ISOPRENOID CHAIN ELONGATIONS BY CLAISEN REARRANGEMENTS USING ACETALS AS PRECURSORS OF VINYL ETHERS

Claisen rearrangements of allyl vinyl ethers, formed in situ by the acid catalyzed reaction of dimethyl acetals of acetaldehyde, acetone and isopropenyl methyl ketone with different types of allylic alcohols, have been compared. The primary, secondary and tertiary allylic alcohols used in the investigation were selected to serve as models for isoprenoid synthesis. The basis for two feasible methods that can be iterated to create isoprenoid chains has been investigated.