Nickel Carbene-Mediated One-Carbon Homologative γ-Butyrolactonization

In this report, we present a highly efficient approach for the synthesis of β,γ-disubstituted γ-butyrolactone motifs. This newly developed strategy is based on the combination of a diastereoselective aldol and a nickel carbene-mediated γ-butyrolactonization and uses an effective intramolecular ring closure to rapidly access a range of functionalized chiral γ-butyrolactones. This single-step approach was applied to produce straightforward asymmetric syntheses of (−)-talaumidin methyl ether, (+)-veraguensin, and (+)-dubiusamine A and a formal synthesis of (+)-phaseolinic acid as one of the shortest syntheses disclosed to date.