Synthetic studies on the taxane skeleton: effective construction of eight-membered carbocyclic ring by palladium-catalyzed intramolecular α-alkenylation of a methyl ketone

A new method for the construction of the eight-membered carbocyclic ring in the taxane skeleton is described. The palladium-catalyzed intramolecular α-alkenylation of a methyl ketone effectively constructed the eight-membered carbocyclic ring in the taxol model compound. To the best of our knowledge, this reaction is the first example of forming an eight-membered carbocyclic ring by the palladium-catalyzed intramolecular α-alkenylation of a ketone.