Progress toward the total synthesis of frondosin C

Robinson annulation is a base-catalyzed reaction for the synthesis of 2-cyclohexenone derivatives from 1,3-dicarbonyl donors (such as cyclic diketones, β-ketoesters, or β-diketones) and α,β-unsaturated carbonyl acceptors. Named after Sir Robert Robinson, who discovered it, this reaction yields a six-membered ring with three new C–C bonds (two σ bonds and one π bond).

In the presence of an aqueous base and a halogen, primary amides can lose the carbonyl (as carbon dioxide) and undergo rearrangement to form primary amines. This reaction, called the Hofmann rearrangement, can produce primary amines (aryl and alkyl) in high yields without contamination by secondary and tertiary amines.

The Hofmann and Curtius rearrangement reactions can be applied to synthesize primary amines from carboxylic acid derivatives such as amides and acyl azides. In the Hofmann rearrangement, a primary amide undergoes deprotonation in the presence of a base, followed by halogenation to generate an N-haloamide. A second proton abstraction produces a stabilized anionic species, which rearranges to an isocyanate intermediate via an alkyl group migration from the carbonyl carbon to the neighboring...

Malonic ester synthesis is a method to obtain α substituted carboxylic acids from ꞵ-diesters such as diethyl malonate and alkyl halides.