A facile one-pot transformation of Baylis-Hillman adducts into unsymmetrical disubstituted maleimide and maleic anhydride frameworks: a facile synthesis of himanimide A.

Unsymmetrical, disubstituted maleimide and maleic anhydride frameworks have been accessed from Baylis-Hillman adducts in an operationally simple three-step (Friedel-Crafts reaction, selective hydrolysis, and cyclization), one-pot strategy. This strategy has been successfully extended to the synthesis of a representative bioactive compound, himanimide A.