Lactones, unsaturated macrocyclic epoxidation

The confomiational preferences and stereoselective reactions of a number of macrocyclic systems have been studied. The stereochemical results have been explained on the basis of the model of local conformer control. The epoxidation of a macrocyclic alkene containing the substitution pattern (21) provides a single epoxide having the stereochemistry (22). A macrocycle containing a l,S-diene system adepts the local confoimation (23) that is iree of torsional strain epoxidation of (23) from the less hindered side fiimishes the syn-diepoxide (24). The MCPBA epoxidations of the unsaturated macrocyclic lactones (25) and (2Q are stereoselective (equations 9 and 10). In the epoxidation of (26) six new chiral centres are introduced the reaction product is a 20 1 1 mixture of triepoxides. The tiiepoxide (27) is closely related to the C(9)-C(23) segment of monensin B. 

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