The allylic substitution of secondary allylic picolinates and copper reagents for the construction of a quaternary carbon was applied to synthesis of sporochnol. The enantiomerically enriched allylic picolinate (R)-5 was synthesized through the asymmetric hydrogen transfer of acetylene ketone 11 and the Pd-catalyzed methylation of the iodoallylic alcohol 16a. The key allylic substitution of the allylic picolinate (R)-5 with 4-MeOC6H4MgBr/Cu(acac)(2) (2:1) proceeded with 95% chirality transfer with 98% regioselectivity to afford anti S(N)2' product 6 in 89% yield, which was converted to the methyl ether of unnatural (R)-sporochnol. Similarly, the methyl ether of (S)-sporochnol (the natural form) was synthesized.
A synthesis of allylic alcohols from β-γ-epoxysulfones