Development of a Modified Julia Olefination of Imides for the Synthesis of Alkaloids.

We report the development of the intramolecular Julia olefination of imides. This original reaction produces N-fused bicyclic enamide compounds, which are interesting precursors in the synthesis of alkaloids. We show that this transformation enables access to [5,6], [6,5], and [6,6] fused bicyclic lactam enamides. The scope and the limitations of the reaction are presented as well as computational studies concerning novel mechanistic aspects of the title reaction.