A radical cyclisation based cyclopentenone annulation of allyl alcohols

A four-step cyclopentenone annulation reaction of allylic alcohols employing a 5-exo-trig radical cyclisation reaction of mixed allyl methyl ketals of bromoacetone as the key step is described. The annulated product 12b obtained from 2,3-dimethylcyclohexenol has been further elaborated into (±)-epibakkenolides employing a 5-exo-dig radical cylisation reaction based α-spiro-β-methylene-γ-butyrolactone annulation methodology.