3- Methoxy-4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol,

Both routes actually use vanilly alcohol 34 (3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol) as the starting material. Application of method (a) requires that 34 could be trimerized to C3-cyclotriguaiacylene, 5 (Table 1). However, as was said above, this reaction does not work, presumably because the phenolic group makes the molecule too reactive under the strong acidic conditions employed the allyl protected derivative 35 was thus used instead of 34 itself, and, on reaction with perchloric acid in methanol, gave the tris-allyl protected derivative 9 in 55% yield. Palladium catalysed cleavage of the allyl groups then led to the desired racemic triphenol 5. The latter could eventually be resolved by separation of its dia-stereoisomeric esters with co-camphanic acid [13]. 

The liquid-phase hydroxyalkylation of 2-methoxyphenol with aqueous solutions of fonnaldehyde (formalin), catalyzed by solid acid materials, was investigated. Zeolitic catalysts, especially H-mordenites, yield the best results in terms of reactant conversion and selectivity to 3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol (p-vanillol). Important reaction parameters are the formaldehyde-to-guaiacol ratio, the stirring rate and the reaction tenqjerature. The reaction scheme consists of parallel reactions for the formation of vanillic alcohol isomers and of monoarylic by-products, obtained by reaction between vanillols and methanol or hemiformal contained in formalin. The consecutive reactions mainly involve the transformation of p-vanillol to monoaryl and to diaryl compounds, the latter obtained by condensation of two vanillol molecules. 

While PEGS can themselves serve as phase-transfer catalysts [86], onium salts are generally more effective as catalysts. Using the chemistry shown in Eq. 18, a methoxy-PEG5ooo derivative 47 was first treated with the Cs salt of 4-hydroxybenzyl alcohol to form the alcohol 48. Conversion of the alcohol to the bromide followed by reaction with tributylamine produced a quaternary ammonium salt 49. This salt was as active as low molecular weight salts in typical phase-transfer catalyzed reactions like those of alkyl halides with KI, KCN, phenol, and pyrrole [88]. Yields were often in the >90% range. Reactions were typically carried out at <40 °C and could be performed either with water or without solvent. Control experiments showed that the ammonium group of 49 was necessary as the simple alcoholic PEG derivative 48 was much less effec-... 

No new TV-benzyltetrahydroisoquinolines have been isolated from natural sources in recent years. However, the structure of corgoine has been confirmed by three syntheses. The first involves reduction of the 7V-benzyl quaternary salt derived from isoquinoline 1, whereas the second approach utilizes the Pictet-Spengler reaction to cyclize the substituted phenethylamine 2 (see Scheme 31.1). The third synthesis of corgoine involves heating 6-methoxy-7-hydroxy-tetrahydroisoquinoline with / -hydroxybenzyl alcohol to afford the alkaloid in 44% yield. The A -benzylation probably occurs through the intermediacy of /7-benzoquinone methide which adds to the basic nitrogen of the isoquinoline. ... 

---