3 β -hydroxyandrosta-5,15-dien-17-one ( 38 ) was also a competent substrate for the current vinylogous oxidation reaction, being selectively oxidized to give 3 β ,14 β -dihydroxyandrosta-5,15-dien-17-one ( 39 ) in 55% yield. The spectral data for products 35 39 and 39 40 are in agreement with the data previously reported; product 37 was characterized by X-ray crystallography. The prevalence of unsaturated carbonyl functionalities in synthetic intermediates and natural products makes the present method very attractive for carrying out remote oxidation rapidly and efficiently. The present vinylogous oxidation system was also employed in the synthesis of a natural product ( Scheme 10 ). iso -Odoratin ( 40 ), which has multiple sites of potential oxidation, was subjected to the standard oxidation conditions and was selectively transformed to the corresponding γ -hydroxylated compound ( 41 ), a late-stage intermediate in the synthesis of (±)-andirolide N, 28 in 65% yield. The success of the standard reaction conditions with this complex substrate suggests that these conditions may be quite general and see use in numerous other contexts.

An operationally simple and highly efficient catalytic system using copper(II) triflate, TMG, PPh 3 , and air was developed. The present catalytic system for vinylogous aerobic oxidation was suitable for both γ,γ -disubstituted- β,γ -unsaturated esters and γ,γ -disubstituted- α,β -unsaturated esters. A series of functional groups (such as tertiary amine, nitro, ester, nitrile, ketone, primary, secondary, and tertiary alcohol, TBS ether, acetal, and olefin) were well-tolerated. Unsaturated aldehydes, ketones, amides, nitriles, and sulfones were also viable substrates. Furthermore, a mechanism for the vinylogous aerobic oxidation has been proposed on the basis of experimental observations. It was postulated that TMG is not only a base for the deprotonation but also a ligand for the copper(II) salt to form the real copper(II) catalyst. Finally, the utility of this hydroxylation methodology was showcased with the selective modification of natural product derivatives and the preparation of an advanced synthetic intermediate for the total synthesis of (±)-andirolide N. Application of the vinylogous oxidation to other problems in multistep synthesis and the development of a catalytic asymmetric version are currently under investigation in our laboratories.