Wittig rearrangement of 3-furylmethyl ethers and its application to the synthesis of dendrolasin
Abstract
The Wittig rearrangement of 3-furylmethyl ethers 1, proceeds efficiently to give 3-methyl-2-furylmethanols 2 or 3-furylethanols 3 depending on the basicity of the butyllithium used; synthesis of dendrolasin is achieved with the 1,2-rearrangement of 3-furylmethyl geranyl ether 5 as a key step.