1-Lithio-1,3-dienes: Useful Building Blocks for Cyclic Compounds

In this account, our recent results on the application of substituted 1-lithio-1,3-dienes as building blocks for the preparation of a wide variety of cyclic compounds and linear compounds are briefly summarized. Results have revealed that the essential factor which makes 1-lithio-1,3-diene derivatives useful and unique as building blocks is the intra-cooperation between the alkenyllithium moiety and the butadienyl skeleton, notwithstanding that the alkenyllithium moiety itself reacts with organic substrates in the usual way. In addition, the substitution patterns and the nature of the substituents on the butadienyl skeleton have been demonstrated to affect remarkably the reaction pathways of 1-lithio-1,3-diene derivatives.