Inversion of configurations of contiguous carbinol centres: application to the synthesis of both enantiomers of natural products from the same enantiomerically pure starting material
Abstract A novel method for effecting the inversion of configuration of two and three contiguouscarbinolcenters in a diol, triol, and tetraol chain, thus affording the opposite enantiomer with ⩾98% e.e., has been developed. The method is based on the sequential formation of a terminal epoxide, Payne rearrangement, and intramolecular lactonization. Application of this methodology to the synthesis