O-Methylene-y-butyrolactones

Several indium-mediated intramolecular carbonyl allylation reactions have been investigated, and it has been found that these reactions provide an easy access to a variety of cyclic compounds. The intramolecular cyclization of 49a-c mediated by indium in aqueous media proceeds smoothly to afford carbocyclic systems containing y-hydroxy-Q -methylene esters 50a-c, which either spontaneously or readily cyclize to give fused o -methylene-y-butyrolactones 51a-c (Scheme 52). The same cyclization of 49d is too slow to compete with the side-reaction, in which the bromide is substituted by a hydroxy group. The ring junction stereochemistry of fused lactones 51 has been found to be cis in all cases. Of the two possible transition states, the one leading to the m-fused compounds is preferred, because the chair-chair conformation is favored over the chair-boat conformation.209... 

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