NEW APPLICATIONS OF ORGANOPALLADIUM COMPOUNDS IN ORGANIC-SYNTHESIS

The inter- and intramolecular palladium-catalyzed arylation and vinylation of cyclic alkenes provides a useful new route to 3-arylcycloalkenes and cyclic 1,4-dienes. Applications of this chemistry to the synthesis of inhibitors of blood platelet activating factor and prostaglandins are described. Taking advantage of the ability of palladium to migrate along carbon chains, one can easily prepare long chain aromatic aldehydes, ketones and other carbonyl-containing compounds. Palladium-promoted cyclization also affords novel new routes to unsaturated lactones, bicyclic acetals, benzofurans, indoles, quinolines and isoquinolines. Finally, palladium-catalyzed hetero- and carboannulation provides still another convenient route to hetero- and carbocycles. © 1990, IUPAC.