Stereocontrolled Synthesis of the Tetrahydrofuran Unit of Annonaceous Acetogenins.

Abstract The THF-epoxide 8 has been prepared from benzyl ( R )-(−)-glycidyl ether using a 10-step synthetic scheme in a stereocontrolled fashion. Compound 8 is a highly useful synthon for the synthesis of mono- and di- THF acetogenins. This new synthetic approach can also be applied to the generation of large chemical libraries of acetogenins.