Regioselective photochemical heterocyclic compounds

P. Wessig, Regioselective photochemical synthesis of carbo- and heterocyclic compounds the Norrish/Yang reaction. Chapter 57 in ref. 22. 

Wessig, P., Regioselective Photochemical Synthesis of Carbo and Heterocyclic Compounds the Norrish/Yang Reaction. In Horspool, W. M., Lenci, F. (eds), CRC Handbook of Organic Photochemistry and Photobiology, 2nd edn, CRC Press LLC, Boca Raton, FL, 2004, Chapter 57, pp. 1 20. 

Regioselective Photochemical Synthesis of Carbo- and Heterocyclic Compounds... 

Both target compounds discussed in this review, kelsoene (1) and preussin (2), provide a fascinating playground for synthetic organic chemists. The construction of the cyclobutane in kelsoene limits the number of methods and invites the application of photochemical reactions as key steps. Indeed, three out of five completed syntheses are based on an intermolecular enone [2+2]-photocycloaddition and one—our own—is based on an intramolecular Cu-catalyzed [2+2]-photocycloaddition. A unique approach is based on a homo-Favorskii rearrangement as the key step. Contrary to that, the pyrrolidine core of preussin offers a plentitude of synthetic alternatives which is reflected by the large number of syntheses completed to date. The photochemical pathway to preussin has remained unique as it is the only route which does not retrosynthetically disconnect the five-membered heterocycle. The photochemical key step is employed for a stereo- and regioselective carbo-hydroxylation of a dihydropyrrole precursor. 

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