Methylenation with Lombardo reagent

Hydroboration occurred from the less hindered top face of rac-29 and resulted in the formation of alcohol rac-30. After a three-step sequence which included oxidation with tetrapropylammonium perruthenate (TPAP), methyl lithium addition and repeated oxidation with TPAP, ketone rac-31 was isolated. Finally, epimerization of the stereogenic center at C-7 to the correct configuration and methylenation with the Lombardo reagent led to the formation of racemic kelsoene (rac-1). 

The first progress was made by Takai and Lombardo, who developed an in situ entry to titanium-alkylidene chemistry starting from the reagent combinations 5 and 6 (Scheme 4) [9]. These reactions proceed via a gem-dizinc compound 7 (its formation is catalyzed by traces of lead or lead(II) salts), which is subsequently transmetalated with TiCl4 to the titanium-alkylidene species 8, the actual olefination reagent. To date, 8 has not been characterized in detail [10]. These in situ reagents exhibit chemoselectivities similar to those of the structurally defined methylenation reagents 1-3. 

Treatment of 44 with Lombardo s reagent (TiCl4/Zn/CH2Br2) (27) in CH2CI2 gave a mixture of the desired methylenation product 45 (24% yield)... 

Indeed, the reproducibility of this method was questioned by Lombardo in 1982 [14]. He attempted to apply Takai and Oshima s procedure to the methylenation of a gibberellin derivative with Zn (pure, without lead)-CH2Br2-TiCl4, but only decomposition of the substrate was observed. Lombardo later demonstrated an improved procedure. According to his report, the requisite ageing period for the preparation of the reagent was three days (Scheme 5.7). 

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