Anodic Cyclization Reactions:  Capitalizing on an Intramolecular Electron Transfer to Trigger the Synthesis of a Key Tetrahydropyran Building Block

An anodic cyclization reaction between an enol ether radical cation and an oxygen nucleophile has been used to make a tetrahydropyran building block for the C(10)-C(16) portion of bryostatin. The oxidative cyclization was successful despite the presence of a thioacetal group that has a lower oxidation potential than the enol ether. Experimental evidence suggested that the reaction proceeded through an initial oxidation of the thioacetal followed by an intramolecular electron transfer to form the enol ether radical cation that was subsequently trapped by the oxygen nucleophile. The formation of the desired cyclic product could be explained using the Curtin-Hammett principle. By taking advantage of the intramolecular electron-transfer reaction, we used the presence of a thioacetal in an electrolysis substrate to selectively oxidize a proximal enol ether in the presence of an otherwise identical but more remote enol ether.