Epoxy dehydration structure

Next step of this synthesis consisted in the conversion of alcohol (17) to pisiferic acid (1) and this has been described in Fig. (3). The alcohol (17) in hexane was treated with Pb(OAc)4 in presence of iodine at room temperature to obtain the epoxy triene (19) (51%) whose structure was confirmed by spectroscopy. Treatment of (19) with acetyl p-toluene-sulfonic in dichloromethane yielded an olefinic acetate (20) and this was hydrogenated to obtain (21). The compound (22) could be isolated from (21) on subjection to reduction, oxidation and esterification respectively. The conversion of (22) to (23) was accomplished in three steps (reduction with sodium borohydride, immediate dehydration in dichloromethane and catalytic hydrogenation). Demethylation of (23) with anhydrous aluminium bromide and ethanethiol at room temperature produced pisiferic acid (1). Similar treatment of (23) with aluminium chloride and ethanethiol in dichloromethane yielded methylpisiferate (3). 

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