An Efficient Approach to the Securinega Alkaloids Empowered by Cooperative N‐Heterocyclic Carbene/Lewis Acid Catalysis

Folding it all together: Most of the syntheses developed for the securinega alkaloid class require lengthy sequences to create their bridging butenolide domains. A novel approach uses N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs) and Lewis acids to forge the entire domain in a single step from appropriate precursors, showing that ynal-derived homoenolates can participate as nucleophiles in intramolecular settings (see scheme).