Benzoquinone monoketals cycloaddition

Various approaches to the assembly of the 1,3-dienes that engage in the Diels-Alder cycloaddition reactions leading to substrates for DPM and ODPM processes have been reported. Thus, for example. Yen and Liao demonstrated, during the course of a total synthesis of the Lycopodium alkaloid magellanine, that oxidation of acetovanillone (109) rScheme 9.151 with diacetoxyiodobenzene (DAIB) in the presence of methanol afforded the o-benzoquinone monoketal 110. The latter conpound engaged in an in situ Diels-Alder reaction with added cyclopentadiene (111) and the resulting adduct 112 proved to be an excellent substrate for the ODPM rearrangement reaction. Thus, photolysis of 112 as a solution in acetone afforded the pivotal tetracyclic diketone 113 in 92% yield. 

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