Electrocyclization oxetanes

Patemo-Biichi reaction between 2-methylfuran 31 and an a-hydroxyaldehyde 30 to form the core oxetane. Two of the three stereocenters set in the electrocyclization appear in the final product while the third is selectively reversed with anomeric assistance. 

The photocycloaddition of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes with 2,4,5-trimethyloxazole (131) gave bicyclic oxetanes 132 in almost quantitative yields hydrolitic cleavage led selectively to erytro a-amino-P-hydroxy methyl ketones 133 <00CC589>. The oxazolium salt 134 was converted to the azomethine ylide 136 via electrocyclic ring opening of the oxazoline 135. Intramolecular cycloaddition afforded 137 in 66% overall yield which was transformed into the aziridinomitosene derivative 138 . 

Photoinduced electrocyclization of a carbonyl with an alkene to form polysubsti-tuted oxetane ring systems... 

Bos and coworkers have developed several applications of alkyne-ketone photoadditions to organic synthesis. 2 Irradiation of a solution of acetone and 1-methylthio-l-propyne gives as a major product the cycloadduct (67) this results from selective oxetane formation due to radical stabilization by the methyl-thio group, followed by electrocyclic ring opening. Similarly, photoreaction of benzil and 1-t-butylthio-1-propyne gave the adduct (68) in 45% yield, which was transformed in 90% yield to the furan (69). 

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