Furan four-component synthesis

Scheme 35 Coupling-transacetalization-addition-cyclocondensation-Suzuki coupling four-component synthesis of 3-aryl furans 61...

Scheme 5.22 Retrosynthetic concept for a three-component furan and four-component pyrrole synthesis.

This straightforward three-component approach to 1,4-diketones can readily expanded to a CIR-Stetter-Paal-Knorr synthesis of furans 24 and pyrroles 25 in the sense of a consecutive three-component or four-component reaction in a one-pot fashion. 

In a recent report, Padwa [64] disclosed a general method of wide applicability for constructing a variety of heterocyclic systems. It involved an amino furan ester as a more reactive four carbon component vis avis a pyrone in intramolecular Diels-Alder addition to an unactivated olefin. This method as applied to the synthesis of anhydrolycorinone consisted of the preparation of the tertiary amide 240 (Scheme 40) and its subsequent thermolysis to the N-o-bromoaroylindoline 241. It is believed that the initially formed cycloadduct 242 opened to the acyl iminium oxyanion 243, which by prototropy and dehydration generated 241. The latter, on photolysis in the presence of bis (tri-n-butyltin), furnished the tetracyclic ester 244, which was hydrolysed and decafboxylated to anhydrolycorinone as in the previous synthesis. 

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