We disclose our synthetic studies on bilobalide, which features a Diels–Alder reaction of a cyclic anhydride to form two contiguous quaternary carbon centers, desymmetrization of a symmetric diol, and construction of a cyclic acetal under acidic conditions with inversion of configuration at an allylic position.
Key words
desymmetrization - Diels–Alder reaction - Mukaiyama hydration - quaternary carbon - tertiary alcohol