A Practical Route to a Complex Bis-Steroidal Diene Intermediate Using a Microwave Assisted Heck-Reaction

A very special set of Heck-conditions led reliably to a non-symmetric bis-steroidal diene which underwent regioselective high-pressure Diels-Alder cycloadditions with non-symmetric electron poor acetylenes. The cyclohexadienes thus obtained were aromatized to the corresponding benzene derivatives.