Two complimentary approaches to the key (-)-(2R)-cis-tosylate 1 and it
s (+)-(2S)-enantiomer 15 via generation of chiral imide enolates havin
g a 2,2-disubstituted olefin functionality in the P-position, are desc
ribed. In a ''protecting group free'' sequence, reaction of the titani
um enolate generated from (4R)-benzyl-2-oxazolidinone derived imide 5b
with s-trioxane provided a convenient intermediate 19 which could be
directly subjected to 2,4-diastereoselective iodocyclization. Copyrigh
t (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd